I’ve been helping out quite a few job seekers and have noticed one irritating nuance – exaggeration of work experience. I hate to be the one to be the bad guy, but if I’m noticing it, so are your potential
employers. Here’s an example of what I’m seeing:
Professional Summary: Over Six years of professional office experience, etc.
1/2010 – Present XYZ Company Office Manager
10/2008 – 12/2008 ABC Company Bookkeeper
2/2008 – 9/2008 FAB Machines Human Resources Assistant
What’s wrong with this picture? Let’s look closer, shall we? First off, this candidate spent a total of 2 years on the job at their current position at XYZ Company. At ABC Company, they only had 2 months on the job. Last but not least, they spent 7 months at FAB Machines. This comes up to a total of 2 years and 9 months, not even close to six.
When you are “beefing up” your resume, make sure that you aren’t over exaggerating. Perhaps this is the reason why you aren’t getting calls back. Any person in human resources can easily do math and realize you are lying when your numbers don’t add up to theirs.
I’ve seen others that have worked in different years try to state that they have a total of x amount of years’ experience. Here’s another example:
Professional Summary: Over Five years of retail experience, etc.
2/2011 – 9/2011 Kmart Cashier
5/2010 – 12/2010 Walmart Cashier
6/2008 – 9/2008 L&L Cashier
3/2007 – 4/2008 Speedway Cashier
While this candidate has indeed been working for nearly five years, there is over a one year gap in employment and doesn’t add up to five years. We have 7 months at Kmart, 7 months at Walmart, 3 months at L&L and 13 months at Speedway. That equals 30 months or 2 ½ years which is a far cry from a total of five years.
Be cautious when you highlight your years of experience. Take a moment to add up your time on each job before you claim you have more experience than you actually have. Remember that recruiters and Human Resource professionals can add and will see through faulty or dishonest math.
