Honesty is the best policy

I know that sounds cliche, but I do truly believe that candidates who fib about details of their last job ending, or try to finesse the dates on their resume, either get caught, or have more trouble keeping the details straight without getting caught.  You will find that people are more empathetic than you think, and have the capability of understanding gaps on your resume (as long as you are prepared to explain them), as well as reasons for leaving roles.  If you were downsized, I know of no one who is going to think poorly of you; some things are out of your control.


Typical Un-Truths:

• A candidate leaves Company A, goes to Company B, only to find out it's not a fit at all after 2 months, and then joins Company C.  Now they're looking for a new job... they choose to omit Company B all together on their resume.  You may think that this makes a lot of sense... who wants to show a small blip like 2 months on their resume??  Isn't that harder to explain than a gap? Or perhaps just squeezing the dates in Company A and Company C to avoid having a gap at all???   I strongly disagree with this mentality, and have seen instances where the candidate in question interviews with a new business, only to encounter someone who knows precisely what happened in this person's 2 month stint at Company B.  Now what??  If the candidate just told the truth, people could empathize with him/her, as we know that not all jobs / companies are the perfect fit for everyone.  If the candidate had the bravery to just explain it, then I as a recruiter would respect that person more for that quality, and would be less likely to hold it against them.  Not to mention that dates which are untrue can be found out quite quickly through background checks.

• A candidate is approached by an Agency Recruiter, who is presenting them with a fantastic opportunity with Company X.  The candidate neglects to mention that they just recently (or within the last year), applied to a posting / submitted their resume online to Company X.  The Recruiter invests time, and puts energy into submitting this candidate to their client, only to find out that the candidate has already contacted Company X directly.  Why is this wrong? If the Company hasn't contacted you in response to submitting your resume, why shouldn't you try another avenue of approach?  External Recruiters get paid to find talent which a company hasn't already got.  If you have previously submitted your resume, why would a company pay an Agency a fee to turn you up? 

• If you were let go because you had a conflict with your boss, you should probably find a different way of presenting that information, but be as honest as you can.   It is actually OK to have differing opinions and working styles, and you may have been outed to make room for a new boss's "dream team" employee.  Some things are explainable, but don't lie; it will catch up with you.

• The other one that usually gets caught out is when you say you've been downsized, as your job was eliminated, along with a number of other people in the company... then the recruiter (who is sometimes pretty smart), goes online, and sees your job posted on their corporate website.  If you were fired, you may as well fess up to it. 

Keep it real - make your mind up that you will be as honest as you need to be, and don't outright lie when asked... it will eventually catch up with you - and people are more understanding than you would imagine.