Lying Part II

I found an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled, "In Job Hunting, Honesty Is Still the Best Policy". There's one section in here which highlights when it's appropriate to highlight details about a degree and when it's inappropriate and considered lying. This coincides with a post I put up earlier this month about librarians fudging about their degree in order to get hired, when they've got less than a month until they graduate. Sure it's being nit picky, but I'd rather err on the side of caution, since, as the article says, ""A lot of companies have zero-tolerance policies if they catch you" lying, says Mr. Challenger."

Here's what can happen if you get caught: "Steven Lurie, the author of "Handbook for Early Career Success," says he worked with a woman who exaggerated her responsibilities and previous salary when applying for an administrative job at a law firm last year. She got the job. But her exaggerations were discovered during a background check soon after and she was fired."

When your degree is being considered: "People who didn't complete a degree program can still list the school on a résumé, but they should indicate the "strongest possible presentation that is truthful," such as "completed 50% of requirements for Bachelor of Science in Business Administration" or "Bachelor of Arts candidate, anticipate completion in 2011," says Louise Kursmark, an executive résumé writer and career consultant. Crossing the line would be saying you graduated with that degree."