Monday, May 14, 2012

Honesty is the best policy

The story buzzing last week was the discovery of an error on the resume of Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson. Apparently his resume stated he earned a degree in both Accounting and Computer Science. In reality, the CEO graduated with a degree in Accounting only. Now that's no small feat as accounting is a very hard subject and some people really have a way with numbers and know how to crunch them as the saying goes.

There was a call for Mr. Thompson to resign and he has done so while also revealing he has thyroid cancer. Check out the latest details on this story at CNN Money here. Thompson was only on the job at Yahoo four months and the company has been undergoing cost-cutting measures and revamping.

It's a tough job market for those seeking employment, but padding your resume with education, skills and experience you do not have is dishonest. Why run the risk of a hiring headhunter or the company finding out that information on the resume is false? Be honest and straightforward on your abilities. Keep in mind you will have to prove it when given a work project. In this case, the CEO is top-management.

One thing I found interesting was the vetting of the top candidate's credentials. There was clearly a misstep in the education confirmation with the institution where he received the degree.

Bottom line, honesty is the best policy. Don't fear looking over your shoulder wondering when this jig may be up.

4 comments:

  1. ... and he probably would have gotten the job without the other degree.

    I hope the thyroid cancer will go away.

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    1. I think so too. I wish him all the best as he deals with the cancer diagnosis.

      Have a good week Peaches!

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  2. There was a manager at my job a couple of years ago who lied in his application about having a college degree. It took a year for Personnel to finally investigate and terminate him. Everyone found out about it and he finally cleaned out his office and left the premises in shame. He's still remembered that way today. It's not worth lying to get a job because the investigation continues even while the person is working and when the truth is discovered the person may lose more than the job.

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    1. Hi Carmen, your comment is spot on and see what happened to that co-worker in the end. Plus, how do you explain why you left the last job? May be hard to explain that away.

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