I was looking at my resume the other day, and realized that most of what was on there just was not true. Did I actually organize and operate 2 community service days with over 25 volunteers each? Yes, if you consider that "operate" means following the instructions of someone else and if "25 volunteers" actually refers to 10 people who are required to be there and 4 people that cooked lunch and 5 people that were supposed to show up but didn't and 6 dogs that kind of helped out a bit. Is the key to a good resume to have what you say about your accomplishments be plausible, but not accurate?
The funniest part about all of this is that I actually... start to... believe... that my resume speaks the truth. Why not? There's no reason not to. Nobody will ever know otherwise! It's like a story that has been passed down through generations, and been exaggerated each time. By the end, great grandpa Chester walked 15 miles a day to school in negative temperatures with no shoes on his feet and a 50 pound pig on his back for lunch. And everyone knows it can't be true... Or can it? See what I mean?
I've found from experience that there's a fine line between flat out lying and just exaggerating a little bit what actually happened. It's important not to cross that line, because if a recommendation letter unwittingly contradicts something you've said... Employer 1, Dan 0.
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