I am an advocate of being honest. Even on a resume. Especially on a resume.
With so much on your mind as you go on the interview, the last thing you want to worry about is if the person interviewing you actually graduated from Harvard and will ask you something about a campus you’ve never been on (but have written about on your resume!)
While we’re on the subject of schooling and resumes and honesty – don’t include a college you are thinking about going to, or are just about to enroll in. If you are not officially enrolled in a class, do not include the college on your resume; however, if you took a class there two semesters ago and you are going to go back (eventually) then you can write the name of the college, it’s location, the baccalaureate you are seeking, and the line “currently pursuing” under the degree.
Now, about that “currently working” thing. If it has been less than 12 months since you were fired, quit, or got downsized, write your most recent job experience in PRESENT TENSE as if you were still there – as if you wrote it before you didn’t have the job. Further, there are ways to write about the role and the company in the cover letter WITHOUT LYING and without mentioning that you are no longer employed.
Remember: the purpose of a resume is to get an interview – to get a chance to explore the job and the company for yourself to see if you want to work there. Of course, once you are in the interview and are actually asked if you are still employed, you would tell the truth, still, and say, “No, I’ve been so busy networking and going on interviews I just haven’t updated my resume yet.” (True).
Writing your resume in present tense makes you more marketable. If you write “2000-2010 for the years of your most recent job, that will raise a flag and the potential interviewer will wonder what the heck you have been doing for 2 years.
There are other ways to handle this and there are other types of information to include to make up for any potential gaps. This is where the skill and experience of a professional resume writer come in.
You are not looking to be a professional flag raiser; you seek, simply, to go on as many interviews as you can to then decide which job offer you want to accept.
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