Under the sea? That's your answer to everything!

[emily_strange84]

How far should one be prepared to lie in terms of the small matter of job applications?

On scouring the TEFL website for suitable positions. 28 current UK jobs. So far so good, now I've perhaps a little belatedly arrived at the conclusion that Manchester no longer has the hold on me it once did, and that I am ready to be terrifyingly adult and

Comments

[false_name]

I think you'll find that 8 months is close enough to a year's experience for them to consider you - I think that's just to put off people with no qualifications at all.

I don't like the idea of people lying on their CVs, because every lie that's told makes them one step closer to landing a job than me. :(

[emily_strange84]

Hmm, I hadn't considered it from that perspective. Hopefully there's some truth in that. I am a total newbie in the field of applying for "proper" jobs, having only been after wanky temping work before, so have yet to discover the repercussions that twisting facts that actually might matter could cause.

And ack, I am positive that the majority of CVs contains at least one teensy little fabrication. It isn't generally anything major, I wouldn't expect.

[false_name]

I think that will be the case. If you've had as positive responses as you say, they'd be foolish not to at least offer you an interview with only 4 months less experience than they want.

My CV may exagerate my knowledge of Excel... ;)

Incidently, you're a University Graduate, right? If this fails, you could do one of the TEFL schemes abroad to bump up your experience?

[emily_strange84]

No, I quit my course in March. I have simply been keeping myself busy doing various other things since then. Or I was until last month, at any rate.

However, I don't believe you have to be a graduate in order to take part in these schemes. Some of them, yes, but not all. I'm kind of relying on my TEFL qualification and my previous voluntary experience as an alternate route in. It appears that jobs abroad are far more easy to come by than jobs here, and at some point I do intend to leave this country behind for several years at a time and fully relive the dream. It's more a case of me feeling that I shouldn't necessarily have to.

[blue_bunny_paz]

Best not to lie, I think. Hmm, you could not give the specific months...but that would sort of be a lie too.
You might be alright after all, if you have a strong CV and decent reference

[emily_strange84]

Actually, I was wondering whether I should stretch the dates slightly. The thing with foreign schools is that potential employers are less likely to check up on them for exact dates. But I am undecided for the moment.

[emily_strange84]

Yeah, that sounds more than sensible. I always have this terrible fear of coming across as arrogant should I try and pimp myself up too much, however. Even though I am aware that you do need to be somewhere within that mindset when dealing with these things. Gah. Not very British at all!

And thanks!

[emily_strange84]

Hmm, that is well worth considering. Thanks for the heads up.

[broken___angel]

I agree with the others... don't brazenly lie. There's nothing wrong with a little embellishment of a resume, or in an interview... but outright lying could get you in a lot of trouble if you're found out, and could mean that you'd never be able to get a job with TEFL.

Good luck!

[emily_strange84]

Yeah, you have a point. I wasn't considering inventing a whole new background so much as stretching the dates of my existing experience somewhat. But I may try and go for the brutally honest approach first of all, and only start exaggerating placement lengths if I'm clearly not getting anywhere with the first approach.

[numbpill]

lie. everyone lies in interviews, you'd only be making it more fair for yourself.

[emily_strange84]

At present I am considering stretching dates maybe a teensy bit, but not by very much. If that fails then I may take more drastic measures.