How to Remove Lies From Your Resume (and LinkedIn) Without Getting Fired...

So you've distributed a lie on your resume.  Maybe a big one, maybe a small one.

Still, if you've been following the saga of Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson, any lie on your resume should give you cause for pause.  Consider the rundown of Thompson's alleged character issue via a resume lie from the San Jose Mecrury News:

"Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Scott Thompson will step down from the helm of the Sunnyvale Internet company after a furor resulting from a false degree on his company bio, according to a Sunday report.

Thompson, who took over as head of the struggling company less than six months ago, claimed he received degrees in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College near Boston, but Yahoo's largest outside investor revealed earlier this month that the accounting degree was the only one he earned.

Yahoo admitted Thompson did not receive a computer science degree, but termed it an "inadvertent error." That did not halt the controversy stemming from the revelation, however, and Thompson's attempts at damage control -- two apologies to Yahoo staff and claims that the error resulted from a mistake by an executive search firm that recruited him to his former job at PayPal -- did little to calm calls for his job."

Thompson did something that's common - he had a degree, but claimed a specific degree he thought would help him in his preferred career path.  Then, when his career took off, he didn't remove the error.

I'm not telling you to lie.  I'm telling you that if you lie, you need to get the lie off your resume at some point.  Increasingly, that little lie is coming back to haunt people at all career levels.

Here's how to remove a lie from your resume:

1.  Pledge to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

2.  The next time you distribute a resume, go with the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  Guess what?  You get credit for the job you got with the resume lie in your new version of the real truth.

It's really that simple.  You've lied on your resume.  Just stop the madness with the next resume you distribute.  Be brave.

Of course, simply changing the resume back to the whole truth and nothing but the truth isn't as simple as that.

Then you've got to figure out the LinkedIn thing as well.   That's right, LinkedIn.

Odds are if you lied on your resume, you've lied on LinkedIn.  That's problematic, because that's not nearly as private as you distributing a resume in a private job search.

Thoughts on dealing with the LinkedIn problem:

1.  If you lose your job, change everything, including LinkedIn, automatically.  It's a natural breaking point and the risk is low at that point.

2.  If you're still employed, odds are the lie isn't about job title or broad responsibilities - since all your company could see those.  It's probably a supplemental detail, like a degree.

3.  One way to deal with the LinkedIn problem: Activity Broadcasts.  Login and go to your name at the top right hand corner, then click "settings".  Then check "Activity Broadcasts", then uncheck the box that alerts people when you make changes to your profile.  This ups the chance you can make the change without people being aware that you're changing the detail in question.

4.  If you don't think #3 provides you enough cover, go for neutralizing what your profile says.  Instead of changing what your degree is in, do #3 and simply change the degree to "B.A.", without mention of a specific degree.

It's time to grow up and remove the lies - even the little ones - from your resume.

Do it before something that small and stupid causes your career harm.  Trust me, it's not worth it, and after your second job and the experience you have at that point, no one really cares.

Comments

[Craig Fisher]

Kris, great post. Many people lie by omission. Heck, most recruiters encourage it. Obviously that is preferable listing false data. But how true is it? Can we really tell the whole truth? Love this topic. Cheers, CF

[Paul]

As a professional executive recruiter, we strongly discourage lying on a resume. In fact, my firm goes to great lengths to uncover inconsistencies. This post is fantastic because most of the time people don't know how to STOP lying. The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; the second best time is today.
~ Paul @ Lantern Partners

[Lou Carter]

The best and safest thing to do is to be truthful. Honesty is the best policy and you need not worry about any inconsistencies at all. If you lie you will be found out no matter what.

Great Topic.

[Corey Harlock]

Great topic, thanks for posting.

While agree 100% that you should never present fake education on your resume, you are never obligated to provide everything piece of education you have ever received either!

We know that being over qualified will get you eliminated as quickly as being under qualified and the job of your resume is to make you the perfect candidate by providing the information asked for in the job ad - no more, no less.

[Alan McWhirter]

Don't lie on your CV! Sometimes the little white variety are ok and very commonplace but fibbing about a degree is silly!!

[Marben Bland]

Great post on an important and often under reported issue.

[Kristin]

Two things: First, search firms (good ones) perform degree and employment verification. If you lie, we know. Second, be aware that search firms keep great records in today's world. If 'Joe' first became a candidate in 1995, was on the market again in 2009, 2005 and now in 2012 we have ALL those resumes. If the dates and degrees are ever changing you can be eliminated immediately from consideration.

[Ken]

HA! Remember Will Rogers; he is quoted as saying, "Tell the truth, it is easier to remember." I love that for the absolute simplicity. I put it out to my kids the same way.

[Lyndi]

I think it is an absolute duty for a recruiter to double check information provided on a resume. We do not encourage falsifying information.

[Jeff Newman]

Yes, checking for the truth is integral for recruiting... But I tend to remember Obi-Wan Kenobi, "It was the truth, from a certain point of view"... Scott Thompson? Black and white lie. Most are not as clear, like the omissions @Craig Fisher mentions, or plenty of others. Such a fine line between fluffing and lies, sadly.

[Leandro A. Pezzente]

People wouldn't need to lie if HH.RR. Analysts weren't so discriminatory. If HH.RR. Analysts didnt prefer to being lied , then more people would tell the truth in their resumes.

[Jessica Rozitis]

Didn't our parents all teach us to 'not tell fibs'? As a parent, I tell my children the truth, and expect them to do the same. To lie on your resume just seems so foreign to me, by my recruiting colleagues tell me that there have been 'embellishments' on some of their candidates' resumes. It it pretty easy to catch. As for the Activity Broadcasts on LinkedIn - that's a no brainer. I unchecked that box ages ago. Wish more people would do the same, just so my feed wasn't so cluttered.

Great topic. Love your blog.

[Tony Beard]

The really sad thing here is the fact candidates believe they have to lie in order to get an interview/job. I've always believed that true ability and merit will prevail; and I've personally witnessed the demise of colleagues who have been found out for not being able to perform a role their CVs claimed they could. The fact is the truth will always out....eventually

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[Mirjana]

Thanks for posting,
I agree with you, the best thing to do is to be truthful.But hypothetically I tell firm the truth and I expect the firm to do the same. Didn't many companies provide fake information about their function?

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A mistake by an executive search firm that recruited him to his former job at PayPal -- did little to calm calls for his job.