The objective of a resume is to get the reader’s attraction to your strong points and to minimize your disadvantage without misrepresenting the facts. But in order to provide the best impression on the reader, you might want to omit some questionable points or information that may not be in your favor. Recruiters claim that around 40 percent of all resumes either exaggerate the candidate’s abilities and skills or do not include potentially damaging information, which means that many people turn to resume tricks, which are actually mistakes.
List of most frequent resume tricks
The most frequent resume tricks that candidates turn to are:
- claiming nonexistent educational credits. Sometimes candidates state that they earned a degree when they just attended a school but, actually, did not complete the required courses
- claiming to be engaged in his/her own business. This trick is used to cover the periods of unemployment. Very often a candidate asserts that he/she runs own business from a home office
- stretching periods of employment to cover gaps. This is another technique to conceal the true reasons for unemployment periods. Unemployment gaps raise many questions, and potential employees are not always willing to answer fully
- concealing reference to jobs that may cause embarrassment. A candidate would prefer to hide the fact of being fired from several jobs in a quick succession, as it will characterize him/her as a bad employee. To eliminate the gap, a candidate will stretch the dates of previous employments
- exaggerating experience and accomplishments. Sometimes candidates appropriate group project achievements to their own results
- stating to have worked for the companies that are out of business. Usually candidates with lack of working experience turn to this method to fill in a blank work experience section
Thus, when composing your resume, remember that experienced recruiters and human resource managers are aware of these frequent resume tricks, so be careful not to get into your own trap. It is very effective to present your strongest and most impressive points and to minimize shortcomings. But do not exaggerate or claim to have skills or expertise you do not have.
