'I was so unprepared': Job candidate creates fake resume, embarrasses himself in the interview, blocks the recruiter

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Mar 8, 2024 2:00 PM EST

There is a difference between making slight embellishments on your resume and fabricating entire experiences that never happened. It can be hard to make a sharp career change and to find work with minimal experience in a given field. However, when people say to make adjustments to your resume to better position yourself for a specific job you're applying for, they don't mean that it's time to start making up jobs you never had and skills you do not possess. 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/tifu subreddit by u/CoffeeandOreos, who learned the hard way what embellishing your resume is actually supposed to be. He was having trouble finding work and decided to apply for a position as a leasing consultant despite no experience in that field. Instead of taking time to apply how his real-life experiences might relate to this role, he decided to pretend he had worked in the industry for years. Furthermore, the only research he did prior to the interview involved ChatGPT. This guy was bound to mess this up, and it did not take long for the interviewer to figure it all out.

Keep scrolling below for the full story. For more, check out this post about a Karen who kept on threatening to quit until her coworker called her out.

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  • 01
    9 My Resume AV X U T G O A S C 70 2 क w3 DU
    via Markus Winkler
  • 02
    TIO by creating a fake resume. S I've been out of a job for a while, and I've never been a liar but I got so fed up that I've followed the advice of others that lying on your resume will help more than telling the truth. As someone who works in the food industry, I created a whole fake resume of someone who has experience in being a leasing consultant.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 03
    My fake resume was viewed and I actually got a call back. When she called, I said I was busy and could I call back in an hour. In reality, I was so unprepared, I spent that hour using ChatGPT and researched everything about being a leasing consultant, I actually wrote three pages of information within that hour. I finally called her back, and the first question she asked me was "how many units did you manage?"
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 04
    Why did I and say "20" what apartment complex has 20 units??? She questioned me and said "20?!??!?!!" I was so embarrassed, I hanged up in the middle of the phone interview. I didn't even make it a minute in and she caught me in a lie. I ended up blocking her
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 05
    TL;DR created a fake resume and I was so unprepared I hanged up on my interviewer and blocked her.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 06
    biggrigg667 13 hr. ago You went like one to ten steps too far, lie about little and jobs you could probably pull the skills out of your Reply Share 593
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 07
    ! SagedOne 3 hr. ago For real, when people say lie they mean minor tweaks like dates employed and covering gaps. Not creating a whole identity. OP should've took it a step further and said he was VP Director of Sales managing 20 regions. 125 Reply Share
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 08
    Sigmund Freud 30 min. ago OP should've just said she was president of the United States and the former CEO of Microsoft.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 09
    NorthernDragon5 - 12 hr. ago You're lucky you got caught here because you absolutely would've been fired within a week anyway Imao 485 Reply Share
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 10
    Soomroz 13 hr. ago Saying I can do a surgery on a patient while I am actually a tow truck driver is a whole next level. 466 Reply Share
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 11
    yungsailboat 12 hr. ago i would've just doubled down honestly. there's gotta be some apartment complexes out there with only 20 units lol 199 Reply Share
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 12
    Aggressive-House-871. 11 hr. ago That's what I was thinking -- "Yeah it was a rural area and this was effectively a retirement center. It was really laid back... but yep, 20 units." 136 Reply Share
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 13
    CoffeeandOreos OP. 11 hr. ago She asked me if it was a garden complex or something? I didn't even know what the that was which is when I said and hung up Imao Reply Share 80
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 14
    changerofbits 11 hr. ago This is the funniest I've read all week. Chin up, hope you find some work.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 15
    truckthunderwood 11 hr. ago Just so you know for next time, you're supposed to lie to make your previous jobs sound better than they were. You can do this in two ways: embellish the title and responsibilities so that pizza delivery driver becomes "Nutritional Logistic Agent" or add in responsibilities that can't be verified. If the pizza place closed three years ago they're not going be able to confirm whether you really assisted with closing duties. Don't lie about anything specific or anything
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 16
    AccomplishedChoice91 · 11 hr. ago if it makes you feel any better i live in an apartment with 22 units lol but if it makes you feel any better i did the same to land my first serving job. i had been a host for 6 months so i knew a bit but towards the end of my interview manager asked "whats your upsell like?" which i completely blanked and thought i was caught. luckily it was actually a really stupid question for her to ask and I got the job and worked there for 5 years lol
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 17
    Swaqqmasta 12 hr. ago Man you really didn't understand anything you read, huh?
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 18
    CoffeeandOreos OP. 12 hr. ago I legit jotted everything down from knowing software like Yardi, and Microsoft, questions and answers for a leasing consultant interview but she that one question. me up with
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 19
    Software 1- Microsoft office •Documentation create & manage lease. agreements. • Data Analysis using Excel for tracking Income, expenses, budgeting. & Presentations : Presentations for property listing • Organization using OneNote to keep organized notes: Yardi Breeze & Yardı Voyager * lease managment * onlive applications. * Tenant portals financials * marketing Sautions.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 20
    yipee-kiyay 12 hr. ago 'twas worth a shot. although, is 20 too low or too high? i'm kinda confused
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 21
    CoffeeandOreos OP. 12 hr. ago Too low. Basically, if you've ever lived in an apartment "20" units would be like two buildings. Roughly 10 people (or families) living in each building. Most apartment complexes would have like 5 or more buildings hence more units. I hope that isn't too confusing, someone here could probably explain it better, lol.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 22
    . QuinticSpline 10 hr. ago Plenty of 20-unit apartment complexes out there. Also more plausible that someone young and inexperienced might be managing a smaller, older, mom-and-pop type of complex, so you probably could have sold the lie BETTER at "20" than if you'd said something higher.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 23
    ThePinkTeenager · 11 hr. ago You couldn't at least pick a job in your industry?
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 24
    CoffeeandOreos OP. 11 hr. ago It's tough out here, I have a REAL resume for that, lol. Been calling around, very little interviews, very little to no call backs. For the ones I do get call backs on though, I admittedly have had a very bad habit of job hopping in the past, so with background checks and employment history that may play a big role as to why I can't find anything easily.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos
  • 25
    Ugly_Eric 11 hr. ago You see, that is the problem with lying. first you gotta know a thing or two of the things you are lying about and secondly you gotta remember all your lies.
    via u/CoffeeandOreos

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job work resume reddit thread Reddit company job interview interview funny toxic-work-environment
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