Here's a news flash for you: people cheat. Some candidates, in a desperate but dishonest attempt to get what they want, just lie about themselves in their application packages.
And sometimes it works... at least for a while. A client of mine recently terminated one of his managers for lying on his resume about his education, FIVE YEARS after being hired. Clearly, this person got the job he was seeking and seemed to be working out just fine. However, he was fired because it was clear that he could not be trusted. As you can imagine, it has proven very hard for this person to find a new job now, despite his positive work record at my client's firm.
Two lessons to take away here:
1. Don't lie on your resume or anywhere else in your application package. It may work in the short term, but it will probably come back to haunt you later.
2. You need to build trust in the reviewer. Reviewers know that people cheat, and they want to make sure you're not a cheater before they accept you. You need to demonstrate that what you say is true, that you are trustworthy.
One of the best ways to establish trust is to provide verifying information in your letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation come from a third party, so reviewers see them as more trustworthy than resumes, which are written by the candidate. If facts are presented in your letters of recommendation that concur with what is on your resume, then the reviewer knows that they are true.
Space is critical for resumes and letters of recommendation. You need to keep them as short as possible; one page is ideal. You don't want to waste space rehashing your whole resume in your letters; just sprinkle in enough overlap to allow for a bit of this cross checking.
For more information, including tips, samples, and templates, please check out our website: Recommendation Letter
Posted by darenwade2553
at 2:03 AM EST
