Resume Inflation: Are You Marketing Yourself or Selling a Lie?

Ever looked at a coworker’s resume and thought, "Did we even work at the same place?"

Or maybe you’ve been tempted to let AI give your own job history a slightly... extravagant upgrade. You aren't alone.

In this episode of Pull Up a Chair, Brandee Blocker Anderson and Haleh Rabizadeh Resnick (the Chatting Legalistas) dive headfirst into the hyper-competitive world of job hunting to debate a massive professional grey area: resume inflation. Using the sharp legal analytical tool IRAC, they break down exactly where strategic personal branding ends and flat-out misrepresentation begins.

The Great Debate: Polishing vs. Phoning It In

• The "Event Coordinator" Illusion: What is the line between translating your real skills and making false claims? There is a massive difference between turning "helped with events" into detailed, professional responsibilities and claiming you "led a 500-person conference" when your only job was checking people in at the door.

Clout Chasing & Credentials

The hosts also unpack the messy world of modern status symbols. They tackle everything from the viral ethics of claiming an unaccredited online doctorate to the strategic framing of flashing a paid "Harvard certificate" on your LinkedIn profile just for the clout.

Master Your Career Moves Legally: The T.R.U.T.H. Framework

To close out the episode, Brandee and Haleh share a brilliant, five-step rule of thumb to make your resume punch above its weight class without ever crossing the ethical line:

• T – Translate the work: Swap out passive descriptions for powerful, industry-standard language that accurately reflects your daily grind.
• R – Resist exaggerating: Never stretch a single supportive task into a grand leadership title you can't back up in an interview.
• U – Understand the role: Stop copy-pasting; align your actual, real-world experiences to directly match what the job description is asking for.
• T – Tell it with power: Stop shrinking your achievements! Own your labor, even if your previous boss didn't give you a fancy title for it.
• H – Have receipts: Ensure every single bullet point passes the ultimate test—if your old supervisor read it over your shoulder, would they agree with it?

New to the podcast? Pull up a chair, subscribe, and learn how to think with a little more nuance so you can make much smarter calls in real life.

Where do you draw the line between playing the game and lying? Drop a comment and let us know!