Today, I was talking with two candidates and in both cases, similar subjects came up so I decided to discuss it today and cover the topic of the honesty in the Resume.
I had a candidate who presented her Resume and showed that she has worked with one firm for around 7 years. That was the only thing on her Resume. She also had an education without the date – which usually is a concern.
Anyway, her background looked interesting and I wanted to speak with her. I quickly discovered that based on her communication skills and her articulation there’s no way she had this 6-7 years of work experience. I knew – she had more.
Remember that when you’re on the other side – we can quickly understand these details. Recruiters have been in their fields for a long time and they notice such details.
Turns out, she had around 20 of the overall experience. But what happened – in her previous experience she was a manager. Turns out, she was told if she longer didn’t want to be a manager, not to include that information.
I told her that this was the wrong advice!
The fact that I discovered this made me feel like she’s a dishonest person.
So how important is the honesty in the Resume?
She was trying to be a strategic and I understand where she’s coming from.
If you don’t want to continue your previous path – make sure to talk through it with your recruiter. Personal opinions of your peers, friends and colleagues don’t count. Professional insight is what really matters in any questions job related, especially, whether or not you should add such details to your Resume.
It was important for her to disclose her experience. By not putting it on there, it makes me think she’s very dishonest.
I also advised her to write a little note on her Resume for the employer where she can mention her concerns of changing the path and how she doesn’t want to continue working in management.
It’s a very common thing, especially for managers, where they just don’t want to do that anymore. So it’s not a big deal!
Don’t omit anything so specific. If you’re a manager for a year and you have other experience, sure, you can discuss leaving it out but if it’s more – it has to be mentioned.
Why you always have to date your education
Another thing we discussed is her not dating her education. We, as recruiters, already know that not mentioning dates of your education can mean one of the two things: that you don’t have your degree or it took longer time than usual to finish studies.
If you have a degree, you usually mention when you’ve graduated. So if you haven’t mentioned dates, it’s an alarm – have you left studies?
I have learned in the hard way that often people mention the education they don’t have. And if the role requests the degree, we’ll find out in the background check that you don’t have one.
The education usually follows the experience. I know some people don’t show their graduation dates because of letting people know your age.
But so does your experience – the experience will date you as well. So it’s one of those things I never recommend. It’s smart to put the date in your Resume.
Pay attention to the job description
Whether or not it’s crucial to have the education will be mentioned in your job description. I’ve had roles where it’s suggested to have a degree but it’s not requested.
Some positions are very generic in their existence.
Always use your best judgment when leaving information out of your Resume! And remember – you can always disclose things in your Cover letter or a small note along with the Resume.
It’s better to be upfront and honest at the beginning than having an employer have any doubts about you as a person.
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