Chicago, IL (PRWEB) December 10, 2008 -- William Potter, Vice President of betterjobsearch.com, was interviewed about employment issues by Mark Saxenmeyer; the interview aired on Fox News Chicago December 10th, 2008.
"Although it may be tempting, giving a resume with lies on it to an employer is like handing over a loaded gun; you never know when it will be used," said Potter. The most common lies on resumes are about education, periods of employment, places of employment, and salaries
According to Steven D. Levitt, professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of "Freakonmics", more the 50% of resumes contain lies. This, combined with human resources departments being given more responsibilities, combined with reductions in staff, make it very hard to verify all employment data.
Potter warned against falling into temptation. A lie on a resume is one of the most difficult causes to challenge when fired. Many times hiring documents are reviewed when issues of performance are questioned or budget reductions are necessary. In this age of mergers and acquisitions, employees are asked for documentation and lies are an easy excuse to reduce staff without legal or economic risk.