How you can and can’t stretch the truth on your CV

Sometimes it’s necessary to stretch the truth slightly to get noticed by potential employers. There’s a lot to keep in mind when writing your CV, including key words that grab the attention of recruiters. If you’re unsure what you can and cannot “fudge” on your CV, here are some great tips from Forbes.

Five things you can get away with
1 Job title (only for clarity)
If your job title doesn’t encompass everything you actually do and you think it’ll harm your chances of getting the role you want, it’s okay to use alternate titles. For instance, if you carry out HR duties but you’re only classed as a PA, you can write “PA/HR”.

2 Responsibilities
One of the biggest problems PAs face when looking for jobs is the fact that their official job description doesn’t match what they actually do. Don’t be afraid to list unofficial duties; even if your current boss isn’t willing to confirm this, having it on your CV gives you the chance to talk things over in person at an interview to explain the situation.

3 Employee vs contractor
If you have one or two roles where you acted as a consultant, you don’t have to explain that unless it’s relevant. It makes no difference to your potential employer how you were paid by previous companies.

4 Career history
You only really need to list the jobs that are relevant to the one you’re applying for. This will save space on your CV and means it won’t look like you’ve been job-hopping if you have lots of temporary roles.

5 Volunteer work
Volunteering still counts as work, so long as it’s relevant. If you’ve performed unpaid work for whatever reason, put it on your CV.

Five things you can’t lie about
1 Dates
It’s okay to leave the exact months of employment off your CV, but don’t lie about how many years you worked there. This will be verified if you’re offered the job, so don’t take the risk.

2 Education
Degrees and educational credentials will also be checked, so don’t fib about your history on your CV.

3 Company names
It goes without saying that listing a fictional job on your CV is a really bad idea. Even if the company has gone out of business, you have to be honest about your role there. It will come back to haunt you if you lie about something this big.

4 Certifications
Credentials are taken very seriously in the business world. People work very hard to earn the initials they put after their name, so don’t include them if you haven’t done the work.

5 Status
Do not, at any cost, list yourself as an officer of a professional society or organisation unless you currently hold that role – and be sure to include dates if it’s a past post. It’s so easy for employers to find out if you’re the VP of a society just by doing a Google search.

Read the original article at bit.ly/2byOoTl