Fact-Checking Your Resume: Why it’s So Important

Resume fraud doesn’t just refer to the act of blatantly providing false information – any inadvertent errors can also fall under this umbrella. Even if a small, seemingly insignificant detail wasn’t entirely accurate, it can still put you at risk of the consequences of resume fraud and affect your job search efforts. Learn why fact-checking your resume by verifying all information, including dates, job titles, and responsibilities, is such an important step in the job search process:

Inconsistencies Send Red Flags to Hiring Managers

Hiring managers generally perform background screenings on candidates to verify information, such as employment dates and education. Failing to fact-check your resume could cause you to provide information that isn’t consistent with what hiring managers find via their background checks. Even if your employment dates are accidentally off by a month or two, that may be enough to concern hiring managers, who may think that you don’t pay attention to detail or that you’re trying to cover something up (neither of which bode well for their perceptions of you as a potential employee).

Errors May Damage Your Professional Reputation

Resume fraud, even if it’s not intentional, doesn’t just affect how the hiring manager to whom you submitted it views you – it may actually cause other professionals to perceive you the same way if the information gets out. Hiring decisions typically involve multiple people, so word can spread quickly. Fact-check your resume as an investment in your future because you never know who hiring managers’ colleagues are or where you may cross paths again. For instance, if you once submitted an inaccurate resume to a hiring manager at a particular organization and they eventually work at another place you apply to in the future, they may not recommend you and could tell others the reason why.

Inaccuracies Put You at Risk of Rescinded Offers

Not fact-checking your resume may not necessarily spell immediate trouble. In fact, it may not be noticed and you could even get hired for your dream job with a resume that contains errors, however small. The caveat: Just because you get in the door without a fact-checked resume doesn’t mean you’re safe. If inaccuracies or intentional misinformation are eventually discovered, you could be out of a job – no matter how long you’ve been there. Perhaps you’ve heard news stories of high-ranking officials who lose their positions after several years because it was found out they lied on their resumes. Fact-checking your resume can give you peace of mind.

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