Adria offered an interesting comment on our post regarding Resume Enhancements. Here is her comment in whole:
I currently teach a Resume class in a Texas Workforce Center. I tell my attendees to never lie on their resumes. I also try to emphasize they should never put something in print about themselves which they cannot prove, or for which they cannot provide a witness if necessary. Will recruiters simply dismiss the truth in the resume style Im teaching as more embelishments or is there a trustworthy means to note integrity on a resume?
First off, good news that candidates are being taught a specific manner for maintaining the veracity of their information. I suspect a good rule of thumb for resume information is to view it similar to a referral for a potential contractor.
We had a large, intense hail storm here in New Prague, MN last month and the roof on my house has been totalled by the insurance company. I have been soliciting quotes from roofing companies – I know nothing about roofing. I have received references from the companies and all of their references speak glowingly of each company. I doubt there is any value in this task.
Resumes have a similar tone. Candidates overemphasize the good and withhold the less-than-good. Our approach is to view the resume was a glowing piece of marketing that needs to be taken with a large grain of salt. For sales, we always look for specific numbers that support their claims of growth. If it is a high level position, we often ask to see a pay stub from their employer to verify their compensation. These are simple items that make a difference.
In sales, we will always put more value on the phone screen than the resume. We have sat through numerous screens in which the candidate had a resume that made you believe they could sell sand in the desert. Once on the phone, it became obvious they couldn’t sell cold water in the desert.