Always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That’s the advice given by Russ Jones to job candidates concerned about their resumes and what to say about their work history in job interviews.

Jones is a partner in First Transitions, a corporate outplacement firm based in Oak Brook, Ill., with an office in Chicago. He has been in outplacement since 1983 and is the author of articles and books on careers.

And Jones considers it not telling the truth – in fact, he calls it “unethical” – if you leave out important information.

“When you omit something, an entire job or an entire period of time, I think there’s an ethical breach,” said Jones, who has a bachelor of science degree in economics.

As an employer himself – he has a staff of 19 people – the outplacement professional says when he finds out an entire job or responsibility was left out of the resume or never mentioned in the job interview, he immediately starts thinking this:

“What else have you chosen to omit?”

One of the first things employers look at is “gaps” in years of employment, Jones says. “They see that immediately, in a quick and dirty first glance at the resume. Leaving a gap raises a red flag and it becomes the focus of the interview – if you get one.”

Jones wants to hear the truth, rather than have “someone attempt to pull the wool over my eyes. Eventually, those things have a way of surfacing.”

He explains that what he is talking about is integrity. “It’s about being straightforward about who you are and what you’ve done,” Jones observed. “Approaching a job search means digging deeper into yourself and understanding what you’re about.”

Job applicants, he says, most frequently lie about dates of employment and their educational background, but there are other areas where honesty also is the best policy.

“A woman whom we worked with in outplacement had been employed at a health-care organization,” he related. “She had been a long-term employee at a fairly high level and was fired because she had stolen drugs and become chemically dependent. She was very bright and well-educated – but she had made some critical mistakes.”

Jones’ advice, which she followed, was “not to talk initially about what had happened to her, but if it didn’t come up in the course of the interview to bring it up herself. She had to say that something occurred in her last position that you need to know.”

She went on to explain that she was no longer chemically dependent and was fit to go back to work. And, while several companies turned her down, she eventually got three job offers, accepted one and now is successfully employed.

“If you choose not to tell the truth,” Jones said, “you should be aware of the potential consequences, which include termination if you were hired and gaining the reputation of being a job hopper, which will make every subsequent job search that much more difficult.”

Carol Kleiman writes for the Chicago Tribune.

is the author of “Winning the Job Game: The New Rules for Finding and Keeping the Job You Want” (Wiley, $16.95). Send e-mail to ckleimantribune.com.)

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AP-NY-02-22-05 0620EST