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When does exaggerating my work experience on my résumé become lying? Sincerely, Are my pants on fire? Dear AMPOF: It's not unusual to use a few fancy words to jazz up a résumé. Of course, the issue is when does fancy become phony? An easy trap to fall into is misrepresenting your experience. For example: • Saying you have "five
years of critical care experience," but not clarifying
that you haven't actually worked in critical care
since bell-bottoms were popular the first time
is phony.
• Saying you have "excellent
emergency skills," when you've only just completed
your emergency nursing course is phony.
• And one of my personal
beefs: I've often seen a line like "2001–2003,
Master's degree in Nursing, University of X." It
looks like the applicant has the degree in hand,
but often they don't – and I don't mean that
convocation is next month and they've got their
suit picked out, waiting on the hanger. If what
you mean is you attended the Master's program during
that time but actually have not yet completed the
requirements for the degree, indicate clearly
that the degree is incomplete. Spell everything out clearly in your cover letter and on your résumé. When you're typing a phrase that walks the fine line, think about being in the interview and being asked about it. Or being in orientation and not being able to do the things you said you could do on your interview. The only thing worse than ending up red-faced at the interview is getting fired from the job once you've got it. Also see Write an Effective Cover Letter, Write the Right Résumé , and Dear Cindy – Omitting Jobs From a Résumé. Discuss This ArticleHave something you'd like to say? Tell us what you think! Read and post comments for this article. Like this answer? Read more questions! Browse our archive of 1,246 career questions. Also, see our master index of all MedHunters articles! Find a JobChoose your career: MedHunters is the world's biggest healthcare job board. Our job directory has 17,003 jobs with 2,377 hospitals and other direct employers. We want you to find your next job on MedHunters. Need Help? Call us at 1-888-884-8242, email us at info@medhunters.com or sign up now. Do you have a career-related question? Email us at: DearCindy@medhunters.com. |
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