LYING ON YOUR CV ...NECESSARY EVIL?

Please, don't act like you don't know people lie on their CV, they add little jara here and there just to get a job and I really would not blame them: it's not an easy world out there as a job-seeker and desperate times call for desperate measures, besides, who is really going to do a background check to see if e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g on the CV was true or false (especially in Nigeria)? You can also learn on the job so why not fake it till you make it abi? Talk true make devil shame...have you lied on your CV? Ha ha ha...some of us have added jara somewhere.

Lying on your CV could be the best thing you've ever done, after all, isn't the aim to get a job and feed your family? Get the job then go and do thanksgiving in Church about how it was such a miracle! Hmmm...God is good. It can also be something you'd regret doing for a very long time. Like I said earlier, I do not blame anyone who has resorted to doing just that; na condition make crayfish bend. Have I lied on my CV before? Well...I eerrrm...well... *shrugs. I think is a little frustrating when you have the qualifications yet no one would give you a call back when you apply for jobs, yet when you add one tiny white lie, the calls start coming...it's frustrating. 

Some argue that there's nothing wrong with lying on your CV as long as in the end you can prove that you can do what you wrote there. If a job requires that Microsoft Excel is a necessary skill, you can add it to your CV and learn it before you start the job. Is that acceptable? You can learn along the way. Thank God for YouTube!

Stella Oduah is popular for a lot of things but more recently adding jara on her CV...mama didn't even go light, she put a whole big degree there, but she forgot to do her homework. Even the former CEO of Yahoo! was forced to resign after it was discovered that his resume was a bit urm...you know.  Never ever ever be caught in that kind of situation. It will make your employer, colleagues question everything you've ever said was true.You may get away with lying in some countries or some corporations and may not be so lucky in others.

You do not need to out-rightly lie on your CV, you only need to embellish it! Embellish is not you a former office administrator writing that you were the formal assistant general CEO of such and such. Don't lie about your work experience but word it in a way that would make you look competent and suitable for the role you're applying for. 

Here are some tips: 

You can start by adding keywords: look at key words in the job description for which you're applying and use those key words to highlight your skills. If you're submitting it electronically keywords will help your CV/Resume get picked up!

Maybe you don't have a lot of experience? You should focus on your skills section especially if your're a newbie. Skills like computer skills, management training, and any certifications you have should increase your chances of nailing the job. Please don't claim to have skills you clearly don't possess because if you get the job and you cannot do the thing wey you say you fit do...yawa dey o.

Hiring managers receive loads of CV's and may not have time to go through the whole page/pages so you might want to move the most important elements to the top of the CV...put your best foot forward. 

Feel free to amend your previous job title especially if it is synonymous with the current role you're applying for. For example instead of leaving it as office contact, why not amend it to administrative assistant? It's just a better name, but same job description. You get?

If you know your CV is not robust then maybe you should focus on the packaging...it doesn't hurt. Get the hiring managers attention with a nicely arranged CV...biko don't be putting florals and hearts oh: not that type of design.

One tip I always use is sending my CV out in a PDF format, word documents can appear different on some computers so to make sure everything is as you want it, save and send as a PDF format.

Do you have other tips? Please share! And tell me too, well...have you sorta added a thing or two to your CV? :D