What Are the Consequences of Lying on a Resume?

In the competitive job environment, all individuals try to present the best of themselves in order to get hired at specified positions. There is no harm in marketing yourself, but it shouldn’t be leaned towards dishonesty. While you are applying for the jobs, you may try to capture the attention of recruiters by mentioning skills and experiences on your resume that you don’t possess.

You should know that lying on a resume could land you in serious trouble. It is essential to know about the negative consequences it can have on your career. Read on to find the side effects of lying on a resume and how you can create the best resume to captivate the interest of hiring managers.

Consequence of Lying on a Resume

Lying on a resume can lead to several consequences that can go beyond bad and become worsened. Let’s have a look at what you can suffer from after you have been caught lying in a resume. 

1. Lose Respect Among Fellows

Let’s say you intentionally lied on your resume. Instead of getting caught, you passed the entire recruitment process and got hired for the position. After some time, the company may start questioning you for breaking promises or failing to deliver what is stated in your resume.

Finding out that you have lied on your resume and in interviews will not only embarrass you in front of your employer but also in front of your colleagues. Lying will make you part of the workplace gossip, and you’ll be in for a shock when people start pointing fingers at your reputation or your work at the company.

2. Damage Your Reputation

It’s basically in the hands of employees how they maintain their reputation and name in the company and industry. Lying on a resume will work in the opposite direction, and it will destroy your entire reputation in the market. Whether the lies you have mentioned in the resume are big or small, they will make you suffer a lot.

The work you have done in the past won’t contain any value after such an allegation gets proven in your name. Besides businesses, word-of-mouth is also crucial for job hunters as well. If you have been caught lying on a resume, any of your peers or friends won’t risk referring to you as a potential candidate whenever the opportunity arises.

3. Immediate Expulsion

The lies on a resume can lead to severe damage for people working in certain sectors. Although this is an unacceptable practice in every company, in some cases, you may be fired without any prior notice. Sectors such as health care, law enforcement, engineering, and civil services are more sensitive to the people they hire. Lying on your resume when applying for such a job won’t get you any margin and will get you fired from the position you’ve been hired for immediately.

4. Trust Issues Among Employers

After getting caught with a resume full of lies, several doors might get closed in your face. Of course, life gives us second chances. But in this scenario, you may not get a second chance. One of the major reasons behind it is the power of social media. If we specifically talk about the corporate sector, LinkedIn is the social platform where such issues are shared by companies on a regular basis. This will create trust issues among other employers if the company you are applying for falls prey to your lies. They will also share it on a social networking site that includes your bio-data, even after you correct it. 

How to Create the Best Resume Without Lying?

Many people have the misconception that lying is the only way to get noticed by potential employers and get hired. However, the reality is quite different, as lying on a resume can lead to several consequences like the ones described above.

If your resume isn’t allowing you to get an interview call from the companies you’re applying to, it doesn’t mean that you should start lying on the resume. The real problem could be behind the appearance, format, and the way you discuss things in the resume. To overcome this problem, you can utilize an online resume builder and follow the best practices to create a resume. The free resume builder comes with premade templates that are designed by keeping industry best practices in mind. Using such a tool, you won’t face the issues of properly formatting your resume.

You can create the best resume without lying by showing what you possess in the best possible manner. Job seekers are advised to include symbolic performances rather than generic phrases to impress HR managers and employers. Job descriptions should not be overlooked throughout the process, as they help you tailor your resume to the ideal candidate the company is looking for.