What To Do If You’ve Lied On Your Resume

So, what can you do if you’ve lied on your job application or your resume? Do you try to bluff your way through for 10 years or more? On the job application form, did you tell them about your misdemeanor felony conviction – if not, then when? How can you handle this without losing the job?

1. Withdraw your application.

This is your safest option. Simply call and say you are “Withdrawing your application at this time.” If asked for a reason, tell them you’ve “reconsidered your application.” That’s the truth.

They may assume the timing, title, or money isn’t right or that you have another offer or you heard something that makes you think it’s not the right company for you. That’s all okay.

2. Revise your resume and provide it to the hiring manager, asking them to refer the new copy.

In this case, you can tell them you “noticed some errors” and “want to correct them.” Note that this won’t work if you’ve created jobs or performance claims that were exaggerated. However, you can truthfully state that you want to be “more exact,” if you wish. They may assume you had someone else write your resume and the errors were theirs.

3. Come clean.

This may mean you lose the job, but sometimes people have big hearts. There’s a good chance they are going to find out anyway through reference checks or your own social media presence (like LinkedIn). Provide a corrected resume or job application and tell them the truth.

In life, we need to own up to our mistakes and learn from them. Tell them that, too – that you made a mistake and you want to make it right. It’s a sign of good character to do that. People make mistakes, especially under pressure (and needing a job is a lot of pressure).

It’s best not to end up in this position, but if the deed is done, these are the top three ways of fixing the problem.

How To Avoid The Problem

You can explain gaps and sudden departures from school or a former job in the interview. If you have a criminal record, and that would include any DUIs, be straight from now on whenever asked or call immediately to tell them you ‘neglected’ to mention it and would like to ‘set the record straight.’ They are going to find out anyway and it is not a guaranteed barrier to employment- whereas lying about it may be. And now is the time to change your resume and social media profiles such as Google+ and LinkedIn, so you never have to worry about this again. Do it today so if your dream job opens up tomorrow, you are polished and perfect.