When is it acceptable to "bend the truth" on one's resume?

Charlie:

The answer is never. If you want a culture of integrity, honesty and excellence in your organization, then you cannot permit this. "Bending the truth" is lying, no matter what other term you want to use.

Culture trumps talent and if you permit your talent to lie, then you have sacrificed culture and it will permeate throughout your organization.

Carlos Hidalgo
@cahidalgo

Carlos, the only real answer is never, but that being said, most individuals do it even though they won't admit it. Many of us take a little too much credit for what we accomplished working for others. Companies bend the truth when they describe their culture to you in an interview, they are very rarely accurate. To me, it's the difference between dating and being married. When we go out on the first date, all of us tend to be someone that we really aren't, even if it's just a little.

Ron suggested that he gets incensed when recruiters embellish candidates resumes, I get incensed when companies embellish their culture, it's no different. I don't agree with you that bending the truth is lying, it's different. I consider bending the truth to be a bit of an embellishment, but of course, there are always degrees of severity.

If we were all being honest, we would realize that each of us at some point in our lives have embellished the truth, we have to be careful about falling off our morale horses and not being hypocritical.

I love that Johnnie P. turned the table on this conversation. Yes. Let's talk about the company's or hiring manager's propensity to "embellish" or "hide the whole story." This is a really important topic in and of itself. In fact, probably warrants a separate stream...I'll start it.

It just means you lack integrity when you try to bend the truth

Henry,

Have you ever lied, not looking for an answer, it's rhetorical.

Your Senator lied, yet he's still in office. His constituents are wondering what else he's lied about, yet he's still in office. I'm not suggesting that I support bending the truth, I'm suggesting that it's part of how we live life in this country today, whether you like it or not. What it comes down to is what's acceptable embellishment, not whether or not it's acceptable, we've already decided as a society that it's acceptable, the evidence is all around you.

There is a fine line between "bending the truth" and framing a situation in your favor. Skill in the latter can keep someone from going over to the "dark" side. Framing is always present, even in every day conversation. Whether we pitch an idea to a colleague, write up a proposal, author a blog post, share bad news, or present at a board meeting, we inevitably emphasize certain details over others, always with an eye on the objective, making salient what we want others to consider and injecting meaning into a message that serves us best. Pick up the paper and look at how contributors cleverly present distinct story angles that highlight a chosen theme and influence subsequently what we think about. "Bending the truth" is a bad idea. Framing a situation one way over another is second-nature and worth learning well.

The answer to this question is really simple.

Do you as a hiring manager utilize electronic screening programs? If you do, you are REQUIRING your candidates to write their documents to pass that test. Do you as a hiring manager have someone else in a different department, even HR, write your ads and/or conduct the first pass at resumes and candidates? Then you are REQUIRING your candidates to write their documents to get past that screening element.

NEITHER of these screening protocols are capable of assessing the candidate's true potential to compete in the job at hand, but the need to get past those protocols WILL require your candidates to pen things that might misrepresent them. What they might really want is nothing more than a chance to get in front of you, and have a chance to demonstrate their qualifications.

Recruiters are generally knowledgeable about electronic screening and HR prioritizing, and will assist candidates to tweak their documents to that end. Many other candidates are seeking out professional resume writers to do the same thing.

If you want an environment where the best person for the job can get in front of you without any misrepresentation at all, then make sure it is possible for them to do so. You do your part, and there will be no excuse at all for any misrepresentation on the candidate's part.

Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com

So, the prospective employee bends the truth because the hiring company bends the truth. Prospective employee is hired. Consumer/client reaches out to employee for assistance with product. Organizational culture is based on everyone bending the truth so employee bends truth to the client. But that's ok because the client knows and he bent the truth too about the issue he has with the product.

Studies show (I'll get the references if I need to back this up) that employee turnover is directly correlated to the organizations ethical culture. If the employee cannot trust the organization, they have no vested interest in staying, nor do they have a vested interest in keeping trade secrets. The costs of employee turnover and theft or sharing of proprietary information is greater than potentially losing a qualified candidate due to "bending" facts.

Never lie. Never "bend the truth." Never embellish. Period.

Always present factual accomplishments. Always quantify achievements. Always link experiential content to the specifics of the rargeted position. Always, without braggadocio, take credit for genuine results.

Weigh carefully the downsides of hooking up with an organization and/or a culture that doesn't share that value set. "Everybody does it" wasn't a good enough reason when you were a teen-ager; it still isn't.

Lots of interesting consensus on this one. So much so, that I decided to actually look up the word "embellish" in Websters' dictionary:

From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embellish

em·bel·lish verb \im-ˈbe-lish\
Definition of EMBELLISH
transitive verb

1: to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate
2: to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details : enhance

Curiously, nothing in there says anything about "bending the truth."

Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/embellish?r=75&src=ref&ch=dic) offers these definitions:

em·bel·lish   [em-bel-ish]
verb (used with object)

1 to beautify by or as if by ornamentation; ornament; adorn.
2 to enhance (a statement or narrative) with fictitious additions.

The addition of "with fictitious additions" at the end of definition #2 is noteworthy.

And what says the Oxford English Dictionary? http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/embellish

embellish
Pronunciation:/ɪmˈbɛlɪʃ, ɛm-/
verb [with object]

make (something) more attractive by the addition of decorative details or features:
blue silk embellished with golden embroidery
make (a statement or story) more interesting by adding extra details that are often untrue:
followers often embellish stories about their heroes

Here we see the "often untrue" distinction, but, frankly, the word 'often' does NOT mean "always," so let's add that the the growing ambiguity of what "embellish" really means.

Now what does this have to do with "bending the truth" on one's resume? Nothing maybe. But let it serve as a reminder that even the seemingly sharpest of lines can have fuzzy edges if you look at them closely enough.

It is not acceptable to bend the truth. Even omitting information may com back to " bite" you. Remember untruths on a CV is grounds for immediate dismissal.

The purpose of a resume' in solely to get an interview. Most organizations are looking for a culture fit with reasonable knowledge/experience for the job.

Also, most companies are looking for recent revalant experience and not what you are going to do.

We can train for a job, we cannot train personality or culture fit.

Just think about job fairs at universities. One interview and ten minutes. Real selling job.

I don't agree that it's ever acceptable to bend the truth on one's resume. I am presuming that "bending the truth" means to lie. When searching for a job, you should be seeking to create, build and sustain a relationship...A relationship eventually comes to an end when "lies" creep in.

Embellishing or making things sexier than they may currently be...is the type of "truth bending" I see these days when helping folks with their resume writing. It's the marketing spin and word fixing we see today. For example:
- Housewife has become "Stay at Home Mom"
- Secretary has become "Executive Assistant" or "Office Professional"
- Used Car has become "Pre-owned Vehicle"

I find if you bring excellence to everything you do...meaning when working for someone you do your due diligence to learn their business, the job you're tasked with, forge relationships and educate yourself on best practices within the industry etc...you never have to embellish, bend the truth or lie.

Remember the resume is a part of the Application process which is a binding, legal document that you sign, stating all you've entered is "True"...( :

Do the work...when you're at work!

When we study authentic leadership, the question frequently arises as to whether the presentation of a situation which is crafted to persuade, devalues the authentic message. Our approach addresses this in very realistic terms. Our message is important. Just as the teacher needs to discover what works with the student - visual cues, socratic method, exercises, team or group presentations - the leader needs to use their empathy to craft the message in terms that will reach the intended receiver. This does not however excuse changing the content to make it more palatable.

I think Barry Schaeffer touched on a critical point before. We will err at times. Does that mean we throw in the towel and not try going forward? Or rather, can we use that experience as a reminder of our own frailties and move on with the intent to be better. If we are exceptional, it just might allow us to recognize the same possibilities in others and without condoning the behavior offer support for their attempt to do better in the future.

Before you give me a thumbs down, please consider this carefully:

I am fascinated by what is rising to the surface here. John, Charlie, Tim and Dan have numbers in negative territory for speaking the truth as they believe it with openness and candor. But, isn't that what the rest are saying they demand?

Conversely, most of the comments with numbers in positive territory answer this question with "never", which can not possibly be representative of their own life choices.

Anyone versed in statistics, logistics, poli-sci, or any number of other disciplines understands this one fundamental truth: the words "Always" and "Never" do not apply to anything in the real world. Even the 'unchangeable' laws of physics are challenged constantly, because exceptions to what we understand as fact keep coming to light.

Dan asks, as support for the position of never, "When is it acceptable to bend the truth on a sales brochure?” Well, think about that. I can watch TV, read magazines and listen to radio all day, and be hard pressed to find a single ad that does not in any way embellish their product and its ability. Is there anyone here that would disagree with that?

Does that make it okay to embellish a resume? Hold that thought a minute, okay?

A resume is marketing. This is not a matter of 'accepting' a thing societally. It is much more systemic than that. It is about 'TEACHING' a thing societally. A resume is marketing, and we are taught how to market from a very early age. There is not a diet plan in existence that will advertise the fact that less than 8% of everyone who starts their program will maintain success for more than 18 months. Not a single boxed cereal broadcasts that the serving size of 1 cup is mostly air, and that NO ONE can be filled up on that little amount (thus making the calories of what people really eat much higher than the box suggests). What boasting investment plan does not have tiny print that ONLY EXISTS BECAUSE IT IS REQUIRED BY LAW informing the almost nobody who reads it that the advertisement is not indicative of actual performance?

College level job hunting courses teach embellishment. Marketing classes teach misrepresentation at a legal level-- how do you inflate a thing while watching out for truth in advertising laws. Statistics courses teach how to lie by telling a truth no one understands.

Social graces teach us to withhold information from those who might be unnecessarily hurt by it, and even lie to protect the feelings of others who ought not be hurt by a thing. I lie to my kids every year, misleading them as to the real contents of Christmas and birthday presents.

At this point, think about the question.

I have read every comment on this thread, and I still stand by what I said originally. We as hiring managers have a LOT of control over what our applicants give to us. WE set the rules. We cannot in good conscience hold our applicants negatively accountable for following the rules we set out for them.

I have a very high level of integrity within my organization. My people share things not usually shared in work groups, to the benefit of our entire team. I count this success to the very carefully crafted guidelines we have evolved. I don't want anyone calling at the last minute and lying to get sick leave. Therefore, we do not have sick leave. You can take off any time you need, for whatever reason or no reason here, just give as much notice as you can and have a plan for effective and timely execution of your work load. Now there is no reason for anyone to lie.

Look, folks, if the point here is to help one another improve our own successes and organizations-- and I sincerely hope that is the goal-- we have to live in the world 'as it is', and not naively believe the world we want will manifest simply because we want it. The rules of society need to change if you ever hope applicant behavior to change. So, start by changing the rules of your organizations culture, not to be restrictive and punitive, but rather to be guiding, funneling people naturally down the path we want them to follow.

Just sayin'.

Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com

While I believe that it's important to to be honest on a resume, the idea of absolute honesty is more of a theoretical point of moral achievement than one that the culture demonstrates. Anyone who is absolutely honest will be friendless, and probably jobless. I have been in working environments where honesty is genuinely valued. They are great situation to be in but they are far from common. Ego, local culture, and insecurities are the biggest detriments to honesty and integrity. Ideally, if you don't want to be in this kind of environment, you can leave. Sadly and, more importantly, realistically, many people can't afford to quit a job because of this, so they will fall into line with 'acceptable dishonesty' in order to maintain a paycheck.

Context is needed for this.

While it's "Dilbertian" to realize that when someone in a position of power promulgates this by demonstration of management, does not make it any less of a fact.

I think in terms of a resume, instead of using the term 'honesty', I think is would be more appropriate to say factual accuracy. Why? Simply because, the resume is the first step in getting a job. No one gets a job based only on a resume. It is only the foot in the door. Case in point: the process of getting an interview comes from the resume (and perhaps the cover letter as well, depending on the hiring company.) The individual with the resumes which appear to be the best (not the most honest.) It is in the interviewing process that issues of honesty need to be assessed. They are often not assessed that well. The spectacular liar will stand out. If they are glib enough to evade the questions of honesty, they are likely to get the job.

The point here is in how you present yourself in a resume. I don't advocate dishonesty in any fashion, but I think that if you are truly honest and thorough in your resume, you may never get your foot in the door. If you write your resume to set up the reader to infer things without you having fully qualified your statement, may get you and interview where you can explain yourself honestly and with the ability to provide the kind of information that may make you the ideal hire.

On a last little anecdotal point of my experience, I have come to realize that when someone in authority spends a lot of time talking about the "importance of honesty here at [the company] and that we have an open-door policy." I am NOT going to be the one to test that policy. I'll watch carefully to see what the results of that policy have on those individuals who are brave enough or stupid enough to test them. I've seen too many brilliant scientists, engineers, designers, etc. conveniently let go after moments of such honesty. These moments were not moments of anger, but statements of fact that someone with a bigger ego than intellect and in a position of power would not accept.

So I'll be perfectly honest AFTER it is demonstrated as being considered a virtue rather than simply told it is considered a virtue.

The value systems of each successive cohort group change bit by bit - often the changes are generationally strained - yet the old white men stand their ground and utter, "Wrong, wrong, wrong; all lying is bad."

Which of course is pretty much 100% true (I'll leave it up to you to think of "good lies").

Yet kids find nothing wrong with having others take their SATs for them or when in a rush to complete a college paper use a paragraph or two without the appropriate citation.

We have presidential candidates who collect concubines and cheat on their taxes or president's who have to practically dragged in front of the Supreme Court to divulge their birth certificate.

When it comes to resumes, words are powerful, and the words recommended for resumes have become more active and dare I say, prone to misuse. Career Services departments coach students to use these words to describe their accomplishments - and more often or not oversell the result. Lies?

Going back to the first date metaphor, guys never pass gas until they're married - and then it's too late. But do you really divorce them for a little miasma of methane?

I think a relevant, and kind of scary, truism is that our behavior never fully meets the rules by which most of us live (if statistics on faith are to be believed) the oft-seen tendency to redefine the rules downward to "better represent reality" takes us down a road to disaster. What society has painfully found when it lowers the bar (for behavior, educational performance, or anything other broad measure in society) so that more people can get over it, is that behavior merely ratchets downward so that roughly the same percentage of the population fails to meet the new ones. The response to this, as you might imagine, is to lower them again with the same goal... with the same result, and so on.

Never, "Bend the truth" should never be in candidate's dictionary.

As a candidate, he/she doesn't need to tell everything that is irrelevant to the person the candidate is talking to, in this case the employer. However, everything that is relevant to the job the candidate applies must be told. That's why as an interviewer, it is always good to ask at the end of interview "Is there anything that I need to know in regards to the job you are applying?"

If what you mean 'bend the truth' is exaggeration, this is not easy to decide because it is very subjective. The candidate can claim that he/she is expert in programming, I don't call that 'bend the truth', the candidate might really think he/she is an expert. If the interviewer finds out that the candidate is not that great, I call it exaggeration. However, claiming that he/she is part of prestigious software development project and not telling that he/she is only doing clerical tasks in that project, this is 'bending the truth' and should never be contemplated. The consequence is serious, everyone suffers because the candidate is not up to the tasks.

It is OK to embellish your resume when it is OK for companies to embellish what they have to offer in the way of a position

In a word, NEVER!!! It's one thing to emphasize certain aspects of your experience depending on the job you are applying for, but 'bend the truth' or let us call it for what it truly is 'lying' - it is never acceptable. Let's look at it - what is the cost of being found out and being labeled for the rest of your life (i.e. feedback from reference checks) that you lied on your resume.

The simple answer is never! A very high price to pay and never worth it
The interesting thing is that the real loser is you. The fact that you could be found out remains with you thereafter. It also dismounts you from a moral high-ground that leaves you unable in all true conscience, to confront any wrongdoing by others in this respect. Subsequently the quest for ethical organisations is undermined.

@Mario and Amy

If you read my response, I suggested that there are degrees of truth, and Mario, the world is definitely not black and white, if that was the case we would have a lot more individuals sitting in jail from Wall Street and we don't.
So Amy, tell me why it's alright when employers lie about culture, how do they get punished, and please don't tell me that they aren't able to attract the best talent, because that's not true, it's after the fact and could take several months to discover.

I'll be honest, someone lying about their college degree is of little consequence to me, I don't believe that it adds any value for the candidate, unless it's in a profession, such as law, medicine, science, or engineering.

Amy, you make an very interesting point, one that we haven't touched on. What happens when employers take advantage of a situation and break the law by discriminating, it happens with great frequency. Bending the truth is a very fine line, it requires good judgement on the decision makers side. I would suggest that this is the root of the issue here. Remember, leaders spend their time building a slew of competency, but never is that competency decision making, it's the one that got away. I know, because we are one of a few people in the country that teach optimal decision making. I'm always amazed how leaders ignore data when they make decisions, this of course only adds to the problem of what to do if someone lies.

I do believe the world is grey, yet I have never lied or embellished a resume. I talk about myself because I think that accepting to do this is a very personal choice, and it´s something that you must feel comfortable doing in the long run. It´s sad that someone that has lied on their resume gets hired because of this while someone with more talent (and integrity) gets left behind. A lot of people I know have gotten ahead by ¨embellishing¨ more than their resumes and taking credit for things they haven´t done when hardworking people with real talent get stuck in the sidelines. I think this sends the wrong message and discourages people to do the right thing.

People like Steve Jobs got ahead by believing in themselves, not lying, which I think it´s harder than embellishing a resume or taking credit for something you haven´t done. In the end it makes you work harder to achieve your goals and it helps you grow even more outside and within yourself, which is what really counts. Instead of trying to emulate the wrong things people have done to get ahead we should be looking into the right things.

interesting answers , lots of perspectives .
The question is Rather we can establish a trust relationship ,and wheather you can be counted on to have your own integrety regardless of the crowd or mass.
When it comes to leadership you want to be able to trust the one in charge .
When it comes to diciplines you want to be able to trust the one in care of your life .
When it comes to relatioship you want to know that when your asked you can be trusted .
If you will lie a little , bend the truth , only care about the end product or objective .
Then theres no way you can be trusted beyond what you want .
For as your direction changes so will you .
Standards , Beliefs, integrety is what & who you are .
For a , or , any system to work you have to know you can trust the ones on your team or in your circle .
Try deferining to others not give answers , or just accept the hard truth with a reasonable answer.
I would never fire an employee,salemen,executive ,or other person if the truth was plainly presented . Even if at fault . But if Deliberatly lies or deception . It is immediate Termination with out discussion .
Standards are what we live by .I can live with mistakes,wrong choices , bad decisions
Wrong turns in the road of life . Not with a minupulative , deceptive , lying person that I cannot trust .

No, I do not think the candidate show lie or make their resume into something they are not. What does that say about their character?

This question should be voted question of the century! First of all we must define "what is truth" I think the major issue in our society is that everyone has the own version of what they feel is "truth" and there is no universal standard. We see it in sports, politics, criminal cases, Wall Street and definitely in the workforce. Unfortunately, some people in life will do anything to get a competitive advantage in what they hope to achieve. "How far should someone go to bend the truth in their resume?" Well we really need to define what bend means. The truth is everyone has their own version of what they think they may have achieved. The truth is we will always have to go with the majority viewpoint or major vote. This is why as HR professionals/Recruiters we do reference checks and testing to validate the data given to us because some people don’t realize they are bending the truth. They are stuck in their own view of reality and need the majority to tell them the truth. Good luck to those trying to answer this one politically correct. My answer would be to never bend the truth however we will need to lay out the rules first.

I should, I suppose, apologize for the negativity of my comment -- I've just found that those who feel they have a lot of important things to say on matters of ethics and morality sometimes end up being the biggest scoundrels in the room.

"Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either." - Albert Einstein
Telling the TRUTH very well, is what a good resume should do. BENDING THE TRUTH is not what a good resume should do. A resume is a report offered to a company for decision making purposes. I would fire anyone who submitted a false report to me as an employee. I would not hire a stranger who submitted a false report to me.

Never..as it will always come back to bite you in the butt! I also get incensed when recruiters (headhunters) embellish candidartes resumes!
In my book embellishment=rejection!

Agreed just as bad to embellish the corporate virtues (or lack thereof) as well. When I interview prospects I give them the good and the bad (some stuff my owner probably would not even care for me to say)and give the 100% truth just as I expect in return!
In the world of construction a slight embellishment of ones skills can have tragic consequences!

Adebayo,

So based on your answer you are saying that, the President, Wall Street, Congress, The Pope and Vatican, all newspapers and the list goes on and on, lack integrity, because they've all bent the truth, some more than others.

Perhaps we need to redefine integrity in light of how the world behaves today, as I said previously, we have to be careful that we aren't being hypocritical, all of us have bent the truth at one point in our lives, which would suggest that none of us have integrity.

Never... if you really want to be considered for the position... and to keep it if you get it. As for the "bending" that goes on in society, one can't be responsible for the behavior of others, especially where groups are concerned. But if each of us doesn't take responsibility for our own behavior, and that includes being truthful in what we say about ourselves, we will end up with chaos.
To the statement that because there is much dishonesty in society, none of us have integrity, I would reply that truthfully none of has perfect integrity. That does not, however, relieve us of the responsiblity to do the best we can to live our lives with integrity or to accept our failures as justified because others may be as bad or worse.

@Barry

You either have integrity or you don't, you can't qualify it by suggesting that there is such a thing as perfect integrity, that's no different than bending the truth. None of us is completely honest would suggest that bending the truth is alright.

It's a slippery slope.

@John

Couldn't agree more, but apparently didn't make my point clear.

The realization that no one acts with perfect integrity comes from looking back at behavior in the past. I meant to suggest that merely because we can find lapses in our own and others' past behavior doesn't relieve us of the responsbility of conducting ourselves with integity going forward. Said another way, we can't always change the past, but have control of the future at least insofar as our own behavior is concerned.

We might take that view further, saying just because our mistakes are in the past doesn't relieve us of the responsility of doing what we can to atone for those lapses even if it means taking some nasty medicine.

I think we agree on the overall answer to the original question... "never"

Barry,

Thanks for the clarification.

Agree 100% with John Prpich, who has stated the only realistic view on the subject. Anything else is either sugar coated or unrealistically Pollyanna.

I get your point John, but your talking about putting in print, on a resume, on a LinkedIn profile something that potentially misrepresents yourself. If what you represent turns out to be patently false, I believe that our society is becoming less, not more tolerant.

The problem with your position is that I don't believe you can define what acceptable embellishment is. I also question your contention that "we've already decided as a society that it's acceptable." When I listen to talk radio, read a variety of blogs and editorial pages around the country and observe the level of anger that exists in our country today, to quote from a famous movie of the late 70's, what I see is that people are "... mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"

You see it as society accepting it and I see it as totally out of control and that society is responding in anger when the truth comes out. In the case of Blumenthal, his embellishment was considered quite small, but the shock value of someone who was considered to be highly ethical and with great integrity stunned his followers. It came out before the election and what should have been a landslide turned into a close race against a lesser opponent.

Carols,

I'm not proposing anything but am suggesting that we need some perspective on this issue. Society has changed and even though the definition of integrity hasn't changed, how we behave and what we accept today is very different than what was accepted 100 years ago. In essence we have redfined our tolerance for the definition. Let's face it, we all understand that morality has been tossed out the window.

We can continue to redfine virtues because we are the keeper of those keys, no one else. We've already proven that we can redefine them because our behavior is all the proof we need. What we haven't done is simply communicated that we are changing the definition, but that's nothing more than a formality, actions speak louder than words.

@Henry

I see your point, but I believe that your argument is based on the premise that the world is black and white as opposed to it's real color, grey. When you get pulled over for speeding, do you always get a ticket, no. It's very black and white, the officer captured you going over the speed limit, yet he may have let you off that day for whatever reason.

I agree with you about defining embellishment, but that was never my point. At the end of the day what really comes down to is judgment and this is very individual. Even in your example, the constituents had to chose between someone that told a lie and someone that was less of a candidate, they chose the liar, what does that tell you.
I neither am for or against in this arguement, my point is that the answer isn't simple and it isn't black and white.
Great conversation, I appreciate everyone's input, this is interesting.

None, for all the obvious reasons.

Belldon: What you are saying is that in most cases the system is broken and I have to say I agree with you comments

Electronic screening programs do not require applicants to bend the truth about their education, experience and skills. Applicants who do not meet the screening job requirements and chose to enter incorrect information about their education, experience and skills to meet the screening requirements lack integrity.

Recruiters, head hunters and professional resume writers who assist candidates in tweaking their education, experience and skills to ensure that they meet job qualification requirements lack integrity.

There is no excuse for misrepresentation on the candidate's part. Seasoned HR recruiters and HR managers can usually spot these candidates, especially when they copy the experience requirements, but if not, hopefully they will be identified during the interview process or they will soon be seeking employment elsewhere.

Why would anyone want to work with someone who lacks integrity?

This is a rather interesting debate. I would suggest that John is right that embellishment and lying are prevalent today and a level of embellishment by public figures is condoned by the mainstream in certain circumstances.

We hold public figures to a different standard than we hold other people around us (and ourselves for that matter). It's not necessarily right for a politician to lie but it is condoned to a certain degree. If you're caught lying in a job interview that is entirely different story and this is not acceptable to anyone that I have encountered.

As an aside, I don't think people are more or less moral than before, we have a tendency of confusing social controls for integrity and after a certain age begin suffering from the 'Golden Age' Fallacy - the past was better than the present.

It is not acceptable to bend the truth. Even omitting information may com back to " bite" you. Remember untruths on a CV are grounds for immediate dismissal.

The purpose of a resume' in solely to get an interview. Most organizations are looking for a culture fit with reasonable knowledge/experience for the job.

Also, most companies are looking for recent revalant experience and not what you are going to do.

We can train for a job, we cannot train personality or culture fit.

Just think about job fairs at universities. One interview and ten minutes. Real selling job.

Boy, I think it's just so funny how this is the kind of question that the holier-than-thou folks really love sinking their teeth into.

I think one should not embellish one's credentials, experiences, skills, etc., in resumes, applications, or interviews. I think employers should present a realistic view of the company to prospective employees. Do I think this always happens? Of course not. But, I think it is important to "be the change you want to see in the world," so I choose to be as honest as possible when either applying or hiring. Sometimes those old adages are still relevant, like: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." I don't like being lied to (which is why I strongly advocate for actually checking the information on applicants' resumes), so I encourage applicants to do their own investigation into the company before joining the team.

Never....
I have to be honest and say that even embellishing the truth is not worth it, if you are looking forward to get on board on a serious company. If younare desperate for a job, then you may use "embellishing" terminology. Just remember that a knowledgeable leader will read between lines and will spot very easily where there is substance and where substance is outweighed by blah blahs...
Best wishes

It is simply not acceptable.
We teach our college's graduates that a resume is a sales tool and they are now selling themselves. Let's put the questions another way: "When is it acceptable to bend the truth on a sales brochure?” The answer is the same but probably seems clearer when stated this way.
It is no more acceptable for an employee to bend the truth on a resume than for an employer to bend the truth on a job description or job offer.
That said, in the job searching class we teach, the technique of customizing the resume text to match the job description within reason (e.g. the job requires "sales representative" experience and the candidate's title was the equivalent "team associate," then incorporate a phrase like "duties of a sales representative" as part of the description when customizing the resume for this employer). Never lie but certainly make a case as to why you are a good candidate for the open position.
As an observation of this, we noticed a few years ago that after the proliferation of typing programs for home computers, more employer were requiring typing certificates from certainly exclusive agencies. The reason was people were making their own typing certificates that met employers' speed qualifications but, once hired, instead of being able to type 65 wpm, ended up only typing 25. How those that "bent the truth this way thought they wouldn't get caught once they were on the job is fascinating.
By the way, I noticed in the question the phrase "bend the truth" is in quotes. I thought that was interesting because it implies bending the truth refers to something that just wasn't acceptable.

Charlie, excellent analogy, but there are so many places we could find them in the world today, it's not much of a treasure hunt.

Let me toss a little more gasoline on the fire. I think this issue has nothing to do with bending the truth, that happens all the time, whether you like it or not. Here's the real issue at hand, judgement or decision making. We live in a world where decisions have to be made, but the world we live in isn't black and white, 't's very grey. Bending the truth is lying, let's not kid ourselves, it's simply a matter of degree. For those of you that said it's not acceptable, you are being very unrealistic, not only is it acceptable but it takes place every day. When you suggest it's not acceptable, you want the world to be simple, black and white. We as leaders have to decide based on all the information we have what we will accept and won't accept, it can't be so simple. Remember, there isn't one person on this post or any other post that hasn't bent the truth at one time in our lives.
We can't and don't treat all situations the same. Look to our judicial system, do we believe that a blue collar and white collar workers are punished the same for the same crime, studies suggest that not to be the case.

I'm not advocating for either position, just suggesting that we have to deal with reality and make the best decision we can based on the information we have and remember that the world is very grey.

It isn't difficult to determine if lying is unethical and deceptive. Indicating that you have a college degree when you don't is clearly lying plus it is an insult to those of us who have worked hard for our degrees. Writing that you've increased sales by 150% over the last 2 years is lying if you haven't. Seems black and white to me. I'd assume that most individuals would agree that lying can ruin careers and relationships. The question really becomes: where does marketing and persuasion cross the line?

Adding such topics as discrimination can complicate this discussion. Employers cannot discriminate against candidates for such things as sex, race, color, age, religion, etc. If you have been in HR for any length of time, you know that discrimination is alive and doing well. If you fall into any of the discrimination categories and/or have been discriminated against, I bet you write your resume document to market yourself well and you certainly wouldn't advertise the very thing that will help an employer discriminate against you.

Is it okay to withhold your 50+ age? Should you reveal that you've had ovarian cancer for the last year and have gone to hell and back with chemo treatments? Do you want to disclose that you've relocated from the east coast to the west coast because of a nasty 2 year divorce? What about disguising your name or years of experience you have?

Embellishing, marketing, persuasion, bending the truth, etc walk a fine line.

It's good to know people think like this.

Good to know this kind of thinking is going on.

What an incredible array of responses! And what an incredible number of assumptions on this topic.

There is no "correct" answer to this question, each person must evaluate his/her own situation, skills, competencies & experiences against the requirement at hand and then make their own judgement call.

The world isnt Black & White and Job Descriptions are never 100% correct. Trying to make the world so and Job Descriptions also would end up in even a greater number of unemployed and an immense number of positions unfilled.

To make this even more interesting, let me encourage those who believe that lying is simply black or white, Google, Did Mother Teresa ever lie?

Val/ I am totally with you that candidates should aim higher and push the boundaries. Honestly, these days the 'resume' is obsolete. Reference checks are key. Fact is the truth comes out. I like candidates who tell me straight up what they have done, what they are great at and what they are not great at, and more importantly, what they 'really' want to do. The latter is where I find the 'passion' in the candidate. Reference checks then help me see if the candidate has the ability to push the boundaries. Why hire someone to do what they do well (which is clearly a sign of complacency), rather hire folks who can rock the world, inspire clients and colleagues. For me in depth reference checks beat a resume anytime, and you cant fudge references (and you have to be careful re references to make sure they are legit, which generally they are, as professionals are ethical).

John, I wasn't implying that it is okay for employers to lie about culture. If they do lie about culture or other issues, their punishment is often reflected in their employee turn over rate, harassment suits, overall attitude of employees, and ultimately their success if they don't change their leadership. Decision making and leadership are the most important factors here - on the employer and candidate side. I have a Fortune 500 client in Pittsburgh that has a bad reputation. I have a very hard time staffing for them - they are known for treating employees poorly. Word does travel. BTW- I don't keep that info from my clients. I let them know that the employer is tough and expectations are high.

It is more difficult/intimidating for candidates to ask potential employers the tough questions without coming off as aggressive. This is a huge reason why finding a position through networking is key. If your friend is referring you for a position, they should already know about the culture. If you are applying for a position the traditional route, it is certainly a challenge to get to the truth. Forums and spending time on sites like the glassdoor do help when candidates are making assessments about a potential employer.

Someone lying about their college degree might not be important to you but it is important to me and my profession. Many of my clients (companies) only want someone with a college degree. I cannot have a candidate lie to me. It effects my integrity if I send a client a candidate who has lied.

I think that we've seen some leaders get canned this past year for lying on their resume. Here at Texas A&M, we had two top level executives get fired for lying on their RESUMES.

With all of that said, it can be difficult to put together a good marketing tool/campaign if the whole package doesn't live up to the hype. A Fortune 500 company can have great perks and do well in their industry, but each department/unit can certainly function differently and that comes down to leadership and decision making,

The same goes for an individual. We all have pros and cons. Finding the balance between over embellishing and the ultimate truth can be hard in a 1-2 page document.

@ Belldon, not sure why I cannot comment under your post but here is my response:

I was originally shortening my response. I certainly don't hold back and I let contractors know that 75% are fired in the first two weeks - among other straight up facts. I've also had discussions with the client about their poor reputation. However, if a company is not in an at-will state, they can have a difficulty getting rid of a full-time employee who is a poor decision maker, who is doing a poor job with the hiring int he first place. So the cycle continues.

From a more simplistic point of view: if marketing, persuasion, bending the truth, etc weren't important, then the hair coloring industry wouldn't be $25-40 billion large, suits/clothing wouldn't be important, the cosmetic/plastic surgery industry might not be $billions either, etc.

Here's my advice... if a prospect took the effort it would require to "bend the truth" and, instead, applied it to actually getting in front of the right employer they'd have a better chance of getting a job.

Example: I get resumes from people who want to intern with us every week. This week, instead of sending a resume, the person asked if he could visit our office to meet me. I didn't even know what it was about but I rarely turn down an opportunity to meet someone. He sat down and asked me a bunch about my business and then asked whether there may be opportunities for him to intern. I never looked at his resume, or his LinkedIn profile... but guess who is on top of my list right now?

Resumes don't get you a job.

@Amy,
Thank for the clarification, much appreciated. I wonder if Bill Gates, Michael Dell or Mark Zuckerberg applied for a position with your clients if they'd have any chance of getting hired, none of them have a degree. It's interesting that those CEO's were terminated. I'm wondering if they were making an impact in the organization and if they were, who made the decision to let them go, I'm going to guess it was someone who viewed the situation as being simply black and white. If they were making an impact on business, I would have kept them employed and perhaps disciplined them at best. Why throw out the baby with the bath water, how on earth does that make good business sense.

@ Belldon, very nicely articulated, I especially appreciated your comments about "Always" and 'Never", how very true.

Amy

This forum software won't allow a reply to a reply. If you reply to your initial comment, though, the reply will appear chronologically under mine, and so forth.

I understand what you are saying about shortening your response, and I knew that.

The point though, is this: you made a short statement to express what you wanted us to know. Isn't that what we are doing when submitting a resume? Then when you were called on it as potentially 'bending the truth', you had an opportunity to explain further. Do we also give that opportunity to our applicants?

Amy I am not wanting to point a finger here, or call you out. I am only pointing out that we are to greater or lesser degrees societally programmed. We bend the truth constantly-- all of us-- without even realizing it. So why are we being so judgmentally harsh on applicants in this thread?

As to your fashion points, I talk about this in my book, The Unstoppable Performance Team. We are not only trained from infancy to lie and misrepresent ourselves with our clothing, our grooming and our demeanor, it is in fact absolutely expected and required of us, and we WILL receive punitive consequences for disregarding the expectation. What we write and say is a different venue but the same dynamic. WE, as hiring managers, are dictating to applicants what we expect them to do and say. Applicants are only doing their best to follow OUR rules so they have that chance to get their foot in the door and 'explain further'.

Let me say that I do appreciate you, Amy. Many of the contributors on this thread are commenting in a very harshly judgmental manner. I don't make you out that way. Thank you for being an open-minded and forward thinking professional.

Together, lets put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com

Even though, I am totally against bending the truth, I think we have two issues:
First, I strongly believe that this is related to the culture (not the Company’s Culture, but the Country’s Culture.) When you're in a culture that accepts truth bending, both the hiring company and the applying candidate will tend to bend the truth. Discovering the lie after the recruitment will be hard in both directions. Not meeting the company's expectation is similar to not meeting the employee's expectations, and in both cases, the company will be the great looser. Yet it is cultural and hard to change.
Second, sometime you're pushed to bend the truth when no one gives you the chance to prove yourself where you don't have experience. In such case, I usually get a book on the subject, read it and then change my resume telling the recruiter that I know the subject at an academic level with no experience. I'm safe, the truth is a bit bent (It is my own reading academy). And it works.

As a consultant I fill my CV with facts I participated in. I was told by a few headhunters that they needed only realisations which I could say I was in charge of...
From that time, I reviewed my CV letting people think I did the things.
The truth is that when you advise (this is the consultant's responsibility and he is payed for that) you do not carry out anything else that recommandations.
So I'm now bending my CV to have a chance to get an interview.
I'm not very proud of it but I make mine actions and reesponsibilities which belong to others but I can't find an other satisfactory way of advancing in my search.
It appears to me that if there is a need for bending the truth, it just means that people aren't anymore able to read and understand CV. Recruiters are so junior that they think an EDP process is the secret of a good head hunting assignment.
So I consider it as necessity to bend the truth as the situation evoluated in such way that not doing it could just lead to disaster.

Truth and "bend the truth" aren't to be defined as it belongs to the dictionnary writers to do it. Anyway, the extent we give to words is in question. For instance, if somebody is genuinely over self confident and writes his CV showing evidence that he is perfectly reliable, is he bending the truth ? Surely and unconsciously : YES he is but if he succeeds in the job then he wasn't... !
I don't think our young fellows recruiters are able to scrutinize candidates so deeply and must then rely on their computers to give them appropriate answers by some "words recognizing processes" who make them confident in their short list. We could then think that recruiters need applicants to bend the truth because they desperatly need to get some "in the scope applicants".

As I fill in a resume I will include things I have done or completed in my career. I do not embellish. Honesty is the best policy. There are things I will leave just because I may look over qualified.

Hmm, who says lying is good -- however everyone’s lies in the life. People lie knowing that lie is bad -- but still lie to gain a little benefit -- this is human behavior. The thief is the one who is being caught others are very pious. We can spend all the time debating it and not going to resolve -- keep it up.

Hmm, who says lying is good -- however everyone’s lies in the life. People lie knowing that lie is bad -- but still lie to gain a little benefit -- this is human behavior. The thief is the one who is being caught others are very pious. We can spend all the time debating it and not going to resolve -- keep it up.

Hmm, who says lying is good -- however everyone’s lies in their lives. People lie knowing that lie is bad -- but still lie -- to gain a little benefit -- this is human behavior. The thief is the one who is being caught others are very pious. We can spend all the time debating it however lying is bad but we still lie!

Some folks are always ready to cast the first and last stone.

For those whom have the following responsibilities, Executive, Salesman, Trainer and Educator, or Consultant, you will understand my thoughts; .

As an overseer, you expect to trust your people. If they are willing to embellish (extensively?) on a resume, then what occurs when they are in front of clients, out of ear-shot!

--Is it truthfulness? or 'Honor'!
--Is it truthfulness? or 'Integrity'!
--Is it truthfulness? or 'Self Respect'!
--Is it truthfulness? or '.................' (Fill in)

Just tell them the truth.
They say the truth takes many forms! What does yours resemble!

We in fact all of us bend the truth everyday. The resume is certainly the most visible place we exercice our innate talent for "lying".
Resume is an exercice where you must present yourself the best way possible. For the photo, if you decide to join one, you will certainly wear a tie if you want to look "serious" or decide that you're young and modern minded and decide not to wear one. You will emphasize some samples of your personal successful achievments as you have only been one member of a large team the success belongs to.
In french we do have an expression which describes perfectly this situation "faire la mariée belle" which could be translated litteraly (by the way, I don't know what the english appropriate expression is and am interested in learning it) by "make the bride beautiful".
We behave as if we had a multiple personality as Dr Jekill and Mr Hyde but obviously not so frightening.
You may have an appointment, arrive smartly dressed, project the impression you were looking for and the next morning meet your future boss while shopping for the WE. I'm pretty sure that social differences will fastly appear from both sides and truth will be reestablished with issues you don't know yet.

I agree christopher , But to what extent . We are talking about your resume . In the process of screening , backgrounding,finding ideal candidates to positions .
In Sales we know its all about the sale . The final product .
If you have ever owned a busness , Screened candidates , Completed backgrounds on individuals ,you know it takes an extensive amount of work.
Certain positions require a certain level of integrety .
If I want temperary positions i hire temps to fill the position knowing that i really dont need the extensive background.
But if I hire a position that requires the candidate to learn an extensive knowledge of my business identity.Then I have to be able to count on decision makers who will have the level of integrety needed .
It is not always about black,white,grey,preferences,choices,likes,dislikes
It is about developed patterns,habits,personallity traits that affect the business culture & operations of the busness.
Building a good structure requires a good foundation and that starts with charactor qualities , which are developed in simple little things like resumes and what we put on the resume .
This Portrays to the person reading it a sense of background ( Road Map ) of your life
Many Differences in life applications of this .
Certain jobs,task,positions you dont care , others it is absolutly critical to have a full detail of the roadmap , and be very sure of what is in & on the roadmap.

I guess I should clarify my views & what i percieve the expectation of most people is in fact a sense of trust , integrety , confidence , honesty .

All have something in thier attic or closet or background that thier not proud of .This is not about what is in the attic , it is about right now , what you do , dont do , say , dont say .
The Document or letter you submit is about now , what you believe to be your past history
There is nothing wrong with leaving out what can be discussed in privacy or confidentiallity
Its not about being a saint or the best of the best , or the worst of the worst .
No one is with out error , Thats to be human
Its all about the document you submit , Statements Made , Embellishments of deception or not .
Habits are developed , Broken , or Changed
We all make choices daily , and change direction daily .
Choices we make today , set the stage for where we can or cannot go tommarrow
Whats your level of acceptance or preference or choice , Thats the question ?
It can only be answered individually .

I have received an inordinate amount of personal responses to my post. Thank you for your generosity and continued clarification on a very difficult topic.

My (very direct) statements/comments/beliefs are just that, very direct. There is a story and statement behind each written word and comment.

Remember, through asking better questions, we receive better answers', is what each of us must seek to achieve.

From the people who care the most; those whom have the longest relationships with us, those whom interact most frequently with us, those most attentive of our words and actions, are our most critical audience.

My audience tells me I am a better business person, overseer, educator, father, husband, and communicator, than I was Ten years ago. This is because of groups of individuals having open discussions, like this, that allow me to improve me. I seek to improve each and every day.

We as overseers must continue to pay forward our knowledge and experience, improve those around us. Assist each person we come in contact with in 'potentially', improving their environment (a little) each day.

Then and only then, are we worthy of our postings.

Thank you again for your emails. I look forward to participating in future postings.

If you anyone would like to have conversations outside of this forum, please feel free to contact me at cjneill@americancryostem.com.

I do not tolerate issues in the resume'. The interview process may reveal discrepencies.

Integrity is important.

I do not get offended easily.

I know this has been a controversial subject. But I am looking at where we are now and where we are headed. I want people to consider truth and honesty to get further. I am here under my own merit and hard work. Integrity is my word.

I appreciate your honesty and conviction Christopher.

If one bends the truth ACCORDING to his potential
and not beyond what he could "honestly" do...
then that is understandable considering
not just the tight job market but because
that's what he "really" IS capable of.

Certainly, employers would look into "experience"
to prove this BUT if they could only realize
that experience is simply years of repetition
that elan and high intellect could easily "bend"
then they should hear his voice as problems,
innovation and creativity are done by the brain
and not simply by experience per se.

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts.
It’s the life in your years.” (Abraham Lincoln)

This is @TheGreatLight.

If one bends the truth ACCORDING to his potential
and not beyond what he could "honestly" do...
then that is understandable considering
not just the tight job market but because
that's what he "really" IS capable of.

Certainly, employers would look into "experience"
to prove this BUT if they could only realize
that experience is simply years of repetition
that elan and high intellect could easily "bend"
then they should hear his voice as problem solving,
innovation and creativity are done by the brain
and not simply by experience per se.

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts.
It’s the life in your years.” (Abraham Lincoln)

This is @TheGreatLight.

i'm surprised no one has brought up the sports analogy yet. look at the use of steroids. young aspiring athletes are told that if they want to stay ahead (or keep up) they need to take every advantage they possibly can. in comes steroids. if everyone else is doing it, am i going to cut myself short of a legitimate opportunity because of it. can i look myself in the mirror if i take the steroids? maybe not. can i look myself in the mirror if i let others who gamed the system cut me out of an opportunity? maybe not. the issue is systemic...and until it's fixed at that level, i think it's really up to the individual to determine how far they are willing to game the system. i can't tell you where that boundary is (neither as an employer nor as a human) - only your conscience can do that.

Just do what politicians do. They get elected and well pay.
By the way CEO of big companies are at their place not by telling the full truth about them-self. They are there because some people made an representation of what they see in their own brain. They are there because of friends or cronies. I never found a corporation being honest, so why shouldn't you embellish the true, as long it is not a lie.