Dr. Neil Hair

An interesting article in the D&C today about a schools superintendent charged with 'filing a false instrument' (ie his resume) – suspended on full pay and benefits whilst investigations continue. This serves to my mind as a stark warning to all about the use of little lies (such as claiming to have worked as a State Trooper for 17 years) to help pad your resume for potential employers. In the UK the discovery of this act constitutes immediate dismissal from your post (no matter how good you might be). Their reasoning, if you lied to get the job, what have you been doing whilst ON the job? So what constitutes a lie and how can you avoid them? First off – you should have gone to Saunders College of Business. We give our students enough experience not to warrant a lie in the first place! A Saunders resume has the potential through classes, co-ops and volunteer work to be jammed full of experience – even before you start work. I counted at least ten classes recently where you can gain real world consultancy exposure that can (and should) be placed on your CV. Secondly – my advice is to stick to the facts of prior experience. Wax lyrical in the interview situation about the details but on your resume – a simple line of facts to support what you did and for whom. Thirdly – you know if youre lying or not about this experience the moment you put it down on your resume. Its clearly not worth the act of being marched off the premises by security with nothing to show for your 'last' experience other than a box of personal items.