It was a combination of some reading and DVD viewing that led to this topic of resumes and whether we are in fact lying when we dress them up a bit to make them more interesting. I pose that we are not lying; a bit of embellishment and 'white lying' make it far more interesting for the reader and more likely to get you the job. Let's face it - we all lie. Albeit, the frequency and degree to which we all lie may vary. Lying is not necessarily a bad thing, as highlighted in the movie "The Invention of Lying" starring Ricky Gervais. If you have not seen the movie, it's about a world where everyone can only tell the truth until Ricky Gervais' character discovers he can lie. What is interesting is that it is painful to watch these people telling the truth all the time. The truth can sometimes be very unpleasant, so dressing things up by bending the truth - or not saying anything at all - can be far more preferable.
Can the same be said for our resumes? If you think about it, if we stated the exact truth it would no doubt be dry and/or boring to read, and unlikely to get us employed. Recruiter Daily had an article recently called "The top nine CV lies to look out for". It made me question whether in fact some of the nine items listed are really lies. The article highlights areas of the resume for recruiters to scrutinize, including achievements, the importance of the role, tenure and management.
Is it a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
If you consider how job ads tend to be written, and when you go through the interview experience, it is more than likely that the recruiter is doing a bit of white lying themselves, leaving out the not so attractive parts of the role and embellishing those that they list.
Read the full blog post ‘Resume Embellishments or Lies’ on the Six Figures blog and share your thoughts on the matter.
Original Source: Six Figures
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