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“Lies, Lies, Inside and Out, All Lies!” (Resume Lies, That Is.)[By Mary Waldron]

When most law students graduate, they face an oh-so-daunting Catch-22: many entry-level jobs require previous

experience, which many law graduates obviously do not have. They may also be encouraged to lie about which schools

they attended, since consideration of the school a candidate graduated from is often a make-or-break factor in getting

hired by a top firm. This leads many misguided law graduates to include “little white lies” on their resumes, even though

the first rule in resume writing is “Do not lie.” So why do people continue to fib about job experience and schooling? They

must be doing so under the misconception that they can cover all of their tracks flawlessly, failing to anticipate that people

might check up on them. Well, I will let you in on a little secret: if you lie, people will find out about it.

Many job seekers have been doing it for

years, convincing themselves that claiming

to have worked for an amazing firm for years,

rather than a few months, is not “really”

lying. Yes, even stretching the truth and

exaggerating a bit are ways of lying. The

fact that you are not flat-out lying by naming

a firm that you have never set foot in does

not mean you are innocent of outrageous

resume lies. Besides, if you lie about your

time spent at a job or something else that

may seem minor, it will usually lead to more

lies, as your “longer” experience at a job will

have to be reflected when you discuss your

accomplishments and duties related to the

company. One white lie leads to another. If

you decide that you want to limit your lying

by not carrying it all the way through, you

will then have a new problem. Not being

consistent by fabricating additional details

about what you did at the firm will make it

look as though you hardly learned anything

or failed to contribute meaningfully to the

company during your “extended time” there.

Another emerging problem related to

resume lies is plagiarism. There are actually

people out there (thieves, I tell you!) who are

copying job positions, accomplishments, and

projects straight from other professionals’

resumes and pasting them onto theirs.

Besides possibly causing you to come

across as too good to be true, especially if

your listed experience does not match your

well-rested baby face, plagiarism can be

detrimental if you copy details about jobs and

experiences that you actually do not know

too much about. Employers, especially the

really sadistic ones, love to grill applicants

about their past experiences and jobs.

In fact, these are usually two of the first

items that employers like to discuss in job

interviews. Even if you actually do manage to

do your homework on the bogus material you

have included, your deer-in-the-headlights

expression and sudden shift in body language

will indicate that you have lied somewhere—

even if you have rehearsed your big moment.

If you got your undergraduate degree in

acting, you may get away with lying once, but

do not worry; the time will come when you

are found out—probably after you are hired

and nice and cozy, having drinks with one of

the partners.

Now, what exactly is being done to catch

resume thieves red-handed? Something

very simple, actually. According to Search

Consultants International, Inc., more than

50% of all employers hire companies like

IMI Data Search to conduct background

checks that verify details about previous

employers, educational information,

criminal convictions and civil cases, and

even credit histories. As resume lying

has become a larger problem over the

years, employing this tactic has become

increasingly common. Just a few years

ago, less than 5% of employers performed

these types of background checks. The

government is even getting involved in this

controversy—Washington is set to approve a

$�,000 fine for claiming false degrees on a

resume, according to ABC News.

So, okay. Let’s say you do get caught in an

“itty bitty” resume lie. “So what?” you might

think. There are many firms in the world,

and none of them will find out, right? Well,

perhaps, but it is amazing how small the

law world can be, especially if you lie about

a firm located in the same state as the firm

to which you are applying. Lawyers know

other lawyers. Many law professionals have

had opportunities to network with others

in their field—during law school, while

holding internships, or at other companies

they have worked for. When employers see

the names of companies or firms where

they have connections, they will read no

further and simply call their contacts for

information. Save yourself from acquiring a

bad reputation by sticking to the truth.

It is time for job seekers to wake up. With

25% of all job candidates admitting to lying

on their resumes, according to ABC News,

employers are quickly wising up. Accept the

challenge to develop a riveting resume, using

your finesse with words and real experience

to create a clever, yet honest, document. In

the end, if you have truly done all that you

can to perfect your resume, an employer

will respond to it. Even if putting in the work

takes more time, it will be worth it.

RESUME MAVENSPONSORED BY ATTORNEY RESUME