Why Isn't It Cheating To Hire A Professional Resume Writer?

Professional Resumes

why isn't it cheating to hire a professional resume writer?
 
When someone hires a professional resume writer, they are paying for the skills that writer has, providing the facts that the resume contains, and collaborating to present their own qualifications for a particular job in an accurate light. Let’s look at these points a little closer:

Paying For Skills

In today’s job market the resume needs to pass through many filters before the person deciding on interviews even sees it. Resumes have to be written to pass those filters, whether it is the keywords a computer looks for or the spelling accuracy that catches a reader’s eye. Professional resume writers are like the industry consultants brought in to give their expert advice on specific problems and come up with effective strategies for resolution.

Providing The Facts

Any professional resume writer who doesn’t insist on using your own facts in the resume is not worthy of the title. Resumes must be factual compilations of your work history, education, skills, etc. Any falsification is asking for trouble, and a professional resume writer will refuse to do it. Their goal is to write a resume that shows what you bring to the position you are applying for; writing it in a way that gets past the filters and puts you in an interview where you can present yourself as a viable candidate.

Collaborating To Present Accurately

The top reason professional resumes are effective is because they are collaborations. It isn’t a matter of handing over a topic, getting a paper someone else wrote, putting your name on it, and turning it in. Professional resume writers get a lot of input from you before they start, ask many questions so they have all the facts, and get your approval before the process is complete. It’s a collaboration, a team-effort, and the information being presented is your own qualifications in the best light so they can be seen accurately. It’s a lot of work, and you contribute to the process.
So, is it cheating to hire a professional resume writer? Not if they truly act professionally. A professional resume writer is not pretending to be the person in the resume. They are presenting the person in the resume in the best light possible.

lying on a resumeIn 2007, Marilee Jones, called the “most celebrated Admissions Dean in America” resigned from MIT — the reason? A lie on her 1979 job application, fabricating several degrees.

In 2006, David Edmondson stepped down as Radio Shack’s CEO, after he was caught lying about his academic record —again, claiming degrees that he didn’t earn.

Lying on one’s resume can provide rewards unless one is caught, and then the fall-out can be enormous.

Due, perhaps, to the recent rise in applicant lines, more applicants are being caught lying. Experts estimate that as the economy continues to plummet, the numbers of those lying on job applications will increase. Various sources state that between one-third and one-half of all job applicants lie on their applications, even though in some states, it’s illegal.

And, moreover, the employer of a person caught lying on her or her application can potentially sue the person for losses and expenses incurred.

Just ask Richard Clark about his employment at Coopers Lybrand consulting agency in Canada. He lost his employers several clients when they found out he didn’t have any of his three claimed degrees. He paid for his mistake in cash!

According to a study done by Careerbuilder.com, almost all managers who catch a potential hire lying on his resume will automatically cross him off their list of applicants. Nearly half will automatically dismiss him even after he is hired, should such a lie come to light.

And the potential ramifications are even greater than that — once fired for lying on your resume, do you list that job on your resume and have your new boss call and find out the truth, or do you leave it off and just keep lying, hoping that you’re not caught again? It’s a vicious cycle.

More and more managers are doing background checks on employees, so common lies, like claiming a degree that you didn’t earn or inflating your previous title, are more likely to get caught. Another common lie, changing dates to hide gaps in employment, is especially easy to catch.

And the lies aren’t just from the little people. Executives and other high profile personalities are getting caught, too. Laura Callahan lost her senior position in the Department of Homeland Security when her diploma was shown to be a fake in 2004. Experts state that lies about education are often early resume lies that are carried on throughout a career.

In fact, resume-padding has become so popular, not only are there sites dedicated to resume lies, but there are also entities referred to as “degree mills” and “diploma mills” to further aid pretenders in their goals.

So-called “diploma mills” fabricate degrees from real colleges, while “degree mills” refer to colleges that are not accredited (though they may claim to be) and require either no, or substandard, work.

Even a small exaggeration, such as stating that one has already earned a degree that is still a few months away, can be grounds for automatic dismissal. Is it really worth the risk?