===============================================================
Issue 88 Resume.com's Newsletter 9/27/02
===============================================================

Resume.com is not only about providing you with resumes that get
the Interviews, but also helping you to succeed in your career.
Resume.com's Newsletter is FREE, offering job, career and
interview advice for people who care about their careers. If you
would like to be removed from our mailing list, see the
instructions at the bottom of the page.

--------------

Accuracy In Your Resume: The Golden Rule

By Warren Simons, Co-Managing Editor, Resume.com

When George O'Leary accepted the head coaching position at the
University of Notre Dame last month, he seemed to be a perfect fit
for the legendary football program.

The head coach had strong qualifications-he led the Georgia Tech
Yellow Jackets to a 52-33 record over seven years, and was named
the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year twice. The fans of
the Fighting Irish were confident that the luster that had
disappeared from the famous gold helmets after a disappointing 5-6
season would be restored when the team marched out of the tunnel
and onto the field next fall.

But five days after agreeing to the contract, the coach suddenly
resigned. Sports fans across the country were shocked.

The reason? It was revealed that the coach had misrepresented his
athletic and academic background. On his profile, it stated that
O'Leary had been a three-year letter winner at the University of
New Hampshire and had also received a Master's degree from New York
University. After making numerous phone calls while researching a
story on the coach, a newspaper reporter in New Hampshire couldn't
find any sources that remembered him as a letter winner. It was
revealed that the coach had only spent two years at New Hampshire,
and was either sick or injured while on the football team.
Additionally, New York University had no record of O'Leary receiving
a Master's degree.

The enthusiasm that the coach had brought to the program was
suddenly replaced by embarrassment and disappointment. Words not
normally attached with Notre Dame's historic football program-
disgrace, tarnish, and shame-were suddenly the talk of football
programs across the nation. Whether the coach knowingly
misrepresented his background, or simply allowed another to write
his biography, he was responsible for the information that appeared
in the piece. After a successful career with one employer, his
proven accomplishments and success could not overshadow the areas
that were not true. Misrepresenting one's background and
accomplishments is a dangerous gamble in any field.

Although job applicants can face many pitfalls when writing their
own resume-from poor formatting to grammar and punctuation errors-
there is nothing more foolish, and more apt to lose you that job
than lying on your resume.

As most applicants know, a resume has to be impressive. It has to
sell the employer on your skills and qualifications, and as a
marketing tool, its sole purpose is to get you the interview. But
if an employer finds that you've lied on your resume, there's no
better way to lose the job and have your reputation tarnished.

In many cases, job candidates feel that they are simply under
qualified for certain positions and must exaggerate the truth to
appear more attractive, especially in an exceptionally competitive
field. This mistake can occur when the writer simply does not have
a strong enough understanding of how his or her resume should be
structured, or how to effectively highlight his or her
qualifications.

The overwhelming majority of employees have something to offer an
employer. The problem many face is conveying this message to the
hiring manager. Remember, no matter what position you're applying
for, it's one thing to highlight your qualifications and stress
your strong points-it's an entirely different thing to lie. A lie
will likely catch up with you, and cost you not only the job you
have, but it very well might take your reputation as well.

-------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------
Need A New Job, Huh?

Try, "I Wanna Government Job", pages 701-727. Or maybe, "I
Wanna New Career And I'm A Woman", pages 831-874... or "I Wanna
New Career And I'm Over 50", pages 877-888, or "I Wanna New Career
And I'm A Veteran", pages 931-950. Yep, one book with all of these
chapters and more including, "Help With Choosing A Career", and
"I Wanna Be A Freelancer". 1100 pages of what you're looking
for... HERE!

http://www.resume.com/servlet/EntryPoint/116005

-------------------------------------------------------------------

We encourage you to visit our site and take advantage of some of
our new services, like CAREER COACHING and INTERVIEW PREPARATION.
We can get you ready for an interview, prepare you for a career
change or help you make a transition up the corporate ladder.