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I was laid off in December of 2008 and had very few interviews since. I have heard in several places that many employers do not want to hire people who have been out of work for over a year. I am thinking of changing the year that I got laid off from 2008 to 2009 on my resume in hopes that it may land me more interviews. Do you think this little white lie would be a good idea or a bad one?
HR professionals say that it is a bad idea. I've considered it though. It is hard when people will discriminate against those that need the jobs the most. Please post if you see any results.
Two of my last three former employers are gone, dead, buried, no trace left. So I have fudged those dates a little, nothing outrageous. I wouldn't fudge with the one that's still in business, though, there's always the chance a prospective employer will do a reference check and if they learn you're lying, well, that probably won't be a good thing LOL.
I was laid off in December of 2008 and had very few interviews since. I have heard in several places that many employers do not want to hire people who have been out of work for over a year. I am thinking of changing the year that I got laid off from 2008 to 2009 on my resume in hopes that it may land me more interviews. Do you think this little white lie would be a good idea or a bad one?
My last three employers (companies) are gone. Dissolved, sold off or non-existent. I have contact with only a few old employees/managers from these companies. My last company dissolved leaving me no reference at all after many years of service.
I was caring for an ailing parent when I was laid off which required my full time (since past away) so I just moved dates around to accommodate being a caregiver for the last year until my dad died. I literally had to take over 'everything' including the finances, medical insurance billing issues, medical/medicare management, doctors appt. eventual convalescent hospital, estate resolution, burial, etc. It was a major full time job and one that far exceeded any support I gave a CEO at any of my companies. This was executive assisting at it's finest. I deserved to call it a 'job' and have it on my resume. Which I do! If you have anything that you can fill in with, do it. Volunteering, traveling, school, etc. Anything to show you were productive while looking for a 'paying' job. Employers want to see you are a well rounded person as well as being a good employee. Sometimes that can mean something other than a paid employee. Lying is never a good idea but you can fill in the gap with other things that sound attractive to an employer.
I can tell you this- in 27 years of working, I've never had my jobs checked. Luck? Maybe, but it just didn't happen.
Do what you gotta do to get hired. Telling the truth is always best but this is a dirty market so you have play dirty sometimes and get creative. When things are plentiful, then worry about your conscious.
It is unfortunate that some employers are acting the way they are about the long-term unemployed. Sometimes it is just not fair. However, that said, technology makes it way too easy to check on candidates. It would never be in your best interest as an applicant to lie, even if your prior company is dissolved. Why take the risk?
Most firms require applicants to complete their application process. Usually, somewhere along the way (probably in the initial application), the applicant is making the assertion that all information provided is true and that he or she is aware of the possibility of termination if it is later determined that the application was fraudulent. I know of several situations where individuals were terminated six or more months after starting their positions when application falsehoods cropped up. Often these are more likely to be issues such as DUI's or lying about educational credentials.
Many of us feel your pain about the length of your unemployment. Trust me, you are not alone. Your best bet in this situation, even if it hurts, is to take the high road. There will be a job for you. If you are the right candidate, the employer will overlook the 2008 date and will accept you on the strength of your credentials. In the interim, find something freelance to do and to fill out your resume with.
Good luck to everyone here who is struggling through this very challenging time in our economic history.
You could always just not list the actual dates on your resume. If you worked UNTIL 2009..then you would be correct in saying "2004-2009." I worked one job that started in October 2001, and ended in mid-January 2003. So technically, I worked that job for 15 months. But those 15 months began in 2001 and ended 2003. And so, on my resume, it says I worked that job from 2001-2003. Which is completely, totally, and entirely truthful.
You don't have to lie to make yourself look good on a resume. You can explain any gaps and details in an interview. If you don't make it to the interview, it probably isn't just due to a gap in your employment, and it might simply be that there were more people with more qualifications than you applying for the same position.
I've added to my resume that I have been working on starting my own business as well since I was terminated. Not entirely untrue and at least it gives the impression that I take initiative.
If they ask further, I just state, truthfully, that it's a bad time for start-ups so I am returning to the full time work force.
Many of us feel your pain about the length of your unemployment. Trust me, you are not alone. Your best bet in this situation, even if it hurts, is to take the high road. There will be a job for you. If you are the right candidate, the employer will overlook the 2008 date and will accept you on the strength of your credentials. In the interim, find something freelance to do and to fill out your resume with.
Good luck to everyone here who is struggling through this very challenging time in our economic history.
However, for some people "there will be a job for you" seems to be false. At least "there will be a job for you in the field you educated, trained, and worked for that pays a middle class wage" seems to be false.
It's also very possible that we not merely living in a temporary "very challenging time in our economic history" but rather experiencing the process of the United States transforming into a third world country with few middle class jobs and mass impoverishment.
Given that, if you think you can get away with it then it seems to make sense to fudge your resume a bit. Also, remember, employers in general are probably far more unscrupulous and unethical than you as a job applicant will ever be.
I have doubts that, "If you are the right candidate, the employer will overlook the 2008 date and will accept you on the strength of your credentials." Many employers and hiring personnel are just patently irrational and will automatically assume that if someone has been unemployed for such a long period of time, something is very wrong with them. This is probably more or less true depending on what field you are in. I know that in my field your employability decreases steadily from the time you graduate until it reaches about zero after 9 months or a year regardless of whether you were employed in another field; you'll just be regarded as an absolute loser if you were unable to secure employment in the field by that time.
It's amazing just how ridiculous the hiring process has become. All applicants need to be picture perfect and the risk of hiring someone who is less than perfect or merely adequate seems like a costly disaster. They are now going so far as to conduct deep Internet searches on all candidates. Eventually they'll require DNA samples.
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Not a good idea to lie
