Have you heard that everyone lies on their resumes?
Well, I don’t recommend it. This is definitely one of those “If everyone jumped off a cliff…” pieces of advice. In other words, even if everyone is doing it, it’s not a good idea!
Why?
Because chances are very good you will get found out, and that does not reflect well on you. I used to work at a local university, and came in one day to find tensions high and little pods of people clustered together and having whispered conversations. It turns out that a high-level administrator had lied about her education, claiming an advanced degree she didn’t have. And yes, that person was summarily fired—escorted out of the building, told she was no longer welcome on campus, and told that she would be tagged as not eligible for rehire. That last piece is important because that particular university has a policy of only disclosing the dates someone worked there and if that person is eligible for rehire, so when Part 2 is a resounding no, other schools are unlikely to move forward with the candidate.
And there are also lots of stories floating around about people who claimed skills or expertise they didn’t actually have and got caught flat-footed in embarrassing ways, or people who said they’d worked at an organization they hadn’t. The list goes on, and it really never ends well for the person trying to resume-fluff.
That said, you also don’t need to volunteer info like a bad ending of a job. In fact, if you have a shorter-term job that didn’t end well, you can leave it off your resume altogether, with some exceptions. (Federal jobs often want a full list of your entire employment history, so be ready if that’s where you’re applying.) For longer jobs that wrapped up on a bitter note, just put your end date in and be ready to tell your story in a general and non-blamey sort of way. You can skip listing jobs like that, as well, but that often has the unfortunate side effect of leaving a hole in your experience, which could bite you if that was your most recent job.
Similarly, in interviews, you absolutely don’t need to volunteer that you were fired, but I would also encourage you to tell the truth if they ask flat-out. Something along the lines of, “Yes, I have been fired. My last job went through a change of management, and my new supervisor and I did not agree on priorities, so it was the best decision all around. Beyond that, I have excellent working relationships with my previous managers and colleagues, as you will note if you contact my references.” I will also add the quick reminder that most of us get fired once or twice in our professional lives. I think of it almost as a (very unpleasant) rite of passage.
And if you’ve been laid off, don’t fret. That’s not at all the same as being fired, even if it has happened to you multiple times. So don’t hesitate to list that as a reason you left a previous role. Layoffs aren’t your fault unless you’re the one who decided to do them! Instead, they are decisions the company made based on perceived financial need. You were simply unlucky. (But do file for unemployment in that case.)
In short, honesty is definitely the best policy when you’re looking for a new job, but that doesn’t mean you need to over-share things. Which, come to think of it, is also my philosophy around social media.
