Resume Honesty Went Out with the Downturn

Earlier in the year, I wrote about some of the trends I've noticed in the job market already in 2010. One of those mentioned was that job applicants have been listing that they still work at their most recent employer even though they have been gone for months or in some cases over a year.

Recently, I read an article entitled "In Job Hunting, Honesty Is Still the Best Policy" by Anna Prior. It was in the Wall Street Journal section in the Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (You had to dig deep into the business section to find this one, it wasn't stealing any headlines)

The article makes a statement that may be troubling to employers. When the economy dipped, more and more applicants found it harder to avoid fudging parts of their resume such as dates or employment, education, or responsibilities.

A note: I share this article not to be unsympathetic to jobseekers, but to point out to employers that they may not be hiring the candidate they thought they were getting, and that the dishonesty may be a preview of their ethics on the job.

Here are five highlights from the article. The article in full can be found here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB127214834156782301.html

1) A report by ADP showed that 46% of background/reference checks revealed an error in what the applicant reported, up 5% from just two years earlier.

2) While an effective resume shows an applicant's best qualities, the hard part is knowing not to cross the line---for example saying that you single-handedly led the IT team when your real job was as an Accountant just interacting with IT.

3) Older job seekers can leave off the years they went to college, but changing the years is lying.

4) Another common fib is stating that you were part of a massive downsizing when in reality just you were let go.

5) Several companies have zero tolerance policies as far as lying. No matter how small, the discrepancy will remove the candidate from the interview process.