How to Avoid Exaggerating In Your Resume

Posted by in Career Advice •


When you’re drafting a resume, it is tempting to stretch the truth some so that you appear to be more impressive than maybe your skills might indicate. However, while there is such a thing as packaging your resume in a smart way, choosing words that tell the truth, yet sound sensational, for example, you want to avoid flat-out exaggerating. So, how can you avoid crossing the fine line from smart resume packaging to exaggeration? Here are a few ideas to consider … Choose Creative Ways to Describe Your Skills and Accomplishments It’s one thing to choose a creative way to describe what you’ve accomplished in prior positions; fudging the truth is another matter altogether. If you are able to find creative words for what you’ve actually done, you’re considered a smart cookie. However, if you fudge the truth and tell a story that didn’t happen, you’re considered a liar. It’s very important that you carefully choose what you write in your resume because everything can be tracked. So if you tell an employer that you were managed 10 employees in packing department, when in actuality you managed handing out daily assignments drawn up by the real manager of the packing department, you could find yourself in deep trouble for fudging the truth. Using action words like managed, oversaw, developed and arranged are good ways to make small tasks look bigger, as long as using them doesn’t result in a lie. Get Used to Telling the Truth How do you find the happy medium between exaggerating and underselling yourself? The best way is to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. For instance, if you’ve managed an average of 50 calls per day, successfully routing them to the appropriate party via the company’s complex phone system, yet on your resume, you write that you were "in charge of answering phones", you’re only telling a half-truth. Of course, you don’t want to say that you developed the intricate phone system yourself because that would be an outright lie. So what’s a happy medium? Tell them that you "managed an average of 50 calls per day, successfully routing them to the appropriate party via the company’s complex phone system". Do you see how that works? You were much more specific about what you did and were able to tell the truth, making your accomplishment much more impressive without having to lie. Use Your Cover Letter to Back You Up If you feel that you simply do not have enough experience to make a hard sell in your resume without exaggerating, use your cover letter as a way to tell your stories in detail. Since resumes only leave room for one- and two-liners, they can feel restrictive. By using your cover letter to better describe your experience, you can help to make up for what your resume lacks. You don’t want to get into the habit of stretching the truth in your job applications. One little "white lie" can come back to bite you in a big way. Instead, find ways to creatively tell the truth about your accomplishments. No matter how small you think they are, they are yours and you should be proud of them.

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  • George M.
    George M. •
    I think one problem businesses face today is that the HR department doesn't really understand what is involved in a given job, because they don't work with the people in that department. Therefore they fall back on lists of buzzwords and general criteria. Many of the most important advances in industries have been from people who came in the "side door" without official accreditation. These people bring very different backgrounds, which can lead to out-of-the-box thinking, rather than same-old-rut solutions.
  • Joye
    Joye •
    In response to the question on the cover letter, and whether it is necessary. Ask yourself this question....if the 15-30 minutes you spend on a well worded cover letter gets you an opportunity for an interview, is it worth it? Let's say that 95 people applied for the same position, but only 15 sent letters. Out of the 15, 5 were original and well-worded. My guess is that the hiring manager would at least glance at the cover letters. The cover letter gives you an opportunity to showcase your written communication skills. And, because cover letters are often not submitted, those that are written well, will at least give you an opportunity to make an additional pitch.
  • Arnie Sherr
    Arnie Sherr •
    Falsifying and/or exaggerating and being creative are two different things. In fact, recent surveys by Berend College in Erie, PA. (http://www.pserie.psu.edu/student/cdc/resumes.htm) report that executive search firms and many HR professionals have changed the rules because of the huge numbers of resumes received for consideration. Exaggerating and embellishing has become extinct because the average time presently allotted to assessing whether or not to give resumes a closer look is about 10-20 seconds. In order for this to be accomplished it is suggested resumes be in functional formats stating attributes, characteristics, duties and accomplishments, etc. without results and/or embellishments. I think they understand how much applicants want to improve their chances of being interviewed. I believe they also understand that much of what they read as results and embellishments may be exaggerated and/or contrived for that purpose. There is more supporting documentation on the Internet. In addition, interviews on CNN and other news networks have also discussed these new resume writing rules.
  • Moin
    Moin •
    I was talking to my Director HR as well as recruiter at my work place & both of them told me that these days people do not have time to go through Cover Letter and mainly they look at your resume directly. Can you please elaborate that how important it is to attach a cover letter whenever you apply for a job- Thank you. waiting to hear from you soon!
  • Holly Wood
    Holly Wood •
    I would like to add that a cover letter also offers the opportunity to describe how one's skills can be isomorphic to a different position. If one can describe how experience in a different position has keen applicability to the position applied for, that is valuable versatility.
  • Maria Evora
    Maria Evora •
    There's a difference between hyperbolism and simply making yourself stand out from the rest. I agree about being as accurate and descriptive as possible, of course if you have the know how. But in the end, what do employers go by when hiring? One may never know!
  • Cheryl Poland
    Cheryl Poland •
    I have put out over 300 resumes in the last year and get interviews but find that a lot of the Employers interviewing me don't really "READ" my resume.  The jobs I am applying for sometimes do not fall in line with the Employer's criteria where my resume is concerned and yet they want to interview me anyways; which sometimes requires long trips across the country.    A good resume is important and you do not want to lie.  You also need to pay attention to what jobs you are being asked to interview for and decide if they really fall within your own guidelines as to what you will be comfortable with.When you are faced with an interview for a position you did not intent on taking you need to really think about what your challenges might be during the interview process.  I say if your resume doesn't support the position being applied for, chances are you will flunk the interview regardless of how good your resume might appear and especially now a days with 20 to 30 others vying for the same job.I believe as prospective employees we need to be more aware of our real experience when applying for a position as doing so will keep you from changing your story once you get in front of an interviewer.  I am still not convinced that all Human Resource Managers really read through and grasp the key points on a resume and my experience has proven as such when it comes to the actual interviews.
  • Dan Folkerts
    Dan Folkerts •
    I know that lieing on your resume is not good. I was actually caught doing it one time and it cost me a job I really wanted. But, I am in sales, and most companies won't even look at you if you have been out of work for sometime, because they look at it as you being out of touch with your clients, and that is what they want, someone who can bring in new clients to them right away.  I know, because I had a company tell me this.  
  • John Forsyth
    John Forsyth •
    In my opinion you have to exaggerate.   Simply having a smart resume won't separate you from the 1000s of resumes being submitted.   You exaggerate by finding the importance of what you did and stating the impact; in numbers. Think about how marketing agencies sell products.   The trick is that you need to back up everything you put on your resume.   A flat out line would be ridiculous. In the end you'll put too much energy in remembering all the lies you told.  Energy that can be used to prepare a stunning resume or prepare for an interview.
  • scott ellison
    scott ellison •
    Hello;I have been in sales and Partnership Marketing for quite sometime. I have posted great numbers with these companies. I was hired to do this as well as consult on private business issues.  I also had to sign letters that prohibit me from disclosing key information on the company. About the only thing I can give out is the work I did in a general sense and I can mention my sale numbers only and that's about it...how does one do this or say in a resume?Scott Ellison
  • Mike
    Mike •
    The problem with this approach is that employers make you lie.  They MAKE you lie.  They always want someone who has 100% of the exact experience and skills that the job requires, rather than someone who has most of the skills and experience and who can learn fast.  They never stop to wonder why someone would leave a job at one company for the exact same job at another.  There are only two reasons I can think of.  One is that the person is unhappy where they are now.  This happens to good people, but it also happens to bad.  The second reason is for more pay or better benefits.  If you hire a person who only wants more pay or benefits, you're hiring someone who will spend their time looking for a better offer rather than working.  
  • Jonathan Abamba
    Jonathan Abamba •
    I quite agree to your explanation and position. However, how do you advertise yourself to be attracted and be bought by a potential highly placed employer in the labour market, when you do not add "those words" that will actually catch the attention of the employer. The way a product is advertised goes a long way to attracting customers and increasing sales (which in this case, is the salary to the employee).Please shed more light on this.

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