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Padding Your Résumé: Is it Ever Okay?

"30 years of experience as an undercover CIA Narcotics Officer? Very impressive."

So the economy sucks right now. I think we’re beyond that fact and are all actively trying to do something about it, rather than complain about it. Sinking into illegality is somewhat of a stretch for even the most desperate of job hunters and others trying to make a living these days, but what about doing something ethically dubious or even just slightly blurring the truth?

For example, your potential employer is requesting that applicants to his company be proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel. You’re pretty good at Word, but you don’t know the first thing about Excel. Do you tell him that, knowing that there are plenty of others that are great at working with both? Do you try to gloss over the fact somehow? Maybe you just flat out lie, thinking to yourself, “Hey, I’m a quick learner, I’ll just pick it up from experience once I get the job.”

Most of us try to be moral citizens, but when pressed to come up with rent or tuition money, is it really terrible to pretend you’re more qualified than you are? You know you’ll be an excellent employee, and it’s not like you’d lie about anything serious or steal from the company or kick puppies or anything drastically evil (unless you’re employed by a puppy-kicking company, in which case…)

I may get some heat for saying this, but you know what? As long as you’re not breaking any laws, I’m all for a little creative explication of some of the points on a résumé. I think whether we like it or not, padding a résumé is something that happens frequently, more frequently than you think, and I can’t judge someone for smudging a few details here and there. Anyone who claims to have never lied is, well, a liar, and as I said—it’s not like you’re kicking puppies.

Now, I will say this: everything in moderation. Making up credentials, talking about fictitious employers; these sorts of practices are wrong. If someone is asking for a candidate with 5 years of experience and you’ve only been in the business for 2 years, I’m not advising you accidentally write that 2 backwards. But if they’re asking for 2 years of experience and you have a year and 9 months, then perhaps it’s a judgment call. Do you think you’re that good of an employee you can make up for lack of experience, knowing that if you fail you might be hurting yourself or others in the process? Some people are very confident in their skills, but for the weak of heart maybe fabrication isn’t for you.

Another point is that if you’re planning on working for the government, you should probably stick to the facts. They generally check a little more thoroughly than other industries and I wouldn’t do anything suspect on official documents or whatnot.

I have spoken with quite a few people throughout the years who have tried to come across as a little more experienced than they really were, and to varying degrees of success. Know, though, that even if it isn’t illegal, fabrication of credentials on a résumé will almost certainly result in dismissal if an employer were to find out. That’s the chance that you take, and even a seemingly innocent blurring of the truth can result in some unhappy situations.

I’ll give you one little anecdote to elaborate why I can’t get mad at the people who choose to make stuff up. When I moved to California, I began looking for a job. Having previous experience in the fine dining and catering industry, I began my search in fields related to hospitality and service. I was having much more difficulty than I had previously thought I would have, mostly because every wannabe actor in Hollywood also has experience as a waiter. Desperate, I eventually found myself at a frozen yogurt place in Westwood. The job was simple enough and didn’t pay particularly well, but when I got there I read they required 2 years of frozen yogurt experience. When I applied, they told me that since I didn’t have frozen yogurt experience they would not hire me, but would instead hire another applicant with “more experience.”

“I have,” I asked them incredulously, “two years experience in the fine dining and catering industry as both a server and a manager of servers; I have managed weddings, fundraisers, and catered to nationally recognized politicians, often at events exceeding 500 guests; I have worked in tandem with other managers at events for thousands of customers, but I cannot work behind the counter of a self-serve ice cream shop because I don’t have fro-yo experience?”

“No,” they said, “you cannot.”

Pad away, my friends.

Have you ever told an employer you were more experienced than you actually were? Are you outraged by anyone who takes anything less than the extreme moral high ground? Tell us your stories, we’d love to hear them.