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According to a recent survey,
52% of job candidates polled lied on their resume about
having a college degree.
Here are 3 brief horror
stories:
A new Director of Logistics
and his family were actually loading the moving van
provided by his new employer for relocation from
California to North Carolina. The phone rang and it was
the Human Resource Manager from his new company. The offer
was being withdrawn. Through a routine degree verification
check, the company learned the potential new employee did
not have a degree. He was 3 hours short of graduating. Had
the candidate been honest, the job was still his. It was
an integrity issue.
Five candidates for a high
level software sales job were interviewing. After the face
to face interviews, the candidates were offered a
"grace period" to revise their application. The
company was aware of a problem with one canddiate. The
lead candidate changed his college degree information to
"Did Not Graduate." He was dropped from
contention.
A candidate for a Vice
President of Logistics position for a multi-billion/multi
national company was offered the job. However, the
background check could not verify the degree as listed on
the resume. The stunned candidate said he could fix the
problem. After one week, he called and faxed over the
degree verification information. Only two blank pieces of
paper came out of the fax. He said, "I must have
faxed the wrong side." The offer was rescinded the
night before his start date because of the integrity
issue. The company would have hired him if he had been
honest about not having a degree.
Offers withdrawn because of
"no degree" are not because the lack of a
college degree was a "deal breaker." The issue
was that each of these high level managers misrepresented
themselves on their resume and during the interview. As a
search firm, we always encourage candidates to be upfront
and candid about the information on the resume, including
whether or not they have a college degree.
Don't try to hide it
amongst several other educational courses you have taken.
If you are hiring, ask the candidate directly. It's
amazing how many hiring managers "assumed" the
candidate graduated. The most deceptive piece on a resume
is: University of Any State, 1986-1990. Listing the years
but not if they graduated. Common oversight.
Most times, if the
candidate has a solid background and the chemistry is
strong with the organization, the company hires the
person. Remember 70% of hiring is Chemistry. Degree isn't
the most important factor.
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About
The Author
Brett
Stevens is founder and President of The
SearchLogix Group (http://www.searchlogixgroup.com).
Brett has enjoyed remarkable success in
the executive search business. He has
achieved the industry's highest level of
professional certification: Certified
Senior Account Manager (CSAM). He has
received numerous regional, national, and
international awards through meeting the
needs of his clients. He continues to
achieve record breaking performance and
has been nationally recognized for those
results with The SearchLogix Group. Brett
is a member of the Council of Logistics
Management, APICS and WERC. He has been
recognized in many trade and online
magazines and is a notable guest speaker
and most recently, Brett was recognized
internationally by the American Stroke
Association for his fundraising efforts.
You can email Brett at mailto:brettstevenspr@searchlogixgroup.com
or telephone him at 770-517-2660.
brettstevenspr@searchlogixgroup.com |
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