Resume writing: accuracy & honesty assignment

If there are some “ borderline decisions” that must be made regarding assessment of skills, experience, or education, recruiters recommend erring on the side of caution (Lee 6). For example, if an individual is working toward earning a degree or certification in a certain area, express as much in the resume; do not list the degree or certification as having been received (Lee 6). One call to a college or trade school can easily uncover this frequent deception. An online business that specializes in writing resumes, ResumeDoctor. om, discovered that out of 1, 000 vetted resumes over a six-month period, 43 percent of them included what it described as “ significant inaccuracies” (Cullen 53). An employer background checking organization, InfoCheckUSA, states that resume inaccuracies are unfortunately all-too-common (Connelly). Of the resumes it scans, about 10 percent contain education information that has been falsified, usually pertaining to listing degrees that have not been obtained (Connelly).

Another background checking company, InfoLink Screening Services, provides some other disturbing double-digit statistics in this regard. This company alleges that 14 percent of all American job applicants lie about their education or level of education on their resumes (Cullen 53). Furthermore, approximately 30 percent of employment dates are determined to be incorrect (Connelly). Many human resource professionals believe that more can be learned from a potential employee by the resume presentedthan on the actual job interview.