bending the truth on your cv?

dvoakes

how acceptable is it to bend the truth on your cv? for instance how would it look to slightly exaggerate a time frame you were in 2 jobs slightly to hide an embarassing period working full time in a supermarket?

chump

Not worth it imo dvoakes...

No harm working in a supermarket if you also have the relevant experience they're asking for... it's better than claiming the dole...

And it shows you have some humility

And more importantly you don't want to be caught out, or nervous when going into an interview incase they ask you pointed questions...

dvoakes

thanks that's exactly i was thinking. does th efact that i took th ejob in the supermarket while still looking for work show that i'm not afraid of hard work (and paying bills?)

Lump

I tell potential employers that I've worked in a petrol station, supermarket, as a bouncer, in security, etc etc... it's all experience. You need to draw out the skills you learned in the jobs. Bouncer - Good dealing with people, Security - Law abbiding, Petrol Staion - Time Management, people skills etc etc.... It's all about transferrable skills, doesn;t matter where you gained them.

John

pwd

Best to be as brief as possibble on your cv. Don't waste time going into details on things that are not very relevant to the jobs you are looking for. I have a short for each job I've done in IT, and then one paragraph listing other jobs and how long I've done them for (supermarket, arcade, security, shovelling horse poo, teaching juggling, bins etc)
Depends on the mentality of the interviewer whetehr doing crap jobs is a plus or not. One guy seemed baffled by it and laughed at me about it (although he did hire me).
Don't lie on your cv but you can present things to sound more impressive than they actually are. Being caught out on a few of these also got an interviewer laughing at me (although she hired me too).
Remember; you are never ever unemployed, although sometimes you may be working freelance fulltime and not happen to have any contracts.

Eoin

dvoakes wrote:

thanks that's exactly i was thinking. does th efact that i took th ejob in the supermarket while still looking for work show that i'm not afraid of hard work (and paying bills?)

I would definitely say so - shows you don't want to sit on your ass like some people would.

p.pete

If I started a job today (31st of March) and finished it on the 1st of May, on my CV it would say March - May and after that they can interpret as they like. Obviously I've worked a total of 32 days or so but if someone wants to read it as 3 months that's fine with me. That is about as far as I would bend things on my CV though.

If there is a job you don't feel should be highlighted on the CV then just leave it out (unless they specifically ask for last 3 jobs or something). If they ask the direct question of what you did during a certain period, just say you worked in a supermarket - nothing wrong with that, most of us have. The CV only really needs the details that will sell you to the employer.

Eoin

p.pete wrote:

If there is a job you don't feel should be highlighted on the CV then just leave it out (unless they specifically ask for last 3 jobs or something). If they ask the direct question of what you did during a certain period, just say you worked in a supermarket - nothing wrong with that, most of us have. The CV only really needs the details that will sell you to the employer.

I think the question was if the OP worked in a supermarket would be a selling point or not. Personally, I would prefer to include it in my CV rather than leave a blank period of time there, even if it is a one liner with the date span and and "worked in retail" or something similar.

Having said that, I would rather just leave it out altogether rather then bend the truth (even by omission). These things can be found out easily.

chump wrote:

And more importantly you don't want to be caught out, or nervous when going into an interview incase they ask you pointed questions...

exactly.