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Good. I guess I'm naive, but I can't believe anyone blatantly lies to get a job. Too many pitfalls in that approach. Plus, if you have a moral compass, there is that. Lying to get a job could take the job away from someone who earned it fair and square.
I am only writing this because some people may find this thread later in time like I did. Why? Because we are in the same position as OP and living like someone who is in a cell and aware they soon will hang. The condemned prisoner dies a thousand deaths before they hang.
But OP only needed to truly heed what Wrig said...."Roll the dice." At this point you (the you reading this sometime in the future and are also in the same position) must imagine yourself as Caesar. Your men are confident and cheering. You have just crossed that small river named the Rubicon and just said to your soldiers," Let the die be cast." This means you have rolled the dice and have surrendered yourself to fate.
You can not go back in time. People love to condemn those of us who made this stupid mistake and say," you should know better, just never lie." Really? Show me someone who has never lied because they felt it would patch or cover some negative aspect of themselves and I will prostrate myself and genuflect because that person would be as a god amongst mortals.
Calling HR is like trying to game the table and somehow influence the dice. It would collpase the wave function and reduce your chances of being hired to 0.
Yes, you lied. Yes, this is wrong. But they still picked you. You got the offer letter. Focus on that. You didn't plant that tree 20 years ago but get that tree planted today. Remind yourself in writing of this feeling and never lie on a resume again.
But you hear that? That is the sound of the die rolling on the table. I was implored to respond before reading the entire thread, but my words still stand. Even if this sunk your battleship, the torpedo could have merely brushed against the hull and you could have sailed on safely.
Wrig was also spot on when he suggested you fill out the official employee information correctly. Many hands are on the assembly line and they may not sit there and check your resume to your supplied information. The resume is the menu, it's there so the person can look over and make sure they want to order the food.
I also messed up. Two things that were minor. But what screwed me up was being a fool and trusting other people's direct experience. Yes, some employers don't call. Yes, some just do a quick check of employment and dates. But some do care--some that are willing to give a rep a 78k base--that you claimed you made 5k a year more then what a previous employer verffied.
Here is what is crazy.
I did not finish high school. I dropped out a month into 9th grade. A month before the offer I paid for all four GED tests together in one day. Figured it was time. I didn't study until a week before the test. Why? Because the second interview went great. I thought, "this place will check, look at what Glassdoor says! What if you fail?" I was overconfident before--when "it didn't matter"--but now I was scared.
When I told the lady at the test center I was taking all 4 tests she looked at me like I had the head of a golden kitten.
After the tests were done I sat in the car and cried. I felt ok except for the science and math. Every question on the math was algebra II. A month before, when I had paid and scheduled the tests I did not know how to add fractions. I googled "why is GED so hard." The news broke me. In 2014 Pearson (largest education company in the world) purchased the GED from the nonprofit that had owned and operated the test for decades. They raised the price and "adjusted" the test. In 2013 500k past the test. The first year after Pearson took over?
50k passed.
I didn't know what to do. I felt it would take me months to get up to speed. Maybe I would pass 2 out of four but how was I going to cram algebra and science into my head in a day. I only could take it again twice then I'd have to wait. I figured they would send the offer and run the background check right away. The offer letter was emailed the next day.
As well as notification I got my ged.
I did not pass the background check because I packed 5k onto a previous job salary but if I had not drilled down and studied that week (honestly without fear it could make or break me I would have sauntered into the test center thinking I was smart enough for a "good enough degree.") no way would I have passed and it was so intimating I'm not sure I could take the test again without tremendous anxiety.
Life is odd, we make mistakes we should not have, we lie, we hurt people we love and we judge people we don't know. But this is who we are. What builds character is our ability to look in the mirror, note our flaws and work to change the ones we can change.
Wrigley is spot on.
Life is odd, we make mistakes we should not have, we lie, we hurt people we love and we judge people we don't know. But this is who we are. What builds character is our ability to look in the mirror, note our flaws and work to change the ones we can change.
I am only writing this because some people may find this thread later in time like I did. Why? Because we are in the same position as OP and living like someone who is in a cell and aware they soon will hang. The condemned prisoner dies a thousand deaths before they hang.
But OP only needed to truly heed what Wrig said...."Roll the dice." At this point you (the you reading this sometime in the future and are also in the same position) must imagine yourself as Caesar. Your men are confident and cheering. You have just crossed that small river named the Rubicon and just said to your soldiers," Let the die be cast." This means you have rolled the dice and have surrendered yourself to fate.
You can not go back in time. People love to condemn those of us who made this stupid mistake and say," you should know better, just never lie." Really? Show me someone who has never lied because they felt it would patch or cover some negative aspect of themselves and I will prostrate myself and genuflect because that person would be as a god amongst mortals.
Calling HR is like trying to game the table and somehow influence the dice. It would collpase the wave function and reduce your chances of being hired to 0.
Yes, you lied. Yes, this is wrong. But they still picked you. You got the offer letter. Focus on that. You didn't plant that tree 20 years ago but get that tree planted today. Remind yourself in writing of this feeling and never lie on a resume again.
But you hear that? That is the sound of the die rolling on the table. I was implored to respond before reading the entire thread, but my words still stand. Even if this sunk your battleship, the torpedo could have merely brushed against the hull and you could have sailed on safely.
Wrig was also spot on when he suggested you fill out the official employee information correctly. Many hands are on the assembly line and they may not sit there and check your resume to your supplied information. The resume is the menu, it's there so the person can look over and make sure they want to order the food.
I also messed up. Two things that were minor. But what screwed me up was being a fool and trusting other people's direct experience. Yes, some employers don't call. Yes, some just do a quick check of employment and dates. But some do care--some that are willing to give a rep a 78k base--that you claimed you made 5k a year more then what a previous employer verffied.
Here is what is crazy.
I did not finish high school. I dropped out a month into 9th grade. A month before the offer I paid for all four GED tests together in one day. Figured it was time. I didn't study until a week before the test. Why? Because the second interview went great. I thought, "this place will check, look at what Glassdoor says! What if you fail?" I was overconfident before--when "it didn't matter"--but now I was scared.
When I told the lady at the test center I was taking all 4 tests she looked at me like I had the head of a golden kitten.
After the tests were done I sat in the car and cried. I felt ok except for the science and math. Every question on the math was algebra II. A month before, when I had paid and scheduled the tests I did not know how to add fractions. I googled "why is GED so hard." The news broke me. In 2014 Pearson (largest education company in the world) purchased the GED from the nonprofit that had owned and operated the test for decades. They raised the price and "adjusted" the test. In 2013 500k past the test. The first year after Pearson took over?
50k passed.
I didn't know what to do. I felt it would take me months to get up to speed. Maybe I would pass 2 out of four but how was I going to cram algebra and science into my head in a day. I only could take it again twice then I'd have to wait. I figured they would send the offer and run the background check right away. The offer letter was emailed the next day.
As well as notification I got my ged.
I did not pass the background check because I packed 5k onto a previous job salary but if I had not drilled down and studied that week (honestly without fear it could make or break me I would have sauntered into the test center thinking I was smart enough for a "good enough degree.") no way would I have passed and it was so intimating I'm not sure I could take the test again without tremendous anxiety.
Life is odd, we make mistakes we should not have, we lie, we hurt people we love and we judge people we don't know. But this is who we are. What builds character is our ability to look in the mirror, note our flaws and work to change the ones we can change.
Many of us don't lie on our resume' because there is no need to. When you start with a lie, you have to remember that lie from here on out. And that lie forces you to tell other lies to clarify the first lie when and if it comes about. And what you lied about today may be hard to remember in 5 years if it comes back up. True experience doesn't require a lie to be told. It is much easier to remember the things you have accomplished than to remember things you wished you had accomplished.
Being honest on a resume doesn't make anyone a god amongst mortals. It makes them respectable and decent human beings that hold their reputation in high regards. It is much more common than you think. They get where they need to go on their character and their work ethic and aren't concerned that 5 years from now something they said when they got hired could come back to haunt them.
Even if you don't get caught today, there is no statute of limitations on when you are no longer held accountable. Don't be foolish and assume that there is only one torpedo. There are many more just like the first waiting to launch. And you cannot avoid them all in these situations. It only takes one torpedo to sink a ship. It only takes one lie to ruin a career and a reputation.
OP, glad you got it worked out. As a former hiring manager I can tell you without a doubt that I would take a less experienced person who is honest and has drive to learn than someone who looks like they can do anything but cannot perform to the lie they told. The truth will always come out given time.
You people who told her to decline are ridiculous. I went from 35k to 140k in 3 years by lying and of course being smart and charismatic. Is lying wrong? Yes. Have we all lied before? Yes so stop judging. If you get caught move on to the next job. All that "You may get caught years down the line" mess is not true, you get filed away and don't get brought up again until you depart or get promoted.
All that "You may get caught years down the line" mess is not true, you get filed away and don't get brought up again until you depart or get promoted.
Bingo.
In my experience, it all depends on how well liked you are by your superiors. If management likes you, rules will bend.
you lied on a job application but you're worrying about emailing people to thank them? What is wrong with you? Don't draw attention to yourself and next time don't lie.
You people who told her to decline are ridiculous. I went from 35k to 140k in 3 years by lying and of course being smart and charismatic. Is lying wrong? Yes. Have we all lied before? Yes so stop judging. If you get caught move on to the next job. All that "You may get caught years down the line" mess is not true, you get filed away and don't get brought up again until you depart or get promoted.
Tell me about it. During the deep recession, I was unemployed for two years. Finally, I decided to put a friend's company down on my resume (he owned his own business) and he agreed to it. It was to make it look as if I had been working and did not have that two year gap. I told him, "They won't call you because you are my 'current' job." Well, guess what? I got the job and this was with a nationwide company who employs 50,000 people across the country. They didn't call him because I check off "no" on the application in regards to contacting him. Nobody ever found about it and I was promoted once as well. I was with this company for 5 years.
These people who say, "Oh, they will look up your information 20 years down the road and fire you if you lied." COME ON. If that truly happened to anyone, #1 - it's very rare, #2 - they were looking for a way to get rid of the person, #3 - they are a crappy company that I wouldn't want to work for anyway.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
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It's true that people can often get away with lies on the resume, but they also do get caught. An experienced interviewer will ask questions to test what you have given as your experience and education. If you gave a fake position in finance and cannot explain what accrual means, for example, you would be rejected. When the actual job starts, and someone cannot do the work that they claim to have done before, they will be let go. In our case, the written code of ethics requires that we discharge anyone that lied on their resume/application or in their interview, regardless of how long they have been there or how well they are liked. Bending the rules would mean discipline for the supervisor/manager and the person would still get fired. I don't know of any situations where that has happened in my 9 years here, however. I have caught people during the interviews, and have failed them on probation after they lied or exaggerated.
Hi Everyone. Thank you for reading.
I received a job offer contingent of a background check (via Hire Right), however I know that I will be caught lying on my resume. I lied about my education (I completed only 3 years, because I was helping my parents out with their business) and I lied about one of my jobs (because I need the experience).
I am not a bad person, nor do I believe in taking advantage of a company for money. I just want to be able to get my foot in the door, and climb my way up. I feel totally guilty about the whole situation, because the ladies whom I interviewed with were amazing...basically a great fit for me.
My options are to withdraw my application, go through with the background check (and get denied), or confess to the Office Manager whom I interviewed with.
I'm thinking...if I do confess, then maybe it will shed light on my honestly and I can still have my integrity intatct.
Can someone please advise me on what the best possible solution is?
I would appreciate it very much.
Thank you.
What ever happened? Thanks!
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