The problem of inflated and fraudulent resumes is widely discussed today. According to estimates reported in the media, about a third of all resumes have false information and a third have exaggerations that misrepresent the truth. Sure, these deceptions may get you the job, and many people have gone on to great things once they are in the company and show their work. A prime example is the story of David Geffen, now one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood, who got his start in the William Morris mailroom with a false resume.
But increasingly in today’s info-age, these lies are exposed and people lose jobs, from high-profile coaches and historians to people in everyday jobs. Even U.C. Berkeley’s business school cracked down with background checks on MBA candidates; they found that five of them had listed jobs they hadn’t had, and dropped them from their roster of accepted students. So given the ease of background searching and widely circulated information on the Internet, don’t think you can hide.
Still, there may be times when you don’t have to say anything and shouldn’t. While you have to reveal key information—like the dates of previous jobs and education, you don’t necessarily have to write down such information and there are times when you shouldn’t. After all, there’s no reason to unnecessarily raise the red flags yourself—or worse, wave them to say "Look at me." In other words, there are times to keep your cards to yourself and reveal them only if asked. But then, if you don’t show them, no one may ask.
That’s what almost happened to Joyce, a woman in her 50s who had returned to the workplace and was seeking a job as a counselor in a social welfare agency. She had gone back to school and had just graduated with an MA. in the field, after completing a paid internship at an agency in a larger city. This would be her first real paid job in the field.
But Joyce wasn’t sure what to say about some problems she had encountered along the way. Should she put them in her covering letter, in her resume, or mention them in her interview? When she called me, she had already drafted a letter about what happened, along with an explanation. The problem? During her internship, she had worked with a particularly difficult supervisor who had required the employees to work extra overtime hours to handle an excess case load at a time when the city’s social services’ budget had been cut. But she also asked the employees not to put in for overtime. Grudgingly, the employees went along with the arrangement, but they often griped about it among themselves.
Joyce ran into problems when she went public with these complaints. Without mentioning any names, she told her supervisor that she and many other employees didn’t think the extra hours without extra pay were fair. Instead, she stated, they should either be paid, not asked to work extra hours, or the agency should get more money from the city to compensate them for the overtime. Her supervisor was furious both by the particular demand and the challenge to her own power. The result was a big blowout argument in her supervisor’s office, where her supervisor offered nothing but an ultimatum: "If anyone doesn’t like this, they can leave." And after that, Joyce felt continually on the hot seat at work and experienced a very difficult last month of her internship. She even had to take several days off because of stress.
Now she was thinking of noting the incident in her job application letters. She proposed giving her side of the story and explaining that she was quite happy to work extra hours, if paid to do so. She also was considering including an explanation about her age, thinking that might be issue for a new supervisor who was 20 years younger than she. For instance, she thought she might mention that it sometimes took her a little longer to learn new information, but she could compensate for that by writing things down. Why say all this? Because Joyce was concerned the issues and questions might come up anyway; this way she could tell her side with her own explanation first. But was this the best approach for Joyce to take in seeking a new job?
What Should Joyce Do?
Here are some possibilities. In Joyce’s place, what would you do and why? What do you think the outcomes of these different options would be?
- Provide a good explanation for the problems that came up on her previous job; a potential employer will appreciate her forth- rightness and candor.
- Describe how skilled she is at writing things down to compensate for her difficulty in learning new information; an employer will like someone who is commited to detail and accuracy.
- Leave the information about her problems on her internship off her resume and letter, since she completed the internship to graduate, and the issue will probably not come up.
- Say nothing about her problems with learning new information and compensating for it by writing things down, since employers are not supposed to ask about disabilities.
- Be ready to answer any questions about her weaknesses, should they come up, but otherwise, not volunteer any information.
- Other?
Fortunately, Joyce hadn’t yet sent the letter, because, as I told her, you don’t have to put everything down. Yes, you have to be truthful. But you don’t have to wear your weaknesses on your sleeve. For example, why detail the problem with a supervisor in an internship unless the subject should come up? Very possibly it might not. After all, Joyce had already gotten credit for the program towards her degree, so she could truthfully say she had successfully completed the internship and she wasn’t using that supervisor as a reference since the program was over. Certainly, a reasonable explanation might deflect any further concern about not having the reference, and even if the former supervisor was called, former employers don’t bring up past problems with former employees on their own. Given current privacy laws protecting employees, usually all an employer is likely to say is that a person worked there during a certain period of time. If necessary, Joyce could always respond to a question with an explanation of what happened. But there was no need to raise and wave around the red flag herself.
Likewise, since age information isn’t required on resumes and employers aren’t supposed to ask about it, there was no reason to bring up her age concerns. If Joyce already had a way to compensate for her difficulty in learning and remembering the information needed to do the job by writing it down, why bring that up either? If she could do the job, however she did it, that was what mattered, so there was no need to advertise her weaknesses. In short, she should, as they say, put her best foot forward, and not try to show off all the worn shoes in her closet.
Everyone has some weaknesses, and it’s usually good to acknowledge them if they become relevant and try to improve on them or work around them. But otherwise, in a job or in whatever else you do, it’s best to build on and show off your strengths. That way you appear confident, in charge, and show you can do the job. You don’t want to explain all of the ways you can’t or might not be able to do the work, for then you are very likely not going to be able to show all the ways you can do it.
Joyce did rewrite her letter. She left off the references to weaknesses and emphasized her own strengths that would make her especially qualified, such as her sensitivity and compassion for others and her concern for details and accuracy. Then, in her interview, she stressed her strengths, too. The reference to any conflicts with her former supervisor never came up, and eventually she got the job.
Likewise, should you be seeking a job or a promotion, do think about any weaknesses that might affect your performance and how to compensate for them. Be prepared to address them if asked, such as in response to the common interview question: "What is your greatest weakness?" But otherwise, don’t dwell on your weak points, highlight them, or bring them up, unless you think the problem is almost certain to come up because it’s part of your formal record that’ll be revealed in an ordinary background check. For instance, while actual convictions may turn up in an ordinary background check, arrests may not, and private personnel records in a company generally stay just that—private, except under special circumstances, such as if you waive confidentiality and the company is willing to release those records. Thus, given such privacy protections, focus on your strengths and how you can contribute to an employer’s success. That way you show confidence and the conviction you can do the job; you don’t reveal your concerns that maybe you can’t. Just like a card player, you don’t want to let others know you are holding a hand of low cards, if you plan to stay in the game. Rather, you want to conceal those low cards, particularly if you have a chance to draw again and get a better hand.
Today’s Take-Aways:
- Build on and show off your strengths to both build up your own confidence and others’ confidence in you.
- Don’t advertise weaknesses unless you can turn them into strengths—such as trying harder like Avis, because you’re number 2.
- Don’t worry that a person on a previous job will raise a conflict he had with you. Most likely he won’t raise the issue, since he wants to keep these past problems private as much as you do.
- If your weaknesses aren’t going to interfere with your doing the job, there’s no need to bring them up.
- To get a job, show how you can do it; don’t offer up reasons why maybe you can’t.
- Think of your weaknesses like your underwear; there’s no needto show them off unless you have a good reason to take off your suit or dress.