There's a Fine, Fine Line

[puppetmaker]

The other day it came out that the coach/savior of the Rutgers’ Basketball team lied on his Curriculum Vitae or CV as we call it in the academic biz. Some say that he didn’t lie but exaggerated his achievements. But I learned at the tender age of three that you don’t lie on your CV or pad it. His CV stated that he graduated from Rutgers, which a quick check of academic records AT Rutgers shows that he was a few credits short. Now we have a lot of back peddling on the topic from a lot of different corners of the sports world and the Internet.

I have a resume/CV that is all over the place. I actually could use some help to straighten it out into something that makes sense. I also have my stage management resume, my puppetry resume, and my editorial resume. Then there is the basic resume that covers all the things I have done and that puppy is long because I have done a lot of different jobs over the years. So many that I have forgotten some of the jobs I have held until reminded of it by others. There is also my artist resume and my puppet building portfolio.

This monstrous career set is all true. I have never lied or padded my resume. I have seen looks of disbelief on the faces of people who are interviewing me until they check it out and then they realize that I have done a lot in my almost 50 years on the planet especially between the age of 16 and 36.

If one lies on one’s resume/CV, it leads to questioning the rest of their character and what else might they be hiding behind the resume. And in this age of close to instant communication, it is easy to ferret out the fiction from fact. HR is looking at one’s Internet “footprint”.

Sure at the beginning of one’s work career, you don’t have much but as you go along you do amass experience and credit. And think about your other skill sets that might help in finding a job. Learning how to use various computer programs on your own is legit. Claiming to be an expert in a software program that you have general knowledge about is not cool.

Anything I have on my resume I have done and can probably give you some interesting tales about it.

I am grateful that I have such an eclectic work history.

Comments

[itsallmishegoss.livejournal.com]

I will never understand people who do that. Sooner or later they are going to get caught. Records are too public today and piss off employers when the skills are not there. They never realize how many people they hurt once the truth comes out.
An eclectic work history just makes you a more well rounded person which, in some ways, makes it easier to find jobs.

[bayarts.livejournal.com]

I, too, have an eclectic work history, and since I am self-employed, I don't really use a resume.....but at the end of the day, isn't the resume a tool that gives potential employers an idea of whether or not a person has the potential to do a job? And if he or she is able to do the job well, what difference does it make if he or she fudged on his or her resume? The point is, that he or she can do the job. Isn't it? Lying aside, of course, which, I agree, is a negative quality. A few hour's short of a Rutger's degree? Big deal.