When dealing with any business or individual providing goods or services a transparent image is critical to securing your loyalty and trust as a customer. The notion that they have Nothing to Hide relates to being reputable and honest.
When submitting your resume to an HR Professional or Recruiter this same principle applies and yet over 60% of resumes are purposely submitted with missing dates or career gaps. This sends an immediate red flag! Leaving a blank space is equivalent to saying, “I’m trying to hide something from you!” Most people will assume the worst when missing information is discovered. The omitted graduation date of 1985 will more likely be presumed to be 1975! Your lack of honesty has tarnished your credibility and the futile attempt to hide your age just added on 10 years!
Many of us learn from an early age that, “honesty is the best policy” and when a professional resume is sent out, nothing is more critical than honesty. Yes, you could argue it was not meant to be dishonest when you intentionally left out the dates or work history on your resume but it is much easier to establish credibility from the start than to take a chance on missing out on the opportunity to defend your reputation after the fact.
The goal for any professional sifting through mountains of resumes is that of elimination in order to establish a reasonable number of potential candiates to interview. Any reason to discard your resume will do. You may believe you are the most qualified of candidates but all studies show a simple typo could result in a missed opportunity! Intentionally leaving out details on your resume will also result in a missed opportunity. Employers are searching for honest, loyal and reputable employees as we are when we make a decision to pay for products or services. Is the potential candidate/product/ service recognized? Is it easy to search and gain valuable information? Are there postitive testimonials available?
There is nothing to hide on your resume. The risk of being eliminated as a potential candidate due to missing information or the risk of discovery at a later date could be devastating to your career.
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