| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Poll: Have you ever lied in your CV? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | Aurora Humarán (X) 
Argentina
Local time: 18:24
English to Spanish
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I have never lied and I would never ever do so.
 Au
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In many ocasions I have heard from my Spanish friends that it's impossible to have a great cv without lying. Actually I have never understood that, because I have never lied in my CV. Maybe it was because I started to gain professional experience when I was almost a child (16-17 years old) and in few years my CV was already exceeding 2 pages...
Well, I hope this poll will generate an interesting discussion.
And one more thing: DON'T LIE WHEN ANSWERING THE POLL!!!
... See more In many ocasions I have heard from my Spanish friends that it's impossible to have a great cv without lying. Actually I have never understood that, because I have never lied in my CV. Maybe it was because I started to gain professional experience when I was almost a child (16-17 years old) and in few years my CV was already exceeding 2 pages...
Well, I hope this poll will generate an interesting discussion.
And one more thing: DON'T LIE WHEN ANSWERING THE POLL!!!
M. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juan Jacob
Mexico
Local time: 15:24
French to Spanish
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Even more, my name is not Juan Jacob Vilalta, I'm not a man, I'm not a translator, I live in Congo, I'm black, my native language is Swahili, I raise cattle in a poor village, have 3 wives, and I'm dead.
I never lie on serious matters.
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... if any "I usually do" answerer will share with us his/her experiences...
Nevertheless, thanks to this poll we have already discovered that Juan Jacob is one of the greatest compulsive liars the world have ever known, hehehe
M.
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When I started as a translator I was an experienced and travelled teacher but had not many things to say about translation experience. I was adviced more than once to lie. I felt that I couldn't and I didn't. Then, slowly, I could add projects to my CV, recommendations, and suddenly I noticed that I had no time to update that. I even made two CVs, one just summarizing and another one with a list of projects, not updated at all, and I noticed that most of the time this is not what matters at all!... See more When I started as a translator I was an experienced and travelled teacher but had not many things to say about translation experience. I was adviced more than once to lie. I felt that I couldn't and I didn't. Then, slowly, I could add projects to my CV, recommendations, and suddenly I noticed that I had no time to update that. I even made two CVs, one just summarizing and another one with a list of projects, not updated at all, and I noticed that most of the time this is not what matters at all!
Claudia
[Edited at 2006-06-11 01:51] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 15:24
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
And of course that's not me in the picture. And I am actually a cat.
Seriously, I keep my CV to one page, and one page only. No one wants to read the rest. In fact, no one even wants to read that first page, so seldom is it ever requested and then just for file purposes.
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Because I wouldn't, and because I don't have a CV! I've never needed one. I teach English, edit, and have more translation work than I have time for, and have gotten all my jobs via recommendations, i.e., word of mouth.
I'm in a rut--always commenting in a forum *after* Henry Hinds, and it's for me to say "ditto and amen." Not about the cat thing, though if I were going to be an animal that would be my choice. But about CVs being seldom requested and even more seldom read. At least ... See more Because I wouldn't, and because I don't have a CV! I've never needed one. I teach English, edit, and have more translation work than I have time for, and have gotten all my jobs via recommendations, i.e., word of mouth.
I'm in a rut--always commenting in a forum *after* Henry Hinds, and it's for me to say "ditto and amen." Not about the cat thing, though if I were going to be an animal that would be my choice. But about CVs being seldom requested and even more seldom read. At least in my experience.
And I haven't submitted a photo because I don't want anyone to know I'm a dead ringer for Catherine Zeta-Jones, except for my blond hair. ▲ Collapse
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Fan Gao
Australia
Local time: 07:24
English to Chinese
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| Is it a lie if you..... | Jun 11, 2006 |
....exaggerate the truth a little?
At the end of the day we are all in business and you have to sell yourself to stand out from the rest.
In marketing and advertising has there ever been a company that has been 100% honest? I highly doubt it.
Your CV is part of your marketing campaign and if you want to be successful then sometimes you have to bend the truth a little here and there.
That's my "honest" opinion.
Mark
| | | | tazdog (X)
Spain
Local time: 23:24
Spanish to English
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No lies and no bending of the truth or exaggeration. All 100% true, always.
The weight listed on my driver's license....ummm....that's different.
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:24
Flemish to English
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| Job-training course | Jun 11, 2006 |
Did any of you ever attend a job-training course? There you will learn that a CV is a marketing tool and must be written in function of the job/position you are applying for. There are different types of CV: functional onces without dates, chronological ones and a mixture of both.
The European CV which you can find on the recruitment site of the E.U. is an example of a mixture of both.
Quote from the job-trainer.
In a CV, you only give the recruiter what you want him or her t... See more Did any of you ever attend a job-training course? There you will learn that a CV is a marketing tool and must be written in function of the job/position you are applying for. There are different types of CV: functional onces without dates, chronological ones and a mixture of both.
The European CV which you can find on the recruitment site of the E.U. is an example of a mixture of both.
Quote from the job-trainer.
In a CV, you only give the recruiter what you want him or her to know about you. The same is true for a job interview.
Always tell the truth, but give it a twist so that the truth becomes a sales tool which benefits you.
Shouldn't you be asking: How functional do you think your CV is with regard to your bids and looking for translation jobs. A CV/Your Proz.com profile is a marketing tool, not an elaborate story about your life or a confession.
I always keep the words of the job-trainer in mind, "give them what you think they want to know, limit yourself to that"
[Edited at 2006-06-11 06:20] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nesrin
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:24
English to Arabic
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| The truth and nothing but the truth... (strike: the whole truth!) | Jun 11, 2006 |
I have never lied on my CV.
But that doesn't mean, as was stated above, that the CV is a confession tool.
For example, if I spent my first year as a freelance translator desperately looking for a single client, I don't go ahead and write:
"Freelance translator since 1995 but only really started working in 1996"! I just don't mention that fact at all!
But I also tend to avoid flowery marketing slogans like "the best in the business" or whatever. I do... See more I have never lied on my CV.
But that doesn't mean, as was stated above, that the CV is a confession tool.
For example, if I spent my first year as a freelance translator desperately looking for a single client, I don't go ahead and write:
"Freelance translator since 1995 but only really started working in 1996"! I just don't mention that fact at all!
But I also tend to avoid flowery marketing slogans like "the best in the business" or whatever. I don't think any client appreciates that, and we shouldn't confuse our CV with a Coca Cola commercial. ▲ Collapse
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| Spot on, Nesrin! | Jun 11, 2006 |
Nesrin wrote:
I have never lied on my CV.
But that doesn't mean, as was stated above, that the CV is a confession tool.
For example, if I spent my first year as a freelance translator desperately looking for a single client, I don't go ahead and write:
"Freelance translator since 1995 but only really started working in 1996"! I just don't mention that fact at all!
But I also tend to avoid flowery marketing slogans like "the best in the business" or whatever. I don't think any client appreciates that, and we shouldn't confuse our CV with a Coca Cola commercial.
Yes, I am also selective on my CV and show my experience in the best light. I also keep it to the essentials and ensure they want to get back to me for details. That gets your foot through the door.
| | | | Clare Barnes
Sweden
Local time: 23:24
Swedish to English
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| Different CVs for every job... | Jun 11, 2006 |
...but I don't lie (or even exaggerate) on any of them! My CV for teaching jobs looks very different to my CV for translating.
I also, in the first few years of freelancing, got myself a flexible part-time job near home. The CV I used for applying for a job flipping burgers was somewhat different to either the teaching/translating one. Turns out that bartending and waitressing can be useful work experience when starting out in translation!
A short targeted CV is worth... See more ...but I don't lie (or even exaggerate) on any of them! My CV for teaching jobs looks very different to my CV for translating.
I also, in the first few years of freelancing, got myself a flexible part-time job near home. The CV I used for applying for a job flipping burgers was somewhat different to either the teaching/translating one. Turns out that bartending and waitressing can be useful work experience when starting out in translation!
A short targeted CV is worth much more than a long one full of irrelevancies. If someone is interested in what you can do after an iniitial look at your CV they'll get in touch and ask you more. ▲ Collapse
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For some reason my former employers (before I became fulltime freelancer) always expected to include my interests in a CV. I never knew why, after all it's not their business.
But then someone else told me, that if they read among my interested "karate", they might not employ me, because I could be hurt on a training and would need some days off.
I removed the part with interests completely. I didn't want to lie and removal seemed the best solution.
Besides, if so... See more For some reason my former employers (before I became fulltime freelancer) always expected to include my interests in a CV. I never knew why, after all it's not their business.
But then someone else told me, that if they read among my interested "karate", they might not employ me, because I could be hurt on a training and would need some days off.
I removed the part with interests completely. I didn't want to lie and removal seemed the best solution.
Besides, if someone lies - how to face a person, when the truth comes out?
But yes, I maybe "interpreted" the truth the way to make it look better in a CV. When I was starting as a translator, I use in my CV those few translations I've done for friends. I added that in previous jobs one of my duties was translating. Not lies, but not very relevant in fact. Now all those are removed completely, as I have comfort of listing my jobs as full-time translator only
Anni ▲ Collapse
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