When recommending a former classmate for a job despite their exaggerated resume, what should be included in the recommendation?

Including a disclaimer indicating your personal opinion on the exaggeration in the recommendation serves to provide a transparent and honest assessment of the individual's qualifications. This approach acknowledges the discrepancies in the resume while still allowing you to convey your support for the individual's skills or character based on your personal experiences.

By including this disclaimer, you maintain ethical integrity, demonstrating that you are not endorsing the inflated claims presented in the resume but rather providing a truthful perspective on your observations of the candidate. This enables potential employers to make more informed decisions by understanding both your supportive stance and the discrepancies you've identified.

In this context, supporting the resume details completely would lead to misrepresentation and potentially harm the credibility of both you and the hiring organization. Simply relying on personal ties does not provide a fair or objective recommendation. Refusing to recommend the applicant denies them an opportunity while not addressing the fundamental issue of the exaggeration, leaving both the candidate and the employer without the necessary information for a sound judgment.