REAL RESUME FABRICATIONS

In February of 2006, the CEO of Radio Shack resigned after admitting to lying about his education. It was indicated on his resume at the time of his hiring in 1994 that he had two undergraduate degrees from Pacific Coast Baptist College in California, degrees the university says he never earned. In fact, the university indicated that one of the degrees represented, a degree in Psychology, was never even offered. Radio Shack says that when he was hired, it was not company policy to verify education. They say that they do now.

Here are some others:

  • In April of 2007, the dean of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Admissions resigned after it came to light that she had claimed science credentials and a doctoral degree she did not have.
  • In December of 2001, the head football coach at Notre Dame resigned only a few days after accepting the position. He admitted he lied about his academic and athletic background. Claims of earning a master’s degree from New York University and three varsity football letters at the University of New Hampshire were false.
  • In May of 2002, the Chair of the U.S. Olympic committee was forced to resign when it was discovered she lied on her resume about having a Ph.D.
  • In June of 2002, on his first day as Dartmouth College, the athletic director resigned when a call from a previous employer indicated that Harris did not earn the master’s degree in journalism he had listed on his resume.
  • In October of 2002, the CFO of Veritas was forced to resign after serving for five years when the company discovered he lied about having an MBA from Stanford University.

Among the most memorable resume fabrications CareerBuilder.com found in its survey:

  • Claiming to have attended a nonexistent school.
  • Claiming to be a member of Mensa, an international organization of people with exceptionally high IQs.
  • Claiming to be a member of the Kennedy family.
  • Claiming, wrongly, to have previously worked for the hiring manager.
  • Claiming to be the CEO of a company where the candidate was an hourly employee.
  • Including samples of work that the interviewer had performed.
  • Claiming to have been a professional baseball player.

SOURCE: Kathy Gurchiek, Associate Editor for HR News

You can’t skimp on employee background checks
By: Joanna L. Krotz – Marketing Intelligence

A few years back, two armed robbers were caught ransacking an upscale California home and they wound up shooting the owner. The thieves hadn’t expected anyone to be home.

That’s because they knew a lot about that house and its security. The pair had spent hours in the home, as carpet cleaners for a service that caters to wealthy homeowners.

The cleaner-robbers had a clever scam. Most affluent owners don’t hang around when house cleaners arrive. So, typically, one guy worked while the other roamed, casing the contents, alarm systems, doors and windows. Then they left, only to return several months later to rob the place. Victims never made the connection to the carpet service – until the shooting.

When the robbers were found, the homeowner sued the service. It turned out that the men had criminal records and felony convictions before they were hired.

The company was found guilty of “negligent hiring.” Its owners had to pay $11 million in damages.

When you tally the dollars and time it takes to recruit, interview, hire and train an employee, it doesn’t make sense to cheap out on verifying background details. That may be especially important for smaller businesses where staffers often have multiple responsibilities. Even tiny employee lies can hurt your firm’s reputation or bank accountant. And one bad hire can do enormous damage.