Why Software Devs Lie on Their Resume
Don’t panic. This isn’t an article about election fraud or any other fraud other than the lies The Secret Developer put on their resume to get interviews.
”Hold on, you’re making me look dishonest here for a clickbait headline.
I believe when we get into the details of what has happened most people in the comments will admit this: they’re doing the same as me ‘inflating’ their resume or even worse.
I’m saying that this practice is so common in the software development industry that people will be putting their career at risk if they AREN’T liars and cheats.”
The lying secret developer
Many developers lie on their resumes, but we would not expect someone like The Secret Developer to need to put any untruths into their application for a job. Yet…
”It’s well documented that I’m in a low expectations environment. In short, that means I don’t do much and certainly not anything above expectations.
This leads to an issue when I’m looking to get out of my current position. I’m going to be asked what I’m most proud of working on in the last 6 months and I’m not going to say ‘nothing’ (if I would like a job).
This isn’t about getting a promotion or a big raise. For me, it’s about a sideways move where I can actually be given the opportunity to achieve something at work.
I’m going to lie on my resume to potentially get a job with a pay cut. If you think I’m crazy for that, you should see how stressed I get having no work to do at my job.”
The temptation to lie
The lies lies and more lies
Untruths on resumes and at interviews can include the following:
White lies
Exaggerating the truth
Claiming credit for others’ work
Reasons to tell ‘untruths’ on resumes might vary and include:
Wanting to make it seem you are a better developer than you are
Making yourself feel better (you know who you are)
Insecurity around the work you complete
A lack of relevant experience (for juniors especially)
“I have to admit that as a junior I inflated my resume. Worse I studied everything I might need to know to pass interviews. It worked, but then I didn’t know how to use GitHub at work.
That’s right. I got a good-paying job in software development and had never raised a PR. I might have gotten fired from that job after some time but eventually, it got me on a good career track. It’s not recommended though.”
Why you should lie
“So I’m saying you shouldn’t study for hundreds of hours to justify your inflated resume. It’s not an efficient use of time for a start.
I actually recommend if you have insufficient experience to work on a tangential career and use your free time to gain the skills required for your dream job (yes, it’s exclusionary and not suitable for all. It’s what I would do though).
The problem is then if you want that support, testing or other tangential software development role you’re still in an experience trap. That is, you won’t be able to get that job without experience and knowledge. If you pursue this advice, then I’d say you need to do one thing to get your job.
Lie.“
Conclusion
Here’s what we have learned in full:
Software developers are liars
The Secret Developer is a software developer. They lie
If you’re not a software developer you might need to lie to become one
It’s easy to break the interview process through hard work.
“If you’re one of those who *never* tells an untruth on your resume I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Because you don’t exist. “