Is it ever okay to tell a half-truth on your resume? Sometimes. There have been times when I have advised clients to change the presentation of their jobs on their resume in order to help their chances of passing the initial screening. I believe in keeping your resume as honest as possible, though. As I’ve said before, you need to write your resume for a computer AND a human.Here’s two common “white lies” that are actually okay —under the right circumstances. I don’t recommend using either one of these methods though, unless you have a specific reason to.- Leaving Jobs Off Of Your Resume-If you have employment that is more than 10-15 years old, go ahead and take it off unless it’s highly relevant to your targeted position. Most resumes don’t need to go past about 10 years. What if the job is recent? Maybe you have a job that you were only at for a few months and you don’t want to include it. This is usually okay, but be careful that you don’t create the appearance of a gap in your employment. Sometimes listing less relevant/less desirable jobs at the bottom of the resume under a small section called “Additional Employment” can be useful. This way it’s much less prominent and you are still disclosing it. Keep in mind that if you do get selected for the job and you are going through a background check, then you may need to disclose the extra employment at that time.
- Modifying Your Job Title- There are times when I have suggested that clients slightly modify their job title. I recommend this sometimes because you are so much more than what your job title implies. But again, this is only something that you do when your job title really doesn’t explain what you do, and maintaining honesty is important here. For example, maybe your actual job title is Office Assistant, but in reality you are in charge of more than just ordering supplies and data entry. You also onboard new employees, help prepare payroll and track budget expenses. In that case, elevating your title to Business Office Manager, or something similar, would be perfectly appropriate. It still represents you accurately and is more aligned with your actual responsibilities.