See Through My Eyes by Lady Dragonfly CC via Flickr
Scott Thompson is gone as CEO of Yahoo. As I wrote in my last post, Thompson’s biography falsely claimed that he had a degree in computer science and accounting, at a time when his college did not offer a CS major. And close to two weeks later, Yahoo announced that he is leaving the company. A victory for values? Not exactly.
If this were a values issue, I think Yahoo would have made it clear that Thompson was being fired for falsifying his bio. They did nothing of the kind – the news release only discussed the interim CEO and the new board members. Thompson’s fake bio was uncovered by Daniel Loeb, who heads a dissatisfied group of investors. Loeb used the padded resume as a political lever to get what he wanted – a seat at the table, and more control of the board. It is pretty clear that Thompson would still be leading Yahoo if there wasn’t a group that already had been pushing for his ouster. Sad, but not particularly surprising.
Since my post came out, I have had a few people tell me secret stories about why they pad their resume. The attitude can be remarkably blasé – “I have a strict rule that I only exaggerate one thing on my resume.” Not an entirely serious comment, but not completely a joke either. According to the employment screening service HireRight, 69% of organizations “reported catching a job candidate lying on his or her resume.” Most people will stretch the truth over what they perceive as small things or to spare someone’s feelings. But I don’t think resume padding falls in either of those categories for three reasons.
Reason 1: Once the lie starts, it’s hard to stop.
According to resume expert Louise Kursmark “First you lie on the resume, then that lie gets repeated in a company bio and becomes permanently attached to your name. The more widespread, the easier it is to check, and the more likely it will be spotted by someone who knows it for a lie. The risk is not worth the potential reward – and it’s the wrong thing to do.”
Reason 2: Resume padding is not a victimless crime.
I once had an interview where people kept asking me “what role did you play” for a key accomplishment on my resume. I found it confusing, because the questions seemed to go beyond the normal level of inquiry, and the resume stated what I did. Maybe the interviewers were used to people padding their resumes and thought I was taking credit for the accomplishments of other people. When resume padding is commonplace, everyone’s individual accomplishments become devalued.
Reason 3: Exaggeration is a sign of weakness and insecurity.
I once invited a former report of mine at a previous company to interview for a position in my department. When I saw her resume, she gave herself credit for doing my old job, and didn’t mention her actual responsibilities. It was a shame, because I thought she was talented and did a great job for the smaller product that she actually managed. I was really surprised that she did not feel confident enough in her abilities to tell the truth. She did not impress the other people she interviewed with, and my boss quietly chided me for bringing in someone not qualified. My theory is that she couldn’t talk in proper depth about the stuff on her resume. If she had just described what she really did, it may have turned out differently.
It doesn’t have to be that way
Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has a chance to make it right. Some mistakes are huge, with life changing consequences. But a padded resume that no one has noticed? Not a big mistake, at least not yet. So why not just take that one off the board, and save yourself a potential headache later?
And more importantly, it is an easy way to step up and do the right thing.
I find something magical about doing the right thing when no one else knows about it. It is like a beautiful flower that no one else will ever see, a lovely image to hold in your heart.
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