"Lost Your Job, But Afraid to Advertise That on Your Resume?"
The Business of Furniture - 3/22/17 Edition
Stephen Says Column

 Dear Stephen:

 
 I have been working at the same job for six years, and suddenly last week I was let go. I had no idea it was coming. At my request, my employer gave me permission to say I was still working there while I start looking for a new job because I heard it is harder to get a job if you are unemployed. I have a three-month severance package, and the deal was that I could tell people I was working there until my severance runs out. What happens if I can’t find another job by then? Will I be able to find any jobs if I am “unemployed”? Should I just continue to have “present” on my resume or do I put the last month I worked? How does this work?
 
 My UnemPloy to Get a Job
 

 Dear UnemPloy,

 
 I get asked this question 10 times a week, and there is only ONE answer: Honesty is always the best policy. That means if you are not working, you are not working. And if you are not working and you tell people you are working, then you are lying.
 
 Candidates often believe they have a better chance to negotiate with a company looking to hire them if they are employed, and I can’t disagree with that; it is probably true. However, the interview process can take 60-90 days for most jobs worth taking.
 
 You simply cannot pretend to be employed all that time, if you are not.
 
 If you manage to get through the interviews without giving yourself up, then when the company does a background check, which they often only do after extending an offer, they will find out when you left your other job and know you lied on your resume. You can bet if you get caught having lied about your employment status, any offer you might have gotten will be rescinded in the amount of time it takes the HR manager to pick up their phone. Or even worse, if you are on unemployment, the prospective employer will find out that way. I’ve heard of candidates who flat out deny they are unemployed. One HR manager told me she showed a candidate an email from his former employer giving the exact date he was let go, but he maintained he had been in the office earlier that day. This maniac was more committed to his lie than a dog is to smelling its own piss. Eventually, the truth will come out. I doubt any of you need me to spell out why it is bad for your prospective future employer to think you’re a liar, but just so we are all crystal clear, you should understand human resources departments and hiring managers in general will naturally assume people who lie on their resume are the same people who will lie on their expense account and lie to their bosses. They will assume you will lie about the status of a project you are working on, and you’re lying about what you are really doing on a sick day. And here’s the kicker: Of course they should assume that! They are probably right. If you are willing to lie on your resume, and it got you a job, why would you stop? I know it is hard getting fired from your job. It can feel like the world is crashing in on you, and desperation makes bad choices look rosy. I won’t deny it is tougher to get a job if you are unemployed. Having a job does make you more marketable and attractive for a hiring company. But if you lie about having a job when and if you do get an offer, you still won’t get a job. This is the trick of bad choices, they look good from afar, but when you get close enough you realize they are farm animals in dresses. Lying about employment on your resume will never get you a job. Companies are too smart for that nowadays. The question, of course, is who is still stupid enough to do it? Don’t let it be you.
 
 Stephen
 
 You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at: 
 StephenSays@bellow.press.
 
 Questions selected to be answered, will appear in this column. Please use the Subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter @WorkplaceGuru. Like Stephen on Facebook, and follow him on LinkedIn.