Should I Lie on Resume?

[deepblue]

I was hospitalized for a while and disabled for even longer due to cancer.

Now I'm looking at my resume and all the companies I worked for are out of business and basically I was thinking that adding an additional year to my last job and saying I started my own consulting business might help me find work now.

What do you guys think? Should I go for it? :twisted:

[DrSmellThis]

I'm not sure why you're seeing it as necessary to lie about that.

[deepblue]

I've been out of work for 5 years going on year 6 and my medical status isn't on my resume. I don't think the word disabled would help anyhow. So I could have been doing anything for that time (enrolled in school over the Internet). It just doesn't look good to have a huge gap like that.

[belgareth]

As a manager and having hired hundreds of people over the years I'd firmly say no. Tell the truth. Anything else will get you disqualified the instant some clerk in HR discovers it. If a clerk doesn't discover it, some manager will, in all likelihood.

As a hiring manager I would be much more likely to accept an explanation than hire somebody I caught in a lie. My thought is that if somebody is lying to me to get hired they'll probably do it while working for me. That is somehting I never accept.

[deepblue]

Would you hire someone with a 6 year resume gap and every place of business listed is out of business? Is Burger King in my future?

What about my consulting business? I did do a little bit of work and was thinking about making a web site for it.

[belgareth]

Yeah, I might but it depends on my read of the situation and the person. I hire as much on character as I do on skill sets. Integrity is a prime concern with me. Also, keep in mind that they will probably check your credit report and that will show medical bills as well as previous employers. I certainly compare the credit report to the claimed job history and suspect most others do because employment references aren't worth a damn in most cases.

Type out an explantaion of the facts and add that to your resume as an addendum. Be sure and do a good job of it. It certinaly will be nmore helpful than anything else you might do.

[DrSmellThis]

http://149.101.1.83/adahom1.htm

I posted the Americans With Disabilities Act site so you can check it out yourself. I'm not sure you have no protection.

I believe you can get on your feet again, and that not all employers would disqualify you. Sh!t happens, after all. It's not your fault you were sick, and not beyond understandable that you had a hard time getting back. You've done other good things with your life, and are ready to do more.

[bjf]

Moreover, when you do interviews, try to use it as a positive. Surely you learned stuff that people don't generally know or are aware of. Things that will help you be a better employee.

You beat cancer. What can't you take on?

[deepblue]

What if I fudged a year at someplace I didn't get hired at? If I apply again later, should I just send in the new copy and claim the old one was a typo if asked?

I applied for a job at this one place and now I'm looking to see if they have a volunteer opportunity, but maybe they still have my resume from my old application.

My medical bills were all paid, so I don't see why they would show up on some credit report. The credit report shows work history?

[belgareth]

Depending on the company, they may well have the resume on file. We used to keep them in case somebody filed a claim of discrimination. A lot of businesses now record everything and store the data for that reason. In lawsuit happy America it is simple prudence.

Lot's of things show up on credit reports. If the insurance company was late paying it might be on your report. Sometimes it can show up as a positive too depending on how it was reported. Yes, Jobs frequently show up on credit reports as well as past residences and such. A lot of big companies use investigation services to check up on a person's past also, especially for sensitive positions. Basically, anything you might put on a credit application can and often will show up on your credit report.

I don't know what kind of position you are applying for so am giving you worst case answers. In general, you are going to be better off sticking to the truth. If nothing else, you don't have to worry about tripping yourself up later.

[deepblue]

I guess I didn't want to lie anyhow, but I already put my tainted resume out there to a couple places. I didn't get looked at so no one questioned it, but if I apply again for a new opening ... do you think I could call it a typo on the old one or would they simply not call me up?

The position would be computer geek.

Sorry about not being a tower of virtue here, but you never expect to be in this type of position with an empty past. I came back physically but I'm still pretty bummed. It was too long to be sick, to be away from life.

[belgareth]

That depends on what you said. In cases of huge responses the first couple cullings are done by clerks and often chucked. No promises but it does happen. In other cases the whole stack is handed over to a professional recruiting company and not seen by the hiring company until culled down to a couple dozen candidates.

If you want, you can PM me and we can talk in more detail. I can understand not wanting to tell a lot in a public forum.

[Mtnjim]

The thing that bothers me, that you would even think about it... :nono:

But then again, a recent survey found that 20-30 year olds thought lying was OK as long as you didn't get caught. :hammer:

[DrSmellThis]

This situation provides another opportunity to look at a more holistic alternative to black and white thinking, as well as giving deep blue something useful to think about.

I don't believe admonishments not to lie should be a supreme, black and white, inviolable moral rule. That would be foolish thinking, and result in a morality where you might end up cutting off your nose to spite your face. The same goes for all abstract, isolated moral rules.

However, situations where you have to lie to save your integrity are rare. It can happen, but not often. Why do I say "integrity"?

Some of my own professional research into ethics and life stories suggests that "integrity" can be essential to moral life at a fundamental, organic level. People need it, and this is what people often really are aiming for in their everyday lives, when they try to do the right thing.

Perhaps the most basic way integrity plays out in your life is both being true to yourself at your deepest level; and also living a process of sharing that truest self with the world. The world then starts to "reflect yourself back to you" in an increasingly powerful way. This is a process and cycle that leads to fulfillment for yourself and others. You find your place. Isn't this what you are creating, deep blue?

Compared to the concept or rule of "lying", "integrity" is a much bigger, more useful moral concept that you can apply to your whole life and your whole person.

OK. In this light, the worst part is not literally that you considered lying. The worst part, the sad part, is that you have already chosen not to be true to yourself by thinking this way. Lying is the consequence of that; the reflection of that; and the enabler of that.

Choosing not to be true to yourself is self-defeating, and therefore nonsensical. Living a life of nonsense is a form of suffering.

If you start accepting yourself now, it becomes a habit that will ultimately empower you.

Take bjf's example. By looking at your experience of illness and recovery as a positive, thinking about it that way, and speaking about it that way -- you actually make it into a positive for yourself, and make your life better for it. You give yourself a chance to blossom completely that way, since all your energy is consistent, and goes into that same positive direction. Then it really is a positive, not just in your mind as an abstract thought and possibility. It becomes strictly someone else's problem if they can't get it; and you become unstoppable for who you are in the biggest, most powerful sense.

Why should you have to walk around with a conflict inside yourself, from lying and looking at it all as a negative? Then you feel like you have to hide something? Screw that! Let somebody else have a conflict if they want one. You have done nothing wrong, but have instead used courage to survive an ordeal that brought you in touch with your own existence and mortality. That can translate to greater inner strength and wisdom. How many people have that going for them at a young age? Let the learning process happen to its fullest and embrace who you are! You are going to let this experience make you be less mature, instead of more? Then you will have really wasted those five years in one sense, while weakly protesting to others that you haven't.

Hold your head high, look the other person in the eye, know who you are, and be proud of it! Don't let it even occur to you that you are anything but better. You have chosen to take advantage of that opportunity to be a better man, and no one can take that away from you. There is plenty of time to work in life, and working is great. But there is more to becoming the best person you can be. We learn these lessons throughout life, and not just as a kid, before we start working.

In my book, having someone on my team who really lived that experience fully would be an asset. You'll find someone capable of getting it if you live it. That's a direct benefit of integrity.

[deepblue]

Yeah I see where you are all coming from. I'm getting a copy of my credit report for a reference and I'm going to stick to the facts as they are. Although I'm not sure about telling anyone I had cancer. That part still doesn't set well with me, even though I have to say something about that time period.

Also, not trying to justify a lie but, the disease and the treatment made me unusually weak (more than you can imagine) and I just wanted things to go back to normal. It really isn’t that I’m just brain dead and don’t think anything of it. I’m looking at possibly loosing a house and other things I don’t want to think about. Besides, I know I can't compete in the high tech market with six year old work experience and references that are out of business so they can’t be contacted. Maybe I can find an apprenticeship or an internship to get a leg up.

Thanks for the input everyone. If you think of anything else just post a note.

[DrSmellThis]

What else could you tell someone that would be better than the truth that you were battling cancer? What in God's name is wrong with that? I mean, it's your private business and you don't have to tell anyone, but why wouldn't you want to? Didn't Lance Armstrong just blaze a trail for everyone?

I like the leg up idea. Just a tiny bit of retooling and getting back in the flow. Makes perfect sense. Or maybe you'll find someone who trains new employees in whatever.

[Mtnjim]

"Extended illness" is the truth, and all they need to know.

[deepblue]

Maybe you know Meredith Viera from the TV program "The View." Her husband, Cohen was on the Larry King show and he has MS. He kept quiet about his health and got a job that made his whole career. When he asked his boss later if he would have still hired him had he been open about having MS, he said he would not have hired him.

Admitting to a major illness that might come back and drag you down later isn't like coming out of the closet and saying you’re gay. Not everyone will want to train you or put time into an employee that might have a lot of sick days.

[DrSmellThis]

It's your choice. I could be wrong. Mtnjim's approach is one way, although any extended illness could indicate possible future health problems in an employer's eye.

It really just depends on the situation, and luck of the draw. My first inclination would be to turn my illness (and renewed sense of courage, focus, priorities, and determination, etc.) into a glowing positive, without being preoccupied with it, or using it too much as an excuse. What the hell kind of character building was the guy or gal interviewing you engaged in in the past five years? It can be similar to being in the military or Peace Corps, if one creates that character from the experience. It makes a compelling story for selling certain positive qualities, especially if you can embellish it with other things from your life somehow. I personally would feel confident I could sell it to most audiences. That's just me.

Not everyone will want to invest in you. But many will. The guy on Larry King is just one guy, with one boss. What kind of jackass thinks, "Had cancer, won't hire him!"? Would you want to work for that person anyway?

Every potential employee carries risks, including health risks. You just have to know how you represent far more potential return and benefits than risks, and feel confident in that.

You know what the possibilities and/or statistics of relapse are for your situation. You are taking more of a risk with your health than any employer. You can decide what you feel comfortable with yourself, and if you don't have a problem with it, why should anyone else? To be frank, if you thought you were going to die tomorrow, you wouldn't invest in extensive training either, so you must already feel good about your intention to work at what you want to do. You must feel strongly that your own logic is more sound than any potential naysayer's. If they bring the risk up, your confidence here will be valuable. You can tell them you are recovered, no longer needing treatment, and in permanent remission; as far as medical science can tell, for example. That would be honest.

On the other hand, you might conclude that you have to "withhold" certain aspects to be most true to yourself and the world. This could be one of those rare instances. Maybe I just ain't seein' it. But if you really did, all things considered, then you could still feel good, that you were living with maximum integrity.

You can always look at each potential job separately, and finesse your resume accordingly. You can also modify your approach over time with experience.

I just think I can detect a little negative, pessimistic, fatalistic thinking on your part, over and above "what the situation calls for"; and wonder whether that might be interfering with your perception of reality a slight little bit.

[Mtnjim]

"
It's your choice. I could be wrong. Mtnjim's approach is one way, although any extended illness could indicate possible future health problems in an employer's eye.

It really just depends on the situation, and luck of the draw. My first inclination would be to turn my illness (and renewed sense of courage, focus, priorities, and determination, etc.) into a glowing positive, without being preoccupied with it, or using it too much as an excuse."

I tend to agree with the Doc. Tell the truth, hence my "extended illness" response, but-- as the Doc says put a positive spin on it. Don't over emphasize it, but acknowledge it.

Good Luck!!!:angel:

[deepblue]

I just think I can detect a little negative, pessimistic, fatalistic thinking on your part, over and above "what the situation calls for"; and wonder whether that might be interfering with your perception of reality a slight little bit.
I was preparing to volunteer at a hospital I sent my tainted resume to originally for a real job. It made me upset to think I may have complicated matters with BS which I no longer wish to keep up. I guess the only thing I can do is call it a typo if anyone asks.

The volunteer position is non-paid and probably run through a different department than HR anyhow. Plus I'm doing them a favor so ... maybe it was an overreaction.

[belgareth]

All you can do is try. The worst that can happen is they'll say no. You won't be any worse off than you are now and might possibly be better off.

[deepblue]

None of my credit reports lists a work history or any reference to my hospitalization or anything interesting at all for that matter ... which is good because a good credit report is good to have.

The work history on my resume is old ... should I wait for an internship or just start applying for paying work? I'm not desperate for money yet but I wonder if that is just an excuse not to go for the gold. When I interview I’d like to have some recent work history from a local source to talk about but … what I need and what I like might be two different things. Opinions?