Hi Kevin,

To me, there's a couple of ways of looking at that question. I guess which answer you use depends on what the purpose you've established for the resume in the first place.

To me a resume' is simply an outline of relevant experiences, an applicant's quick answer to questions he knows I'm going to ask at an interview. It's on me, as rthe employer, to verify relevance and actual history with some phone calls. Even there, if a person is working hard to deceive, they'll have cover stories in place. Is the resume' a screening tool for interviews, or is it considered an actual application for emplyment?

Is the resume' intended to be some kind of 'clearance' history? Would you hire a person who had or did not have some specific job at some time in the past?

The place to loook for the 'lies' is the signed job aplication. That's the place the applicant is supposed to verify 'true and correct' statements.

Aside from basic competency, I am far more interested in a person's character, work ethic and loyalty than I am in where they worked, or who they worked for. I use resume's as guidelines to set up initial screening calls. I get a much better sense of an applicant that way. If they 'pass' my screening call, I'll spend as much time as I feel necessary to verify experience, criminal records, and the like.

But, I generally don't work with organizations hiring hundreds of people with formal processes to meet set policies. That's an entirely different animal. The constraints on time, (Time IS money) often require such strict policies, just to make things work.

Good Question, tho, I hope this helps.

Source: http://www.abusinessmentor.com

dlyons has some excellent points. I echo his statement about relevance. If you're applying for a job in the tech industry and you worked for a time in the meatpacking industry, it's probably smart to use the limited space on your resume for details outside the meatpacking job.
On the other hand, if you have a sense that you are lying, you may want to ask yourself some deeper questions. Why does it feel like lying? Is there something lurking in your past that you are trying to hide, perhaps subconsciously?

Thanks for your answers guys. Very interesting. I didn't provide any context to my question. I'm interviewing candidates to sell advertising on our site. I interviewed a candidate who left off a job they held for a few months selling advertising. Certainly relevant information that they left off their resume for the position they were going for wouldn't you think?

So if the job is relevant, but the candidate leaves it off their resume because they didn't do very well, does that call their ethics into question?

Hi Kevin,

Okay, context.

Simple answer is yes, leaving out a 'failure' might make me question the applicant's character.

On the other hand, apparently the rest of the resume' is enough to make you post questions, seek validation. There must be something there worth looking into.

There might be more than just a failure involved. Bad feelings with bosses, maybe he's just not willing to share his reasons for leaving, or being there in the first place. He could just be young.

I think, given the interest and effort you're investing, he's probably worth an interview, and spend a little more time on investigating the 'caharacter' things. Maybe hit him directly with the omission and see what his responses are.

My advice is 'go with your gut'.

Good Luck!

Source: http://www.abusinessmentor.com

As dlyons says, there are obviously other elements to the resume that make you interested in him. Perhaps it is something as simple as he just felt like there was other, better information to include. Like dlyons advises, I'd say go through with an interview and you will likely find out what you want to know, good or bad.

Employment agencies and job recruiters are reacting to the growing numbers of unemployed workers they see dumbing down their experience and credentials in an effort to land a job for which they are over-qualified. Their deflationary techniques include “hiding advanced degrees, changing too-lofty titles, shortening work experience descriptions, and removing awards and accolades” from their resumes.