Lie on your résumé? Expect to get caught

Q: In the case of a successful manager, how important is a college degree to a headhunter? I don't have a degree. With so much emphasis on education nowadays, should I lie on my résumé or eliminate the education section entirely? If I were to stretch the truth and include a degree on my résumé, how often at my level of achievement does a search firm investigate?

NICK'S REPLY: Hmmm. I'm really worried about you. Just what kind of achievement is it to lie about your credentials? Can a successful manager believe it's smart to even consider fabricating a degree?

Don't lie and don't stretch the truth. There's an entire background-check industry ready to expose you. If you lie about a degree, you will probably get caught. It could cost you an offer. Worse, because some of these background checks take time, the truth might not turn up until after you've been hired — then you'll lose your new job.

If you think it's bad to get caught by your employer, consider that once the headhunter finds out you lied, your name will be mud all over your industry. Even white lies on your résumé can come back to bite you. People may say: "Aw, everybody does it. Companies expect some inflation in a résumé." How much do you want to bet? Your career? Your reputation? Let me remind you: Your integrity is everything. Protect it.

Now for the good news. Not all management jobs require a degree, and many companies will place more value on your abilities and experience. Have a good (honest) story to tell, assemble outstanding references and be candid with the headhunter. You can even ask the headhunter for guidance.

If in the final analysis the lack of a degree continues to pose a problem, then earn one. With all the good distance-learning schools out there nowadays, you will likely be able to skip right over some courses by testing out of them. Your experience will count for a lot toward the degree. Check with your state's department of education for a list of accredited distance schools.

The headhunter tip

Fearing lawsuits over the inappropriate dissemination of private information, human-resources (HR) departments will not divulge a former employee's salary to a caller who is checking references. In other words, HR recognizes that your salary history is private and confidential.

Why is it, then, that when you apply for a job, HR thinks nothing of demanding your entire salary history? If you won't divulge this private information, many companies won't accept your application. In interviews, employers ask what you're being paid today, "so we'll have a basis for any offer we might make to you."

Try asking them what they paid the last person who held the job, so you'll have a basis for negotiating salary.

Or, tell the next HR manager who demands private, confidential information to go pound salt: "If you won't divulge a past employee's salary information because it's so confidential, why should I divulge mine?"

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.