The Truth About Lying On Your Resume: 5 Things To Know

Let’s be honest — at some point, you’ve probably thought about fudging a detail or two on your resume. Maybe stretching that three-month internship into an entire year or calling yourself a “marketing strategist” when scheduling social media posts between coffee runs.

You’re not alone if you’ve ever considered lying on your resume. One study found 36% of job applicants openly admitted to lying on their resumes. However, before you go from embellishing to full-on fiction writing, you should know what happens when you lie on your resume.

Spoiler: It’s not great. The risks are way more significant than the rewards, from background checks to awkward interview questions.

So, if you’re even thinking about getting creative with your work history, read this first. You might save yourself from a very uncomfortable conversation — or even a career disaster. 

One of the key takeaways about lying in your resume is you’re no longer going to be trustworthy to the recruiter. Even if you impress them in your interview, they’ll lose trust in you if you’re caught in a lie.

Remember — your resume is likely a company’s first impression of you. If they find out the first impression was based on a lie, they’ll likely pass on you as a candidate and dash your dreams of landing that job.

This is a little more serious than just risking the recruiters at a particular company not liking you.

Depending on what you lie about, you could run into legal issues eventually. Serious ramifications and potential job loss can occur.

Even if you haven’t gone as far as falsifying documents, your reputation is just as important and could be severely damaged if the recruiter finds out you lied on your resume. 

Instead of lying, find something that makes you stand out from other applicants, like notable skills and accomplishments. This will make your resume more appealing to recruiters. You can also add impressive figures to stand out.

Aside from yourself, when you lie, you could damage your current employer’s reputation by making it seem like they’re supporting someone who’s deliberately deceitful and untrustworthy. 

Imagine leaving a bad taste in a potential employer’s mouth while harming your current employer’s reputation. It’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, stay truthful to keep your and your current employer’s reputation squeaky clean. 

Over and above everything else that can go wrong when lying on your resume, it’s likely that if your application makes it to the interview stage, the interviewer will know you lied, which is something you likely want to avoid at all costs. 

Interviewers know precisely what they’re looking for and who they’re dealing with. When they start asking you questions about information on your resume you can’t answer, they’re going to know you lied. They might even ask you to do a job skills assessment, requiring you to show them you can do what’s necessary for the job.

They can also tell the extent to which you lied. If you extended a work contract by two months, it might not be as noticeable, but if they use industry jargon you’ve never heard, they’ll know you’ve possibly faked an entire qualification. Instead, customize your resume to the job so you stand out.

Look, we all want to impress potential employers, but turning your resume into a work of fiction isn’t the way to do it. Instead of risking your reputation and possibly your job, focus on highlighting your real strengths, learning new skills and owning your experience, flaws and all.

You don’t need a fake resume to land your dream job. You just need you, the competent, capable and qualified version.