On the other hand, I do censure employers for being too picky about this matter of "previous responsibilities." If your job was to carry your boss' briefcase from the corporate jet to the company limo, then who is to say that calling yourself "Director of Information Services" is not an appropriate job description. Similarly, your ability to have at hand your manager's favorite chewing gum certainly qualifies you for a position of "Strategic Supply Chain Director."
(Special warning: fibbing about your previous salary can be dangerous. A hiring manager can ask to see proof, and it is a little embarrassing to have to claim that the dog ate your pay stubs.)
Exaggerated academic accomplishments came up as the fifth most popular resume lie, according to a study by executive recruiter, Korn/Ferry International. You would think that even the most deranged executives would have learned this lesson by now, but the need to drape oneself with mock college degrees seems irresistible to the managerial class. And, in fact, 2008 saw the president of Herbalife Ltd. lose his position when it was discovered that his corporate biography included a fake master's degree. Similar discoveries of forged or inflated academic degrees also struck executives at Tetra Tech Inc. and Cabot Microelectronics.
Fortunately, no one is going to question your Ph.D. from Munsingwear University, or the Phi Beta Kappa key that came with it. Hey, you paid for that degree fair and square. Best $99 you ever spent!
The lesson here is to be very careful when compiling your resume. You only want to include the best-crafted lies and the most inspired exaggerations. You may be dinged for doing a bad job, but no one will ever be able to say that you lacked imagination.
