There has been a lot written about people lying on their resumes and LinkedIn profiles, exploring why people lie and what they lie about. Sometimes, however, these lies aren’t actually malicious.
Sometimes, resumes and LinkedIn profiles don’t quite match up. Maybe there are only minor discrepancies between them, but these can stand out to a recruiter or interviewer. Any and all difference will be a problem.
Details are not the same on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
An experienced recruiter will always match them up side-by-side, and will often find discrepancies. Which is more accurate? Was your job title General Manager or Shift Supervisor? Did you really oversee the opening of a new store? Yes or no? You very well might lose consideration as a candidate for a job because these discrepancies can result in questions about your trustworthiness.
All of your recommendations, both received and given, can be found on your own LinkedIn profile.
Many people do not realize this, so you should be careful about what you say in a recommendation. It impacts your own LinkedIn presence as well.
A recruiter will be able to find people through LinkedIn who will agree to give you a recommendation.
If the person no longer works at the company, they might not be constrained on what they can and cannot say. Any differences between the resume and LinkedIn profile might surface because the recruiter will ask precise questions to get that recommendation.
Here’s an example of how a discrepancy can stand out to someone with an experienced eye.
One time while working for a business owner, we found the profile for his company’s former Chief Financial Officer, who had been fired after 2 years. We scrolled through until we reached the recommendations section and saw that she had given a LinkedIn recommendation that began as “John Jones was a member of my team when we worked together for 2 years at XYZ Company.”
When we scrolled back up to check her experience, her job at XYZ Company during that time was not there! It had been removed. She had changed the beginning and ending dates at that job to account for those 2 years. What she did not realize is that the recommendation she gave would be attached to her own profile. We only realized it because she mentioned those 2 missing years in her recommendation. That job actually was not on her LinkedIn profile.
If you have any similar issues between your resume and LinkedIn profile, we can work together to correct these discrepancies in a professional way. Then there will be no problems when someone reviews your resume and LinkedIn profile to learn about your professional experience.
All you need to do is visit my website for a free consultation! Next step, get all of your career documents in order so you can successfully apply for the job of your dreams!