MEDIA RELEASE
CSUN Professor Explores Pitfalls of ‘Cooking’ Your Resume
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., April 4, 2008) — Cal State Northridge management professor emeritus G. Jay Christensen said there are some lessons to be learned from the recent firing of chef Robert Irvine, host of "Dinner: Impossible," by the Food Network for inflating his resume.
Among the items on the dubious document was the declaration that Irvine’s passion was "to reach beyond inspiration—to be spectacularly creative."
"Well, he certainly achieved that wish, but he lost his job in the process," said Christensen, who has written about resume and application fraud for Career International Directors’ publication "2006-2007 CDI Career Industry MegaTrends: What You and Your Clients Need to Know." He pointed out that job seekers need to be very careful as they "fine tune" their resumes to make them more attractive to potential employers.
"The attitude, ‘everyone is doing it,’ is becoming endemic in our society," he continued. "Prospective employees, under the impression they need an edge in ‘tuning’ their resumes, include what they think is a harmless turn of phrase, or that fine-tuning an omission will make no difference to the prospective employer."
But, Christensen warned, employers are becoming savvier and the odds are resume inflators are going to get caught.
"Background checks are the order of the day, and woe to any employer who does not vet the applicant before that applicant is hired," he said, adding that students on the verge of graduating need to keep that in mind as they prepare to look for their first post-school job.
"Students should be warned they are shaking rather dangerous dice with resume fraud," Christensen said. He pointed out that the state of Washington, for example, passed a bill in 2006 making it illegal to lie, orally or in writing, about educational credentials that don’t exist. Further, an unaccredited institution that issues phony academic credentials can be charged with a Class C felony. "Fraud is fraud," he said.
Christensen has a list of questions employers, and potential job applicants, should keep in mind as they consider resumes:
- Are the dates of employment stretched? Look for years and months, he suggests.
- Are the job responsibilities and duties enhanced? Christensen said potential employees should avoid listing enhancements, "just state what work was actually done." For example, he said, an employee may have done the jobs of a manager, but was not a "manager," therefore the job title does not apply.
- Are there educational exaggerations and fabricated degrees? Degrees and other educational accomplishments can be verified with studentclearinghouse.org and other online services.
- Is past employment omitted? If the employment does not fulfill the job objective, it could be omitted. Otherwise, a red flag exists for the interview.
- Are reasons fabricated for leaving previous jobs? That is more difficult to verify because of privacy laws. However, criminal records can be checked, Christensen said.
- Are fraudulent references provided? Applicants tend to give references of people who will say glowing remarks. However, he said, applicants should make sure their references are kept up-to-date. Individuals who give references should be asked for their permission before including them as a reference, he added.
- Does the resume have gaps and periods of self employment? If so, Christensen said, then the applicant should account for that period with the term, "sabbatical," or appropriate wording.