What's the harm in a little white lie on your résumé, especially if it will help you finally nab that full-time position?

　　如果能帮你最终获得这份全职工作，在简历中撒点小谎有什么大碍？

　　Just ask George O'Leary, the Notre Dame football coach who was forced to resign five days after being hired when lies about his academic and athletic background came to light. Or Marilee Jones, an MIT dean who fudged on her credentials and quit when she was found out.

　　问问欧列瑞(George O'Leary)吧。由于在自己的学历和运动背景上撒谎一事被曝光，这名美国圣母大学(Notre Dame)的橄榄球教练在上任五天之后被迫辞职。或者问问琼斯(Marilee Jones)也行。由于被人发现伪造资历证明，她辞去了麻省理工学院(MIT)的系主任一职。

　　Sure, these are high-profile examples, but rank-and-file workers also fall into the trap -- and get caught.

　　当然，这些都是高端人士的例子，但普通工作者也会落入这一陷阱，并最终东窗事发。

　　Yet with all the uncertainty and anxiety these days over landing a job with a steady paycheck, more job seekers are finding it harder to resist fudging on a résumé or job application in order to paint themselves in the best light.

　　然而，寻找一份有稳定收入的工作时所面临的所有这些不确定性和焦虑让大多数求职者发现越来越难以抵抗捏造简历或求职申请的诱惑，他们想把自己最好的一面描绘出来。

　　After all, while the unemployment rate remained at a steady 9.7% in March, more than 6.5 million people are still facing long-term unemployment, according to the Department of Labor Statistics. It will be a slog to make a big dent in the nation's unemployment numbers.

　　毕竟，美国劳工统计局(Department of Labor Statistics)数据显示，3月份的失业率仍稳定地保持在9.7%，超过650万人仍面临长期失业。大幅减少美国的失业数字将是一个艰难的工作。

　　'It's such a tough spot that many people find themselves in right now with the number of long-term unemployed at historic highs,' says John Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. 'It's easy to falsify or embellish beyond a point that would be an ethical representation of your accomplishments.'

　　全球职业顾问公司Challenger, Gray & Christmas公司首席执行长查伦格(John Challenger)说，长期失业人数处于历史高位，许多人发现自己现在处于如此艰难的困境。在这种情况下，人们易于去伪造或修饰自己的过去，而不是诚实地展现自己的成绩。

　　According to the 2009 Screening Index released by ADP, a human-resources and payroll provider, 46% of employment, education or credential reference checks conducted in 2008 revealed discrepancies. That's up from 41% in 2006.

　　人力资源和薪资数据提供商ADP公司公布的2009年筛查指数显示，2008年进行的核查结果显示，对求职者的工作及教育背景或推荐信的检查中有46%存在不符之处，2006年为41%。

　　And the current job climate is even riper for résumé fraud, says Jenifer DeLoach, a senior vice president at Kroll, a New York-based global risk consultancy.

　　总部位于纽约的全球风险咨询公司──高乐公司(Kroll)高级副总裁迪罗克(Jenifer DeLoach)称，当前的工作环境导致简历作假进入高发期。

　　Crossing the Line

　　越界犯规

　　The art of résumé writing does allow you to push skills to the limit of an imaginary line, says Wendy S. Enelow, an executive career consultant in Coleman Falls, Va. 'It's about merchandising and selling a product. You do want to highlight the benefits and value of that product, but only within the realm of reality.'

　　美国Coleman Falls公司管理人员职业顾问恩尼罗(Wendy S. Enelow)说，写简历时有一条假想的线。允许你在这条线内使用一定的技巧。就像是推销一件产品。你当然想凸显这件产品的优点和价值，但不能超越事实。

　　The hard part, of course, is to avoid crossing that line.

　　当然，最难之处在于避免越过这条线。

　　Say you're an accountant and spend 80% of your time focusing on accounting and 20% on IT-related work, says Ms. Enelow. If you now want to pursue an IT job, you should highlight your skills and qualifications on a résumé in a way that places more emphasis on the IT. 'This way someone sees a qualified IT professional who happened to be an accountant as opposed to the other way around,' she says.

　　恩尼罗说，假如你是一名会计，花了80%的时间专注于会计事务，20%的时间处理与IT相关的工作。如果你现在想找一份IT的工作，你应当在简历中更多地强调你在IT方面的技术和资质。她说，这样别人就会认为你是一名合格的IT专业人士，只不过碰巧当过会计而已，而不是与之相反。

　　Crossing the line would be stating that you 'single-handedly spearheaded the effort to switch from system A to system B' or some other claim to leadership in the IT department, Ms. Enelow adds.

　　恩尼罗补充道，如果你声称“单枪匹马地带头完成了从系统A到系统B的转换”或声称在IT部门担任领导职务，就是越界犯规。

　　Steven Lurie, the author of 'Handbook for Early Career Success,' says he worked with a woman who exaggerated her responsibilities and previous salary when applying for an administrative job at a law firm last year. She got the job. But her exaggerations were discovered during a background check soon after and she was fired.

　　《职场快速成功手册》(Handbook for Early Career Success)的作者卢里(Steven Lurie)说曾与一位女士共事。这位女士去年向一家律师事务所申请一份行政工作时夸大了自己过去的职责和薪酬。她得到了那份工作。但不久后的背景调查发现了她夸大事实的行为，她被公司解雇。

　　'A lot of companies have zero-tolerance policies if they catch you' lying, says Mr. Challenger.

　　查伦格说，如果发现你说谎，许多公司的政策容忍度为零。

　　People who didn't complete a degree program can still list the school on a résumé, but they should indicate the 'strongest possible presentation that is truthful,' such as 'completed 50% of requirements for Bachelor of Science in Business Administration' or 'Bachelor of Arts candidate, anticipate completion in 2011,' says Louise Kursmark, an executive résumé writer and career consultant. Crossing the line would be saying you graduated with that degree.

　　管理人员简历作家、职业顾问科斯马克(Louise Kursmark)说，未完成的学位计划仍可列在简历中，但应当尽可能地从对自己有利的角度出发，但真实地表述事实，例如“完成了50%的工商管理学学士课程”，或“文学士候选人，预计于2011年完成学业”等。如果你说已毕业并取得学位就是越界犯规。

　　Older job seekers can leave off the years they went to school. Changing the years is lying.

　　年龄较大的求职者可不写上学的年份，但篡改年份即为说谎。

　　Also a no-no: stating that you were part of a mass downsizing when you were actually fired, says Mr. Challenger. But do leave off the reason for leaving a previous job, says Ms. Kursmark.

　　查伦格说，如果你真地遭到解雇，却声称是大规模裁员计划中的一员，就触犯了另一条禁律。科斯马克说，但不要在简历中说明你的离职原因。

　　In fact, you want to avoid filling a résumé with too many details, especially personal ones. If you have a black mark -- a stint in jail, a trip to rehab or you've been fired from a previous job -- 'that's something that should be dealt with during an interview,' says Meg Montford, an executive career coach in Kansas City, Mo. If you're asked or it looks like a job offer is imminent, 'you have to be honest,' she says, especially since more companies are doing reference and background checks.

　　事实上，你应当避免在简历中填写太多的细节，特别是个人细节。密苏里州管理人员职业培训师蒙特福德(Meg Montford)说，如果你有污点，例如曾坐过监狱、戒过毒或被上一家公司开除，这都是应当在面试时处理的问题。她说，如果被问及此事，或看上去即将得到这份工作，你必须实话实说，特别是由于越来越多的公司现在会询问推荐人和进行背景调查，你更应当诚实以对。

　　ADP says the number of background checks it performed for companies rose 24% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

　　ADP公司称今年第一季度为其它公司做背景调查的次数同比增加了24%。

　　You should be upfront and briefly explain why you parted on negative terms with a former employer, or why you were arrested. 'Don't blame anyone but yourself,' says Ms. Montford. 'And end your story about your situation with what you learned and how that impacts how you work going forward.'

　　你应当诚实并简要解释为什么被解雇或被逮捕。蒙特福德说，除了你自己，不要责怪任何人。描述完你的境遇，最后要说明你从中汲取了什么教训、这件事对你的影响以及你将如何继续前行。

　　Damage Control

　　损害控制

　　What if you've already sent out a résumé that paints a less-than-accurate portrait of your accomplishments?

　　如果你发出的简历中不太准确地描述了你的成就怎么办？

　　Mr. Challenger says there's no need to call employers you sent a résumé to if you haven't heard back from them.

　　查伦格说，如果你投简历的公司没有回音就不必给他们打电话。

　　If you have an interview lined up, however, that's the time to clear up any exaggerations. 'You could say something as simple as, 'After I submitted my résumé I realized that this date is wrong and should be this date,'[nbsp ]' says Ms. Montford. 'Or, 'As I looked over my résumé, I realized that this project was more of a team effort rather than an individual responsibility.'[nbsp ]'

　　然而，如果你已经订好面试时间，就应当澄清你夸大的部分。蒙特福德说，你可以简单地说，“提交了简历之后我意识到这个日期写错了，应当是这个日期”；或者“我检查简历时发现这项计划应当是由团队共同努力完成而不仅仅是我个人的职责”。

　　But if you've told a whopper about where you worked or went to school, it's nearly impossible to recover, Ms. Enelow says. A prospective employer will think: 'You've told me you're a liar. I've got 500 people in line for that job, and how do I know that you won't lie to a client? To a colleague?'

　　恩尼罗说，但如果你在学历和工作经历方面撒了弥天大谎，那就几乎无法弥补了。招聘者会想，你告诉我你骗了人。我这儿有500个人等着要这个职位，而且我怎么知道你不会对客户撒谎？不会对同事撒谎？

　　If that's the case, Mr. Challenger says, you should move on, fix the mistakes on the résumé and be honest going forward.

　　查伦格说，如果情况是这样，你应当向前看，修正简历中的错误，并诚实地走好未来的每一步。