我們假設一位叫Mary的女士得到了在一所享有盛譽的大學里從事高層的學生服務的工作機會，她激動地接受了。但是兩年以后，雖然Mary的工作表現受到了好評并且被譽為學校里一顆冉冉升起的新星，她還是被解雇了。為什么呢？因為她在簡歷中說謊，并且被發現了。
在一項人力資源工作中要求職工們提供大學時的成績單，Mary謊稱自己擁有碩士學位的事實被發現了。Mary丟掉工作并不是因為她缺少碩士學位，而是因為她不誠實。失去了工作，又沒有推薦信，Mary展示了在簡歷中說謊的后果。
公司越來越知道如何利用聘用之前和之后的日趨復雜的綜合背景調查來搜出簡歷騙子。為什么還要事后調查？在工作中的表現能夠引發對員工過去經歷的后續調查。如果被發現不誠實，通常可以構成終止雇傭合同并可能導致法律措施。
然而在簡歷中偽造信息的遠不止Mary一個人。芝加哥大學的著名經濟學教授、《畸形經濟》一書的合著作者Steven D. Levitt引證的調查顯示，百分之五十以上的人在簡歷中說謊。
有了Mary的情況作參考，你可能會問，為什么人們還會在最初試圖僥幸逃脫在簡歷中說謊的后果？Levitt借用了一句W.C.領域的引文來作為他的解釋：“任何值得贏取的東西都值得采用欺騙的手段。”
權力和痛苦——孕育誘惑
Peter定律提出，在公司內部的等級中，員工總是傾向于不斷被提升，直至達到他們能力所及的最高水平，在某種程度上似乎是在扭曲Peter定律，Levitt假定“一個人在某個組織中升得越高，他或她就越容易說謊。”
他的觀察當然是根據關于執行官們因為簡歷中的不誠實而辭職的新聞頭條消息。常見的簡歷謊言包括虛構在校成績、掩蓋工作階段之間的待業時期、夸大職位名稱、修飾工作職責和成就，把小組的努力全部歸功于自己、甚至虛構雇主。
小謊言的大后果
“最好的謊言是那些反映事實的。” Levitt說，“百分之五十的簡歷謊言都是在這里或那里說一點小謊，例如，掩蓋他們有六個月的時間沒有工作的事實。”
也許把這些欺騙看作無害的謊言或市場運作而在簡歷中說謊的人們可能會造成比他們所能意識得到的更嚴重的損害結果，無論是對他們還是對其他人。
Levitt說：“當有人欺騙的時候，誠實的人們受到了傷害。”某些人通過捏造或夸大的事實獲得了不正當的優勢，而把誠實的求職者擠出了競爭之列。
騙子們給自己造成了什么損害呢？Levitt警告說：“即使你從未被抓到過，你還是會生活在持續的恐懼中，擔心自己將來有一天會被抓住并受到懲罰，并且生活在自己做了錯事的罪惡感中。”
獲得成功的誠實策略
無論說謊有著什么樣的原因或理由，只要你的簡歷不是完全真實的，那么記住這一點：你并不是非要靠欺騙來獲得一份工作的。這里有一些正當的策略供你參考，以處理那些跳槽、失業、缺少工作經驗、沒有或是不夠的大學學位、被解雇和有犯罪記錄的情況。
Levitt的研究結果和那些在簡歷中說謊被抓的求職者的故事足以告誡勞動大軍中的每一個人：你在為過去說謊的時候就危害到了你的將來。
Lying on Your Resume
What Are the Career Consequences?
When a woman we'll call Mary was offered a high-level student-services position at a prestigious college, she was thrilled to accept. But two years later, Mary was fired despite strong performance reviews and a reputation as a rising star at the college. The reason? She lied on her resume -- and got caught.
An HR initiative requiring employees to furnish college transcripts revealed Mary lied about having a master's degree. It wasn't lack of a degree that cost Mary her job; it was her dishonesty. Unemployed and with a blown reference to boot, Mary demonstrates what can happen when you lie on your resume.
Companies are growing increasingly savvy in ferreting out resume cheaters through more comprehensive background checks conducted both pre- and post-hire. Why the latter? Subpar job performance can prompt a follow-up investigation into an employee's past. If dishonesty is discovered, it is often grounds for termination and possibly legal action.
Yet Mary is hardly alone in falsifying information on a resume. Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics and a renowned economics professor at the University of Chicago, cites research suggesting that more than 50 percent of people lie on their resumes.
Given such repercussions as Mary's fate, you might wonder why anyone would attempt to get away with lying on a resume in the first place. Levitt refers to a W.C. Fields quote in his explanation: "Anything worth winning is worth cheating for."
Power -- and Misery -- Foster Temptation
In a kind of twist on the Peter Principle, which suggests that within corporate hierarchies, employees tend to be promoted until they reach their ultimate levels of incompetence, Levitt postulates that "the higher up in the organization a person rises, the more likely it is that he or she will cheat."
His observation is certainly borne out by news headlines about executives resigning in the face of resume dishonesty. Common resume lies include falsifying academic credentials, padding dates to mask employment gaps, exaggerating job titles, embellishing job responsibilities and achievements, claiming sole responsibility for team efforts and even making up fictitious employers.
Levitt also found a correlation between mood and the temptation to cheat. The desperation felt when weeks of unemployment stretch into months, or the low morale experienced by someone employed but truly miserable in a job, appear to increase the incentive to lie.
The Big Consequences of Little Lies
"The best lies will be those that mirror reality," Levitt says. "My hunch is that the reputed 50 percent of resume cheaters are mostly making little cheats here and there, for instance, to cover up times when they were out of the labor force for six months."
Perhaps viewing these mistruths as harmless white lies or marketing spin, people who lie on a resume may end up doing more damage --to themselves and others -- than they realize.
"When someone else cheats, it hurts the honest people," Levitt says. Honest job seekers can be edged out of competition by individuals who give themselves an unfair advantage by fabricating or exaggerating credentials.
And what about the damage cheaters do to themselves? "Even if you are never caught, you will have to live in constant fear that someday you will be caught and punished and with the guilt of knowing what you did was wrong," Levitt warns.
Honest Strategies for Getting Ahead
No matter what the reason or justification for lying, if your resume isn't entirely truthful, know this: You don't have to resort to lying to win a job. There are ethical resume strategies you can use to address issues like job-hopping, time off from the workforce, minimal work experience, lack of or incomplete college degrees , being fired and having a criminal record.
Levitt's research findings and the stories of job seekers who got caught lying on their resumes are cautionary tales to anyone in the workforce: You jeopardize your future when you lie about your past.
編輯：曾妍
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來源：中華英才網 |
