If you are new to the job market you might not realize the crucial importance of the resume (sometimes called a curriculum vitae or “CV”) to both the employer and interviewee. Employers are searching for a candidate to fill a certain position which requires specific skills or a certain type of person. The company will spend money on advertising the position, conducting the interview and several other things to get the right person for the job. The prospective employee will use the resume to highlight and match their particular skills to this job. If the skills are bogus then both the employer and the employee will lose out.
The Danger
When a company hires an employee to do a certain job that they are not qualified to do this can cost the company not only the expense of actually hiring the employee but in down time from work not completed properly, damage to company equipment or the reputation of the company itself. Investigating fraud in resumes is costing companies world wide many millions of dollars each year because of lost time and productivity and companies are finding themselves having to spend much more money verifying resumes then they did just a few years ago. This translates into higher costs of products and services as companies have to cover these extra expenses in a bad economy.
The Solution
Before you consider what to put into your resume consider exactly what skills you will need to effectively do the job. If you don’t know then you might not be qualified. Many people think that if they amp up their resume they will be able to handle the learning curve and pick up what they need to know on the job. This is a means to a better salary in the short term but is really full blown fraud! If you do fall short a better approach is to present the skills that you have, in the best light that you can, and make the interviewer aware that you may be entry level but are willing to accept less to get the extra training.
It pays for businesses to carry out adequate fraud due diligence on new candidates – but the candidate can also benefit from being honest. A career blighted by short term employments and potentially bad or no references as a result of committing fraud when applying will be hard to mend and the short term gain of a higher salary will be eventually worthless.
