What is the distinction between making my accomplishments stand out and resume padding?
There is a sizeable difference between taking pride in your accomplishments and feigning pride in someone else’s accomplishments unjustly claimed as your own. It may seem too easy to add one more really impressive item to the resume, even if it isn’t exactly true. The scary part is that it is too easy! Unfortunately, resume padding is a disturbingly common practice. So, what’s the big deal? If everyone does it, you may ask why should you even consider not doing it?
Resume padding is wrong. Why? Well, why is plagiarism wrong? As students, we must have heard this information dozens of times—without citation, it is not okay to claim credit for another person’s work. So, unless you want to write on your resume that your friend Buck was actually founder and president of the cowboys and aliens club at school, I would suggest leaving “president of cowboys and aliens club” off your resume.
To compare resume padding to another well-known method to award credit, let’s examine the patent. The patent is a way to prevent people from stealing your idea for an extended period of time, so that you alone can reap the benefits from your efforts. We should institute this for resumes to keep people honest! In all seriousness, I should hope that drawing the parallels among plagiarism, patents and resume padding is enough evidence to convince you that resume padding is morally wrong. No? Okay, another ‘for instance’ coming your way—this time it’s personal!
Say you are a high school senior, Philip, about to apply to college—early decision to Duke, of course! You have tried out for your high school’s competitive curling team every year but failed to make the team until junior year. Although you have been practicing for years, your skill set is just not up to par with that of your teammates. Out of your determination, dedication to the team, ability to brush off insults and endless hours of practice, you become the captain of the team senior year. Under your guidance, the team has had a flawless winning record so far. For you, curling is a large part of your life and represents an emotionally meaningful story.
Now meet Susie. She is also trying to get into Duke early decision. She is reviewing her resume when she decides that she has too many bizarre things on it, like soccer, class president, peer leader, honor society. She decides that she needs a grounded and more mundane aspect to her resume. As a result, she turns to curling. She writes that she has been the varsity team captain for curling all four years of high school when she doesn’t even know how the sport is played.
Consider Philip: he has invested a lot of energy into furthering himself in the sport, while the only effort Susie has put into it is including it on her application. Duke will read Susie as the stronger candidate if only the facts are presented—she was captain for four years while Philip will only have been captain for one at the end of his high school experience. This is where the importance of making your accomplishments shine comes in.
Philip’s story will be much more meaningful than Susie’s because he is emotionally invested in curling while she is only pretending. Sincerity comes out on paper, especially when it comes to writing about emotional reactions. It is very difficult to maintain a lie. Somewhere along the line, perhaps in a writing sample, an interview, a phone call, etc., Susie may forget her lie and be inconsistent about her involvement in curling. People tend to remember truths better than fabricated stories.
Also, there is always the possibility that Duke finds out about the scam. What happens then? Very bad things: no consideration for admission, a blemish on the record so that all other colleges can see—clearly, it is not worth the risk. Colleges, graduate schools and companies pick applicants based on their resumes, and if you lie on a resume, you may end up with a job that does not suit you at all.
Who are you helping by padding your resume? Everyone will be unhappy, especially you when you are caught. There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing about every single detail of the activities you have done or about your accomplishments and how they formed your life. Honesty is key and appreciated in a world that is way too competitive already.
The Duke Ethicist is a project of the Honor Council which responds to ethical questions posed by the Duke community. Our purpose is to provide a medium through which students may anonymously seek advice or spark dialogue. Got a question? Send it to dukeethicist@gmail.com, and look out for a response on our blog.
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