Do you think faking the experience on your CV can land you a dream IT job?

If you think that you can put some fake experience in your CV and get the job with your dream salary, you are mistaken.

Even if you managed to get it, that is the biggest fraud you are committing and it can ruin your career and life, sooner or later.

This could be for any Job, BA/PM, or even for technical consultant jobs.

Faking work experience has become a common problem in the Information Technology (IT) industry. This is not the story of recent times but has existed in the IT industry for a long period of time.

I have seen people making their brilliant friends attend the telephonic technical interview rounds and once they crack the interview for them, real candidates attend the HR round for salary negotiations. To curb such actions by candidates, when Organizations made the Video rounds mandatory, the candidates got even smarter, wherein their friends started giving "voice over" to the actual candidates on a Video call. When the Interviewer gets suspicious about missing lip-sync, the answer they get is: "There is some lag in my network"!

There is another set of candidates. Who mention fake organization names in their CVs and provide their friends/or some paid agents' contacts, when asked for verification.

I've seen many such “fake experienced” candidates who obtain well-paying jobs in the IT company, join the company, and then get fired when their background checks fail.

However, there could be some exceptions, there are people who succeed, don’t get caught, and make their careers great. I would say, they just got lucky. In fact, that’s the reason people get the confidence to put the fake experience in their CVs to move up fast or gain a high-paying job!

But beware! organizations are smarter now. People who interview are even smarter now.

Despite this, sadly, the “Fake Stories” still happen.

A long time ago, one of my friends asked a question. A very common question—"If I don't fake it, how can I get into IT?" "Currently, I don't have any experience, though I have some knowledge."

It is like the classic "chicken or egg" situation: the job mandates experience, and you can't get experience without a job!

However, in the knowledge industry like IT, there is always a way to overcome such "chicken or egg" situations. Committing fraud like the above is not the solution at all.

I strongly advise against fabricating your work experience.

For example, consider a scenario wherein a person from a non-IT industry wants to get into the IT industry as a BA. Nothing wrong with that. In IT we need people who have domain experience. They can be great domain BAs—like a healthcare person can become a Healthcare domain BA.

Hence, for anyone who wants to switch industries as described in the above example, his/her first duty is to understand and learn how a typical IT project lifecycle works in IT Industry. Learn and read about how BAs work in an IT project. You may leverage online resources, courses, or certifications; it's up to you. But, your primary goal is to become a person who understands the nuances of the industry you are getting into (IT in this case) to a certain degree.

Once the person is equipped with the right knowledge, it is in this stage, where people are tempted to put some fake experience so that they can get shortlisted and at least get the interview. Well, still, I would say, that is not the right way. In fact, it is unethical to put fake experiences.

So, how can you gain some real experience in such a scenario?

The key is to explore if you can perform at least some activities in your current job, that you are supposed to do in your future aspired job (BA in this case). That is, see if you can get opportunities to perform a BA job in your current organization—at least some aspects of it. Ex: You can perform an analysis of your current IT system and applications and prepare your own analysis document on how the current process can be improved. If you have a mentor or a friend who can help you with feedback about work, that is even better.

If you already have a BA in your current organization or project, offer to assist him or her with his or her work on top of your current duties.?Talk to your manager/management about your aspirations. Get some work in your aspirational area, even if it is in addition to your existing responsibilities. Who knows, you may get a role of your liking in your current organization itself. Utilize that opportunity to the fullest to learn the tricks of the trade.

Now, don’t forget to highlight such activities/experiences in your CV so that the interviewer knows that you have been doing, “some” BA activities. At this point, you should think like a BA. Act Like a BA and Sleep like a BA!

When you change the industry/role, it’s obvious that you need to completely revamp your CV. You need to write your CV in such a way that how your current job role is almost the same as your aspired role (BA in this case). You need to highlight the activities you are doing in your current job which are relevant to your aspiring job. On top of it, if you get relevant knowledge (learned online, courses, etc.) to back it up, the interview may work in your favor.

The logic is simple. In typical IT organizations, people are under pressure to hire someone quickly because they might have got a project and they need a resource urgently. In such scenarios, they prefer real experienced people from the same industry. However, by chance, if you are shortlisted and in the interview, you are able to showcase your confidence, skills, and commitment, there is no reason they will reject you. However, in the job, you should be ready to put extra effort to get up to speed as you are not just learning and imagining things now. You are facing real-life situations and problems.

If you are looking to change the industry like in the above scenario, networking is a must. Connect with relevant people on platforms like LinkedIn. They may not help you immediately, but keeping in touch with them is important. You can also try the referral route via any contacts or friends working in IT companies. Referral is one of the most powerful ways to land a job in the IT industry.

To gain knowledge and experience, you may also instead, consider taking up freelance projects or accepting positions at smaller companies with lower salaries in order to gain practical experience, provided you are fine with that. If you are a fresher or have only a little experience, and need some more experience, this is the best way. This will provide you with the right knowledge and some real experience.

Any mature interviewer will be able to figure out whether your experience is real or fake by looking at your CV sometimes or when talking to you. Hence keeping your “career” genuine and honest is always the best way to excel in your career and in life.

Because a career founded on honesty and genuine experiences endure forever.