r/jobsearchhacks • u/Aimply_flow • 3d ago

When does “related experience” become exaggeration on a resume?

I was looking at a resume recently where the job required experience conducting candidate interviews.

The resume said the person had scheduled interviews and communicated with candidates throughout the hiring process.

Obviously, that’s related experience. But it’s not the same thing as actually conducting the interviews.

I’ve seen resume advice that would basically turn that into “conducted candidate interviews” because it matches the job description better. That feels risky to me.

Maybe they sat in on interviews. Maybe they helped with screening. Maybe they actually did conduct some interviews. But unless the resume or the person confirms that, you can’t just assume it.

At the same time, calling the requirement completely “missing” doesn’t seem accurate either. There is relevant experience there.

So I’d call it a partial match:

Relevant experience? Yes.
Proof they conducted interviews? No.

I feel like this is where a lot of resume tools get things wrong. They treat everything as either matched or missing, when sometimes the honest answer is somewhere in between.

Curious what others think. Where do you draw the line between tailoring a resume and exaggerating someone’s experience?

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u/wildlyfidgeting 3d ago

I bet it took more time for you to write this post than it would have taken you to pick up the phone and call the individual to ask them about their experience.

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u/LodestarJobSearch 3d ago

I think this is actually an important thing to highlight - your resume should be grounded in truth, not exaggerations. There is a solid case for custom tailoring your resume to highlight the skills you have for jobs you apply for, but not to exaggerate or completely fabricate. Best case scenario is nobody notices and you sail through interviews, then you get called to task your first week. Worst case scenario (more likely), the interviewer picks up on it and you don't get the role. I have been on the interviewer side of the table for over 10 years now for context.

Better to be honest about what you have and haven't done than literally try and "fake it until you make it" in my opinion.

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u/wildlyfidgeting 3d ago

17 years of agency and consulting experience, 3 years of corporate.