CVs – to fib or not to fib?
That may be the question, but to my mind it would only be worth £100 on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, since it’s a bit of a no-brainer really.
Yet it still seems to be asked a lot, usually alongside the bold assertion “Well, everyone lies on their CV, don’t they?” Er, no, they don’t actually.
Although some do, clearly including the big cheese at Yahoo who was recently kicked to the kerb for telling what some may consider a ‘white lie’ on his CV. Harsh? Not when you consider it from a different angle.
Yesterday I was interviewed on LBC Radio’s breakfast show on this very topic. Well, I say ‘interviewed’ – it was more of a good-natured barney with the DJ really. Well, I say ‘good-natured’… Anyway, I digress.
The problem with CV fibs (of any shades of grey) is the act of lying, not the lie itself. The mutual bond of trust and confident is an implied term of any employment contract – in other words, it goes to the root of the working relationship.
The problem with CV fakery
So by casting doubt on your own integrity right from the outset with a blatant porky, you are in effect breaching your contract before you’ve even got it.
The size of said porky isn’t really the point – whether it’s claiming to have a qualification that you don’t, or working somewhere you didn’t, or for longer than you did, or doing something that you didn’t etc., the point is, you have still brazened out a bare-faced lie.
So if you get rumbled, how do they know you won’t lie about something much more significant in the future? For the employer not to take action is effectively condoning the act of fibbing, and what message does that give out to the rest of the organisation – especially if you’re in a senior role?
So I can fully understand Yahoo taking the action that they did, even if it seems a bit OTT.
The most ridiculous part of CV fakery though, is that it shouldn’t even be necessary, as a great CV will make you seem fab regardless of some of the substantive facts (or lack of them.)
So a few Top Tips on how to do a successful, non-fibbing CV:
- Don’t make your CV a list of all your previous job descriptions. Focus on not just what you did, but how well you did it – what makes you stand out from anyone else who could have followed the same career path?
- Highlight your key skills and attributes that show you can do the job – even if you haven’t had much experience yet, show that you have all the potential and the capabilities that you need
- Back up what you’re saying with some examples to prove it. These don’t have to be just from your previous jobs; they could relate to extra-curricular activities or other interests that you have. But choose them carefully – ‘socialising with friends’ doesn’t demonstrate much, but being a committee member of something, whether it’s the Debating Society or the Trampolining Society, could demonstrate your teamworking and communication skills
- Use some high-impact words to describe what you’ve done. Just saying you ‘did’ something is a bit lame – but did you manage, direct, create, develop, implement or initiate something? How well did you do it – on time, to budget, efficiently, successfully, accurately, proactively? Get your thesaurus out and try to avoid repetition!
- But use plain English and don’t try to shoehorn in non-words (like ‘heretofore’ – what does that even mean?!) in an attempt to make it sound businesslike. It won’t – it will sound ridiculous. Read it out loud and if it doesn’t make sense, change it
- Consider the layout – remember it’s a business document, not a letter to your mother, so avoid extensive narrative and use bullet points. Highlight the key words you want to jump out, but don’t get carried away with formatting or you’ll give the recruiter a headache.
But above all, as the Romans used to say – In Curriculum Vitae Veritas!
Tara Daynes is founder and director of consultancy, Tara Daynes HR.
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