By Liz Ryan

Management and Budget
Now, what can you say about the teams you managed and the dollars for which you were accountable? Here's another area where maximum accuracy is key: Don't claim to have managed dollars or people you didn't. You would feel like a fool if you blew a great opportunity because a past employer wouldn't verify the management responsibilities and/or dollar accountability you claim.

Still, you can say a lot -- even when you didn't hold formal responsibility for people or budgets. You can say that you served as a team leader of 15 inside sales reps who worked for your boss. You can say that your bonus was based on your adherence to the quarterly marketing budget, for which your boss or someone else had overall accountability.

Modern organizations are complex, and management assignments come with many levels of responsibility. Call attention to what you were asked to do, and to what you did -- even if the teams led or dollars spent and saved formally resided in someone else's spreadsheet.

Reason for Leaving
Finally, the $64,000 question: What can you say about the circumstances surrounding your departure? This won't go on your resume -- you can include why-I-left information on a cover letter if you want, though you certainly aren't required to -- but you're bound to be asked the question sooner or later. You must have a ready answer, like one of these:

• "It was a great time for me to move on and try something new."

• "I had learned about all I could in that assignment, and I was eager to advance."

• "It was not the best environment for me, for this reason...."

Must you say that you hated your boss, or that your boss hated you? Not at all. If you cannot use your former boss as a reference, say something like, "My manager is not the person from that job I've provided as a reference. We did not have a great relationship. I've given you Amy, a peer; John, a customer; and Suzanne, a subordinate. Unfortunately, that difficult relationship with my manager was one of the principal reasons for my leaving."

Many, many people have been in this situation. Interviewers have heard it a million times. Obviously, if this is your explanation for leaving not one but two, three, or more jobs, you might want to consider the overall pattern.

But you are not duty-bound to say that the layoff that got you bounced was limited to just one person. Nor are you required to say that your boss provided you a nice package in exchange for your agreement that the fit between you and the job was pretty awful.

Last Word
The key to accuracy in resumes and cover letters is your conviction that you won't be embarrassed or feel less than truthful about any aspect of your personal "marketing materials." One of the most frustrating things about corporate HR jobs is not being able to tell a great candidate: "Dude, why did you say you were a vice-president at that startup? We have three people working here in our company who knew you there, and all three reported independently that you were the marketing manager. Bad move on your part, fudging the truth. We can't even consider you for a job, now or in the future."

HR folks won't share that kind of information with an applicant: For the employer, there's no advantage in doing so, and there are potential disadvantages. So the candidate doesn't learn his or her lesson, and may go on to puff away job after job.

Still, the fear of being caught shouldn't be the primary motivator for your personal truth-in-advertising campaign. It's your good name, as they say. Isn't that worth a bunch more than an extra flourish or two on your already impressive resume?

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