Why did I lie on my resume?
Anonymous
Why did I lie on my resume?
I learned Accounts Payable in Quickbooks in a test environment, thought about the AP process from beginning to end, and felt confident enough to put it on my resume. I applied and interviewed for an AP position. During the interview the CFO told me not to "sell myself short" (AP position). The next week I got an interview for a Staff Accountant position and another Accounts Payable position and had interviews for both of them on the same day. At the Staff Accountant interview, my recruiter tailored my resume from the several hats I had worn at my previous job, to just Accountant. This, and the fact that my resume now stated that I had 9 years of accounts payable experience, made me nervous as the manager who had my resume right in front of her was interviewing me. Was I ready to explain if she asked about it? I had no time to think as I rushed to my AP interview. Following this interview, I kept getting calls from the recruiter. When I called him back, my endorphins ran through my veins as he told me they would love to hire me. My expectations for salary at point were low and I was floored when he told me they would pay $10,000 over the average salary for an entry level accountant. Extreme surprise and happiness exerted from my voice and I joyfully accepted the position.
Fast- forward 17 months -- I am severely burnt out and the company lets me go via PIP. As I searched for my next role, I found it impossible to claim AP again as the guilt, paranoia, and my inability to keep my mouth shut about it simply did not feel worth it and I trusted my experience at this position to carry me through to my next position.
A month after, I get a job that paid the same but less benefits than the previous. I asked for a raise while my supervisor was being condescending towards another female employee. They let me go after 4 months of working there.
I accepted a contract job (with a pay cut) where I learned more about Accounts Payable and did a bit of it for them before I quit after three days due to poor treatment and arguably sexually harassed.
A couple weeks following this I accepted a Staff Accountant position. After working there for a few days, they demoted me to Accounts Receivable only, pay expectations unknown. They let me go after two weeks for no clear reason. My boss said he had a gut feeling it wasn't going to workout while I had been feeling like things were going well and was enjoying working there.
It's now been 4 months since my last resume-eligible position. I've tried everything - applying to all kinds of accounting-related positions, remote, not remote, senior-level accountant positions. My doctor recommended that I don't work and do graduate school at the same time. I had tried to get into a masters program full time but wasn't approved for sufficient loans. I decided I was going to just start taking classes and the money for living expenses would work out. I started driving for food delivery companies. I applied to restaurants to waitress. I interviewed possible room-mates and re-organized my condo to allow livability for a tenant. As I was hussling, I neglected to realize that my ideal education path was very likely not going to lead to my professional goals and I changed programs with a $700 drop fee and a six month waiting period before it's possible for me to begin school again.
To answer the question at the beginning of this article, prior to the addition to my resume, I had spent MONTHS applying for and interviewing for positions with not a single offer as far as I can remember. According to LinkedIn’s article about what to do after a long application process, I needed to gain skills. The obvious skill was AP and as soon as I added this, employers began to become more serious about hiring me.
Some might argue that I could have easily gotten a position, just one that paid lower than the average entry level wage for an accountant. However, my experience was that most of the time I didn’t get called in for interviews for those positions or I declined interviews due to a time-conflicting interview for a better job. And the one time I did, I was told by the CFO not to sell myself short.
I just accepted a position that pays substantially less than average and no benefits. It’s a month long temp-to-hire position so there’s the possibility of a raise once or if it is permanent. It’s also remote which is a huge plus due to gas prices. However, my motivation to start this job is at an all-time low. How do I prevent making a mistake that could cost me the job? Unfortunately there’s training so I could get fired for simply coming off as rude to whoever is training me!!! How do I set myself up for success in this role when I am used to getting offers for much more? What red flags do I need to look for?
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