In the wake of former Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson's troubles, many are asking "What's the cost of a lie that didn't have to be"? For most of us, a lie about education on our resume or application does not yield a payment valued at over $6 million. Yes, we might get back the dollar we put in the vending machine this morning for the strawberry Pop-Tarts. Then again, why would we? We are now known to the public as liars, people who lack integrity, and more importantly people who lied for no good reason.
In my HR experience, I've had the occasion to come across an employee that stretched the truth about their education. The worst part, is that like in Mr. Thompson's case, the lie made no sense and was completely unnecessary. Go figure!
It appears that people believe that claiming a degree that more closely fits the organization's product or focus makes them a better candidate. Basically, they are saying, I don't trust that you will consider someone with limited education, so in order to make sure you choose me, I'll polish it up a bit, worrying about the truthfulness of the statement when I get caught. So now we know...even CEOs get fired for lying.
When I first heard the story, I wondered how Yahoo! would resolve this. No doubt the company has fired employees for falsifying their education. No doubt they had intended for Mr. Thompson to stay with them longer than 5 months. For Yahoo!, there was no easy way out. Even though he's resigned in the midst of this scandal, the image to the brand and the executive selection practices leave people wondering, if the practices are so loose that they inadvertently encourage people to lie, what other lies does the company support? Is my information really private? Or are you just saying that so I'll feel secure?
The next time you are tempted to say something that is untrue (and can be easily verified, by the way) on your resume, remember, you don't get a $6 million payout. You'll be lucky to get a box to pack up your fake degree.
Until next time.
