Professional Resume Writing – The Truth
Whatever you decide to write in your resume be sure it is the truth! No fabrications, no inventions and as appealing as it may sound, don’t exaggerate!
There are many examples of ruined reputations, lost jobs and interviews cut short for those who erred on the side of dishonesty or embellishment. Last year a high profile professional was forced to resign after it was discovered she had lied about her qualifications. The “indiscretion” on her resume was discovered 28 years after her original appointment as the Dean of a University!
Recently, a potential client sent a resume for a free critique and when asked to elaborate on the many languages she was fluent in, as noted on her resume, she hedged and dodged and finally admitted that one language was English and the other Arabic. To justify the claims on her resume she insisted she had some knowledge of French and Spanish as well. Most people are able to extend greetings in a number of languages but if you are going to write on your resume that you are fluent in that language you had better be able to back it up! A hiring professional might be very happy to accept the opportunity, based on information provided in a resume, to conduct the interview in that language and then cut it short when they discover the candidate’s lack of fluency. Or rather, their lack of honesty!
The number of professionals that deliberately omit their graduating date is astounding. It is an immediate red flag for the hiring professional or recruiter and you can be assured that they will automatically assume that your graduating date is years earlier than the actual date because why else would you want to hide that information?
Regardless of the indiscretion when writing your resume; leaving out a position or date, exaggerating talents, embellishing accomplishments or adding false qualifications, you will put yourself at risk of tarnishing your reputation and/or losing your job. Maybe not today but there’s always tomorrow. So stay with the facts and above all, the truth!
Contact Elite Resumes for a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer.
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