Lying on Resume

Question

Hi All,

I am in a difficult situation and need some help.

I am quite late in admission process and just starting out with Resume. I shared my first draft with my Admission Consultant and got very discouraging review. His advice is to steal bullets from other's resumes of people with similar background. As per him, BSchool application is all about how well you can lie. When everyone is lying and you don't, then no one gonna accept you.

I am a very honest person and I can uplift my current profile from a different angle, but lying feels as a heinous crime. The problem is even though I lie, it will be very difficult to stand on it during interview process and ultimately I would be in risk of getting exposed. - To this his answer was, then MBA is not right for you , you can't succeed in getting a consulting job and you will be lagging in your peer group.

Please let me know what should I do.

CriticalSquare · Answer

That is absolutely, positively, 100% not the case. That is utterly awful advice. I never disagree publicly with the opinions of other consultants but this is beyond bad advice - it is unethical. A resume should be polished to the point it shines but every fact in there should be authentic, and genuine, and YOU. Beyond the risk of being exposed, that is just not how to conduct the application process. I'm sorry - that is simply not how to go about this process and it's terrible, terrible advice.

If his answer to getting into a good school and getting ahead is lying and, if you don't, you'll fail - that's absolute BS.

Bhavik

If his answer to getting into a good school and getting ahead is lying and, if you don't, you'll fail - that's absolute BS.

Bhavik

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

This is really bad advice and it is clear that you are uncomfortable following it so I'm glad you have sought out a second opinion. Outside of being totally unethical I think your hunch is correct, outright lying will really make the interview difficult as well as the essay writing process. So much in your application is pulled from the details you share in your essays and everything really should be consistent. Another potential is your recommendation, if you are communicating you are doing one thing on your resume and that is not consistent with what your recommenders it really will raise a big red flag and call your whole application into questions. Needless to say I am opposed to lying on your resume.

delta3 · Answer

I think lying is always a bad idea - on your resume, application or life in general. Don't forget that some schools use companies that perform a background check on you and everything you wrote in the application.

StalkingHorse · Answer

Thanks all for helping. Since I have already paid, I am stuck with him.

I told him that I won't lie, even though that makes my app weaker. He has reluctantly agreed and said I might stain his track record. I am least bothered about him now. But advise for others, while evaluating consultants tell them how much you are willing to lie beforehand.

CriticalSquare · Answer

As a note - you should be able to withdraw any portion of your payment for services unrendered. Any reputable firm should have a policy that handles that. For example, our Terms & Conditions stipulate termination of services, initiated by the client, are entitled to a full refund for any prorated amount for services that haven't begun or been rendered yet. If he's that worried about his track record, he shouldn't have a problem with this.

Bhavik

Bhavik

brandon432 · Answer

What a bunch of crap. Get a new admissions consultant (or go without) ASAP. There are plenty of reputable ones that post here.

pannakh · Answer

A lot of resumes are there. so recruiters can not read all of them. you be helped MBA resume with the writing person.

edukredensir · Answer

I fully agree that you should not lie in any circumstance. But there are diferente ways you can address your accomplishments in your resumé. 
Imagine for instance two sushi restaurants, one right next to the other and with the same food and service quality. One advertisse the restaurant like "We sell raw, cold fish", and the other "Come and have the greatest japanese food in the area!". Neither is telling any lies, but for sure the second one will be more succesful.
My point is: i'm sure that in your professional career you've participated in a number of different projects; but sometimes you don't give  yourself  enough credit for the things you did. It is common to think of your accomplishments as "ordinary". I suggest you talk to your current supervisor and ask for a feedback of your strenghts and how important was your role during a specific project. This should strenghten your resume quit a lot, because you be much more aware of your role inside the organization.

And yeah, you should leave your current admissions consultant asap! =)

Lying on Resume

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