Resume falsification can have legal and moral consequences for job applications. It goes without saying that sometimes falsifying a resume is the only way to attract the managers’ attention and receive a chance for being interviewed. This is also an opportunity to prove that sometimes lack of job experience is an advantage because of the ability to provide fresh insights into business management. At the same time, presenting false information on resume can be dangerous because a person becomes legally responsible for all the data about his education and previous job experience (Walsh, 2012). Thus, filling out resume is a complicated process implying both legal and moral aspects and, therefore, falsifying information on resume is morally and legally inappropriate, creating problems for both employees and future applicants.
Statistics shows that 53 % of resumes contain false information and 70 % of college students have responded that they would lie on their CV in case they increase their chance to get the job they want (Accu-Screen, Inc., 2012). Overall, it has been also reported that 78 % of resumes provide misleading information and about 21 % mention fraudulent degrees (Accu-Screen, Inc., 2012). The statistics, therefore, proves that the problem of resume falsification is on the rise. The problem does not only refer to potential employees to receive a prestigious job, but also to the fact that the requirements to each job position are too high for graduated students to receive a chance for employment.
Sometimes the reason for falsifying resume consists in their desire to compete with other much more experienced applicants whose previous positions are more persuasive for receiving a good job. At the same time, job experience should not be the only measure by which all potential candidates should be estimated. Specifically, employees and interviewers should pay attention on inborn skills that a future applicant possesses. Each person is unique and, therefore, addressing the generally accepted standards is sometimes inappropriate. However, it does not justify resume falsification either. Providing false information can negatively influence employees’ reputation in future, reducing their chances to receive a good position.
Legal responsibility imposed on job applicants should not be underestimated. All future employees should be familiar with codes of ethics accepted at a particular company. Moreover, accepting falsified resumes can be intimidating for the company that hires a new employee because such a situation will have a negative impact on the company’s reputation. In legal terms, “employers should have a policy requiring that job candidates provide complete and truthful information and specifying that the penalty for failing to do so will be either refusal to hire or termination” (Walsh, 2012, p. 126). Therefore, this policy is consistently enforced in any reputable organization with strict ideology and codes of ethics.
In conclusion, falsifying information in resume about actual education degree and job experience is not justified because it can have negative consequences both for the employee and for the employer. In particular, future job applicants should be concerned with codes of ethics and morale before filling out their resumes. After all, honest, transparent, and accurate representation of facts is always and advantage because it demonstrate job candidate’s sense of dignity and responsibility for his/her actions. More importantly, as soon as an employer discovers the fraud, there is a higher probability of being rejected, even if a job applicant receives the chance for being interviewed.
References
Accu-Screen, Inc. (2012). Resume Falsification Statistics. Web.
Walsh, D. J. (2012). Employment Law for Human Resource Practice. US: Cengage Learning.