Job Search Tips

Lying on your resume is very tempting, but please don’t do it. It can cause you so much heartache. Take the story of George O’Leary. Mr. O’Leary was a successful college football coach who finally landed his dream job as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame. For non college football fans Notre Dame is the most storied college football program of all time, and being their head coach is a life long goal for many coaches.

George O’Leary was announced as Notre Dame’s new head football coach after a successful tenure as coach of Georgia Tech. Unfortunately, a few days into his new job inaccuracies in his resume surfaced. George had claimed on his resume to have earned a Master degree at a nonexistent University. He also lied about playing sports at the University of New Hampshire. The last straw was when it surfaced that he also falsified academic credentials. The University of Notre Dame asked for his resignation Mr. O’Leary was out as their football coach two weeks into his tenure.

This story is an extreme example, but I’m sure not a day goes by without someone getting caught lying on their resume. It may be tempting to enhance your resume a little but please don’t do it. In today’s world it is increasingly easy and cost effective to have resumes screened for inaccuracy. Don’t take the change of ruining your professional reputation.

Written by Kenneth Lowrey - Get Help With Your Job Search Join Our Free Newsletter!