Should I lie on my resume?

Question

I've worked for for 4 fast food restaurants, 3 of which are currently out of business in my town. I also worked at a gas station for a month and a factory for 2 days. I have made the decision to pursue clerical/office work and sat down to type my resume, realizing that the gaps in my job history may be detrimental to my chances of being hired in a professional setting. This is my work experience:

Factory job: 6/21/07-6/22/07
Gas station: 10/06-11/06
Restaurant: 6/06-8/06
Pizza shop: 10/05-3/06
Restaurant: 6/05-8/05

There was also another restaurant I worked at in 2004 but I don't remember the exact dates of employment.

My friend who owns a small web design firm offered to lie for me and say that I worked as his secretary for a year but I don't know if it would be a good idea to lie on my resume. If I do include previous odd jobs on my resume, how should I set it up? Keep in mind that I don't know the exact dates of the last place I worked.

mud bug - - My work history sucks because...

The factory job was too physically demanding, which is why I quit after 2 days.

The gas station did not properly train me, initially they promised a full week of training but only offered 2-3 days and expected me to run the entire store by myself.

As for the 4 restaurants, 3 of them laid myself and other employees off, only to go out of business months later and the 4th restaurant was not giving myself or the other employees decent hours.

As you can see, I have stability, whereas most of the company's I have worked for did not.

Answer 1

First and foremost donot blatantly lie. You can embellish the truth but stating your work experiencve like this:

Factory job: 2007
Gas station: 2006
Restaurant: 2006
Pizza shop: 2005-2006 (looks like you worked there a full yr vs. a couple of months)
Restaurant- 2005

Emphasize your customer service abilities and your mathematical skills as well as your organizational skills. Being quick on the job and puntuality are also skills that no matter where you worked at are still important. If you had really good sales depending where you are applying for a clerical position this can put you at an advantage over other potential employees. Transitional skills like these are the ones you need to make stand out on your resume since they make you look good over your work history.

AND before I get accused of telling to lie most resume books and sites will tell you that this is an acceptable practice when writing a resume. Just be prepared to answer more indepth questioning when and if you get an interview.

Answer 2

Lying on your resume is never a good idea-if you don't know exact dates, noone will make a big deal of it. If it ever comes out that you fabricated a position, you will most likely get fired from whatever position you have.

The gaps in your job history are a concern, but the BIGGER concern is that not only have you never held a job for a full year, your last job was less than a month. I think you will need to figure out how to explain your inability to stick with a job as well as the gaps.

Answer 3

And an employer would want to hire someone with questionable ethics, why, again? Yes, we conduct background checks - we check yoru education and verify your degree for the exact reason you indicate - because people lie. If we find that you are one of those people, we will rescind your job offer. If you didn't have a degree when you came to work for my company, and now you suddenly do, I have the option to run a check on you whether you are currently employed or not. If you're smart enough to get straight A's, then you're smart enough to know that cheaters get caught out eventually. Somewhere down the road you'll interview with someone who is a real alum of your chosen institution and will ask what profs you had, which dorm you lived in, etc. and will figure out pretty quickly that you're a liar. The business network is like a small town, and word travels fast. Please don't be stupid enough to do this.

Answer 4

Do NOT lie on your resume. You may get by with it, but you may not, and the chance is not worth taking, especially with so many options available. One option is a skills-based resume. Instead of giving a chronological work history, you give a listing of your skills and your work experience that demonstrates those skills. There are many different resume format that would help someone in your position. Go to your local library or book store and find a resume book that highlights these varieties. Good Luck.

Answer 5

It's a bad idea to lie. If your prospective employer tries to verify your employment at the web firm by asking for pay stubs, tax returns, references from multiple people who worked at the company, etc you'll be caught. This would mean not only you wouldn't get the job, but you'd also have to deal with bad word of mouth spreading about you.
You could look for information on old tax returns about your dates of employment on your past jobs, or even possibly call up the employer and see if they'll verify the dates of employtent.

Answer 6

A resume is NOT a listing of jobs, it is a listing of 'abilities'. Don't lie on the resume, instead, create a resume that lists what you've gained in your various positions making sure you're focused on the administrative end, on the attention to detail, routine tasks etc etc

Answer 7

It would NOT be a good idea to lie on your resume, even though your "friend" said he's willing to lie for you and back you up.

Leaving off the factory job, since you were only there two days, isn't lying though - I'd just leave it off.

Answer 8

Don't lie. It wouldn't matter anyway. Your work history sucks. You have had 5 jobs in 2 years, your resume would tell me not to hire you because you wouldn't be worth the time and effort to train you. You have no stability. Sorry