Lying on your resume

[DogFashionDisco]

Have any of you guys ever done it?



I mean blatantly lying, not just puffing it up or making it sound like you're the perfect person for the job.
I've heard of former CEOs of large, well-known companies like Bausche and Lomb and Radioshack getting caught in the act, and I'm wondering just how wide spread it is.

 

[Cash]

Good thread. Look forward to the replies.

Also, for those in the know...

I've basically been unemployed for a while (few years), definitely not proud of it, but i'm going to need to account for these gaps.

What is a good way of filling in the gaps on your resume if you have been unemployed and out of education for the last few years?

I've essentially got no references, which is what employers always seek. I could put in fake jobs, but i don't know....

 

[Ken785]

I've been caught and not hired for the last job I was going to get. Ive put that ive worked at a job for 8 years when in reality it was just 1. I didnt want any gaps in my resume.

They wanted tax reports from the IRS with dates in them showing that I was employed at these companies for how long I claimed I was and also hired a third party company to do a background check on it. I was caught. Not only did they find out I was not at that company for that long, but the dates of when I started and ended with other employees was off too. I wasnt hired.

Make sure you put the right dates down the the exact month you were hired and your last month of work, because they will blitz you on it!

Don't try to lie, because a smart company will find out.

 

[speakeasy]

You could always say during your gap that you were self-employed. That you tried starting a small business and it didn't work out and you're now back in the job market. How would they know? Of if you are a professional, say you were a "consultant" and worked as an independent contractor. A consultant can mean damn near anything.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Good thread. Look forward to the replies.

Also, for those in the know...

I've basically been unemployed for a while (few years), definitely not proud of it, but i'm going to need to account for these gaps.

What is a good way of filling in the gaps on your resume if you have been unemployed and out of education for the last few years?

I've essentially got no references, which is what employers always seek. I could put in fake jobs, but i don't know....

I read somewhere a good way to fudge this and not get caught is to list employment oversees in a non-english speaking country. List a number, and an email or something (which you could easily fake) when they try to contact them they'll be unsuccessful.

 

[speakeasy]

I read somewhere a good way to fudge this and not get caught is to list employment oversees in a non-english speaking country. List a number, and an email or something (which you could easily fake) when they try to contact them they'll be unsuccessful.

Only problem with that I can see is let's say you said you worked in Japan, they might be like, "oh so you must be nearly fluent in Japanese then, how do you say such and such" and if you can't speak a lick of that language, it's going to sound pretty suspect.

 

[Colossus]

I've "puffed up" my accomplishments a little, but I've never gone so far as to make up past work or lie about dates. Before college I got fired once for failing a drug test, and at future jobs I just said I was laid off. Never became an issue. Now I have too much to lose so I think honesty is the best policy. If there is something you aren't proud of, it's better to omit it completely than make sh!t up. If you are applying for a job that does background testing, do your freaking homework before omitting any info.

If I had big unemployment gaps I would just say I did consulting or was self-employed. There is no way they can verify. Just have a good story.

 

[st_99]

I don't think this crap works anymore with decent firms.

They hire 3rd party company's to conduct the background check. I know my company does.

If you really had to fill a large gap, I would just go with the self employment thing.

The older you get, the more you realize that honesty really is the best policy though.

 

[Cash]

You could always say during your gap that you were self-employed. That you tried starting a small business and it didn't work out and you're now back in the job market. How would they know? Of if you are a professional, say you were a "consultant" and worked as an independent contractor. A consultant can mean damn near anything.

There's no way they could demand or find tax/social security info?

Other than that, it sounds like that could be a good idea.

 

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

You could say that you tried starting your own business but the rub is yes, they could demand 1099s or tax IDs or articles of incorporation, etc.

If I was really trying to be a sneaky bastard, I would put my imagination to work and say I was trying to get a manufacturers' rep/finding/freelance-type of deal off the ground and "the requisite paperwork was yet to present itself as a viable necessity at the time of applying for this job."

 

[radiodude]

One good idea to actually make things legit, maybe get extra tax return money and be able to stick on your resume is setting yourself up as a corpration.

Good tax shelter, also a great way to look like you've been in business. All you need to do is just take a hobby and put it down as a business venture and you are set.

 

[speakeasy]

There's no way they could demand or find tax/social security info?

Other than that, it sounds like that could be a good idea.

If they really wanted to push it, they might ask you for some verification like what registered name you did business under, what your employer ID number was. So many people are now turning to self-employment these days with the instability in corporate America that I don't think an interviewer is going to think anything of it if you say you started a small business or worked as a contractor/freelancer doing something. You have nothing to lose in giving it a shot.

In my case, I'm a freelance graphic/web designer, and many of us do freelance/consulting work so it sounds pretty believable.

 

[AAAgent]

that's exactly what i'm doing now. i just started my own business, while also job hunting, studying for lsats, etc. Employers are sometimes wowed when i tell them i manage 5 employee's at such a young age. I run the LLC so if they ever wanted to technically check if i worked there, they'd be calling me.