Lies WILL Come Back to Haunt You

Published November 4, 2014

Lying is not a good thing. This may seem like an obvious statement, but it clearly is not obvious to many in business, whose resumes sport some questionable “facts.” Undoubtedly, there are many execs in business whose lies have not yet been discovered and may never be uncovered, but lying is certainly not worth the risk to your profession and your reputation.

“David Tovar” may not be a name familiar to you, but the specific name doesn’t really matter anyway. What matters is his “crime.” He lied. He lied on his resume about having received a college degree. Although he did attend college, he did not receive a degree. This “error of omission,” as Tovar called it according to a 2014 money.cnn.com article by Katie Lobosco called “Top Wal-Mart Exec Resigns Amid Resume Flap,” led to Tovar’s resignation when Wal-Mart discovered the lie in the process of checking the senior spokesman’s credentials during a promotion procedure.

Tovar’s case may be the most recent case of inflated self-profiling, but it certainly is not the only one. There are numerous cases of business execs fibbing on their resumes. And such ethical improprieties are not confined to retail businesses. Such ethical improprieties have also infiltrated the business of law. According to “Don’t Lie on Your Résumé-Even If You’re a Partner,” a 2013 abovethelaw.com article by David Lat, a partner at a London law firm lost his job after it was discovered that he lied about where he’d received his education. He had, in fact, received a law degree, but not from a prestigious institution as claimed.

Although it seems that ethical behavior is lacking in today’s society, what isn’t lacking is the desire of those in business to deal with people who exhibit ethical behavior. Honesty and decency will get you everywhere.

Categorized in: Ethics

Audience type: Administrators, Associates, Large Law Firms, Small Law Firms, Sole Practitioners