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Summertime always involves the great hunt for
new grads—where will I work, who will hire me? It’s also a good time to look
around for advancement opportunities or fine-tuning what you are currently
doing.
If you are on the search, be it with a new degree in hand or just wanting to
upgrade your career, think hard about what you include on your resume.
Early this year, the embattled President and CEO of RadioShack finally
tossed in the towel and resigned. Why? Resume padding, simple and bold.
Resume padding—what’s that? Plain, old-fashioned lying.
David Edmondson’s resume claimed that he had received two degrees from
schools that stated they had no record of his graduating. Records showed he
had attended a couple of semesters, but never offered degrees in the areas
that Edmondson claimed he had earned one in.
With public rumors circulating about Edmondson’s credibility, RadioShack
decided to launch an investigation by researching his resume. With the heat
on, he resigned.
Some may think, “Well, so what, he was doing a good job for
RadioShack—what’s a degree anyway, it’s results that count.” Others will
disagree. “If they lie on a resume, what else will they lie about?”
RadioShack’s Board agreed with the later…they felt that it was critical to
restore the company’s credibility. Edmondson was out.
Lying on resumes isn’t an exclusive of the corporate workplace. It happens
everywhere, including sports and academia.
A few years ago, the newly hired basketball coach of the University of
Louisiana was given the pink slip. The school learned that Glynn Cyprien’s
claim of a degree from an accredited university that was claimed on his
resume was a myth. Ditto for George O’Leary who was exposed just a week
after he was hired as Notre Dame’s football coach.
It’s not just a guy thing. Sandra Baldwin stepped down as president of the
U. S. Olympic Committee after it was learned that the PhD in English she
claimed on her resume didn’t exist, nor did she graduate from the Colorado
school she claimed she had.
According to www.ResumeDoctor.com, a resume advisory service, over 43
percent of resumes have inaccuracies in them. Some can be a wrong date;
others claims/credentials that are non-existence.
It may be viewed that exaggerating a tad will move you up the ladder faster,
or get you hired ahead of others. There’s a belief that you won’t get
caught—similar to athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs.
Gordon Miller, Director of Coaching for Colorado Careers (www.ColoradoCareers.com),
author of The Career Coach: Winning Strategies for Today's Job Market and
career expert on WB2 adds his two-bits, “As a coach, my main job is to help
clients determine what is holding them back and to design an
action-oriented, results-based path to quickly bridge the gap between where
they are in their career and where they want to be.”
Resume padding doesn’t fit into Miller’s methods of operation for the savvy
employee.
What’s a manager to do if he suspects an employee (or potential) isn’t all
what was initially presented? What’s an employee to do who’s boosted his or
her resume a bit?
For managers, don’t accept all that is written. Get out the phone and call
references, check claimed degrees, credentials, writings and awards. Let the
Internet by an ally, especially with young people.
Gordon recommends that you do “random testing” of employee’s resumes…even
those who’ve been with you for five, even ten years. “Employers don’t put
enough teeth in their policies. If something is amiss, it’s time for a
one-on-one. They should be called on the carpet and fired if lying is
exposed.”
The Internet can be very revealing about a potential employee, especially
the under 25 crowd. Websites, such as www.MySpace.com, www.Facebook.cm,
www.Tagged.com, www.Bebo.com, www.Bolt.com and www.Friendster.com should be
routinely checked for blogs and comments that could be viewed as negative or
risky.
As the largest, www.MySpace.com has over 65 million digital subscribers.
Over 150,000 new users register each day. They chat about anything and
everything…maybe it should be called BlabSpace.com. Many have not made it
past the interview process because of questionable postings that have been
put up when checked by a manager or HR professional.
Your next senior executive is not going to be found on one of these sites.
But, on the plus side, recruiters have also sought out entry-level and
mid-level managers. College recruiters have learned that this is a great way
to “remote” recruit new hires.
For employees and job-seekers, be smart with any postings that you put on
the Internet, especially if you are ticked about something. With search
engines, it’s not hard to find out what someone’s position is.
When completing a resume, many job applicants don’t hit the mark because
they fail to target their resume to the employer. Instead of making 500
copies, do some customization. You’ve got a computer or access to
one—personalize it. Tweak it so that your background fits with the company.
You want that piece of paper to say, “I’m what you are looking for and
here’s my background to support it.”
When if comes to fluffy up the resume, it’s taboo. Gordon tosses out this
simple question, “If the roles were reversed, would you hire someone who
lied on their resume?”
Most who fudge on their resume don’t find their names and deeds on the front
page of the business section of the newspaper. But they could lose they job
they prize the most. Don’t you.
# # #
Judith Briles holds
both an MBA and DBA. Prior to her career as a full time speaker and author,
she was a stockbroker with EF Hutton & Co. and headed her own
financial firm. She’s the author of 24 books including Money Smarts:
Personal Financial Success in 30 Days!, Smart Money Moves for Kids, The
Dollars and Sense of Divorce and The Confidence Factor..
Judith lives in Colorado. Her website is www.Briles.com and she can be
reached at Judith@Briles.com.
©2006 Judith Briles, All Rights Reserved
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