Lying on a Resume—Your Choice, But a Private Eye Can Find You Out

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The other day I was clicking through the comment sections on various subjects throughout the Internet, letting one bizarre topic lead me to the next. But as I was clicking, reading, and laughing away, I landed on the comment section below this piece about lying on a resume.  One commenter actually gave tips on how to lie to get a job, and I have to admit, some of them are pretty slick and very creative. But they are also easy to catch though a basic Pre-Employment Screening.  Below are some of the suggestions this commenter made--plus the ways a background investigation would easily be able to foil these tricks. In the end the choice is yours, but it’s wise to know the loopholes before you weave a web of white lies.

Part of a year of employment can count as one year.

That is, until someone picks up a phone and calls a company you listed on your resume to verify the specific dates of your employment. Then it will be clear to all involved that “I worked for Lumber International for two years—from 2006 to 2008” actually means “December of 2006 to January of 2008.” Which is technically closer to one year, wouldn’t you say?

List a school “.edu” email address as your email.

A person’s degree is easily verified by calling a school’s registrar, or through education verification databases. Chances are, if a company is looking to hire you and has “pre-employment screening” as part of their policy, you will need to sign a release so that your background can be investigated. That release enables us to verify your degree through these databases. Even in Canada. So don’t try to go all “University of Alberta” on your future employer if you didn’t actually go there.  You’ll get caught.

Register with professional organizations and imply that you are an active member.

Very crafty. There’s just one thing. Many professional organizations require that members pass certain certification exams, and also require that these certifications are kept current. An organization can easily be contacted, and a false claim of active membership can quickly be uncovered.

Google famous companies that have gone out of business (like Lehman Brothers or Wachovia) and list them as past employers. Then get your friends to act as references.

This one is so involved it could reasonably be called a “caper.” Let’s start at the beginning. Many companies, especially big corporations, verify employment through a service called The Work Number.  And according to the good folks at The Work Number, as long as a company was registered with them, (and as I’ve said, many of the big corporations are) they can still verify employment whether the company has folded or not. Now, part two. There is more to questioning a listed reference than “So did Jack work with you at Lentils, Inc.? He did? Great! We’re done here.” A couple of carefully worded questions dealing with specifics will easily expose a fake reference for who he or she is, and raise all kinds of red flags about your credibility.

Dana Rossi is an Investigative Analyst at MSA Investigations