First Person: I Lied on My Resume ... and It Worked

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After leaving the Navy and getting into the job market, I knew I wanted to be a journalist. I moved to Los Angeles and had to lie on my resume just to get my first job. I had written a lot in college and also in the Navy for various publications, but even with that experience with no journalism degree no newspaper would hire me as a writer. They only offered me lower-paying positions I couldn't afford to take.

I did have a degree, but it was an art degree from the Philadelphia College of Art, now known as The University of the Arts. A prestigious school, but at the time only for artists, not writers.

I knew I had the knowledge, skills and experience to do the job and writing is something that after the first day or two, my editor and boss would know right away if there was a problem. If they liked my work the issue of my degree, or lack thereof, would never again be an issue.

Although this was before the Internet and the ability to instantly verify facts online, I was very nervous about getting caught or discovered. For the first few months, my fear was to be called into the editor's office, to be confronted with a question about where I got my journalism degree I cited on my resume. Everything worked out for the best, I was able to deliver results and my editors and everyone else were very happy with my writing.

It's a different world in business now, and every fact, from your education, to your references and experience, can be verified instantly, via online databases. Most employment agreements contain language that gives the employer the right to terminate the employee, at any time, if they discover you have lied on a job application. I would not advise doing it.

Looking back, I'm glad I lied on my resume to get that job. I was confident in my abilities and knew I would never even have the opportunity to show them unless I took that risk. It worked out well, I worked for the newspaper for a few years, and then moved on into the world of corporate public relations and advertising. In a funny twist, one of my responsibilities as a manager was hiring new people, and I would have to review and verify the information on their resumes.

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