我們假設(shè)一位叫Mary的女士得到了在一所享有盛譽(yù)的大學(xué)里從事高層的學(xué)生服務(wù)的工作機(jī)會(huì)，她激動(dòng)地接受了。但是兩年以后，雖然Mary的工作表現(xiàn)受到了好評(píng)并且被譽(yù)為學(xué)校里一顆冉冉升起的新星，她還是被解雇了。為什么呢？因?yàn)樗诤?jiǎn)歷中說(shuō)謊，并且被發(fā)現(xiàn)了。
在一項(xiàng)人力資源工作中要求職工們提供大學(xué)時(shí)的成績(jī)單，Mary謊稱自己擁有碩士學(xué)位的事實(shí)被發(fā)現(xiàn)了。Mary丟掉工作并不是因?yàn)樗鄙俅T士學(xué)位，而是因?yàn)樗徽\(chéng)實(shí)。失去了工作，又沒(méi)有推薦信，Mary展示了在簡(jiǎn)歷中說(shuō)謊的后果。
公司越來(lái)越知道如何利用聘用之前和之后的日趨復(fù)雜的綜合背景調(diào)查來(lái)搜出簡(jiǎn)歷騙子。為什么還要事后調(diào)查？在工作中的表現(xiàn)能夠引發(fā)對(duì)員工過(guò)去經(jīng)歷的后續(xù)調(diào)查。如果被發(fā)現(xiàn)不誠(chéng)實(shí)，通�？梢詷�(gòu)成終止雇傭合同并可能導(dǎo)致法律措施。
然而在簡(jiǎn)歷中偽造信息的遠(yuǎn)不止Mary一個(gè)人。芝加哥大學(xué)的著名經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)教授、《畸形經(jīng)濟(jì)》一書(shū)的合著作者Steven D. Levitt引證的調(diào)查顯示，百分之五十以上的人在簡(jiǎn)歷中說(shuō)謊。
有了Mary的情況作參考，你可能會(huì)問(wèn)，為什么人們還會(huì)在最初試圖僥幸逃脫在簡(jiǎn)歷中說(shuō)謊的后果？Levitt借用了一句W.C.領(lǐng)域的引文來(lái)作為他的解釋：“任何值得贏取的東西都值得采用欺騙的手段。”
權(quán)力和痛苦——孕育誘惑
Peter定律提出，在公司內(nèi)部的等級(jí)中，員工總是傾向于不斷被提升，直至達(dá)到他們能力所及的最高水平，在某種程度上似乎是在扭曲Peter定律，Levitt假定“一個(gè)人在某個(gè)組織中升得越高，他或她就越容易說(shuō)謊�！�
他的觀察當(dāng)然是根據(jù)關(guān)于執(zhí)行官們因?yàn)楹?jiǎn)歷中的不誠(chéng)實(shí)而辭職的新聞?lì)^條消息。常見(jiàn)的簡(jiǎn)歷謊言包括虛構(gòu)在校成績(jī)、掩蓋工作階段之間的待業(yè)時(shí)期、夸大職位名稱、修飾工作職責(zé)和成就，把小組的努力全部歸功于自己、甚至虛構(gòu)雇主。
小謊言的大后果
“最好的謊言是那些反映事實(shí)的�！� Levitt說(shuō)，“百分之五十的簡(jiǎn)歷謊言都是在這里或那里說(shuō)一點(diǎn)小謊，例如，掩蓋他們有六個(gè)月的時(shí)間沒(méi)有工作的事實(shí)。”
也許把這些欺騙看作無(wú)害的謊言或市場(chǎng)運(yùn)作而在簡(jiǎn)歷中說(shuō)謊的人們可能會(huì)造成比他們所能意識(shí)得到的更嚴(yán)重的損害結(jié)果，無(wú)論是對(duì)他們還是對(duì)其他人。
Levitt說(shuō)：“當(dāng)有人欺騙的時(shí)候，誠(chéng)實(shí)的人們受到了傷害�！蹦承┤送ㄟ^(guò)捏造或夸大的事實(shí)獲得了不正當(dāng)?shù)膬?yōu)勢(shì)，而把誠(chéng)實(shí)的求職者擠出了競(jìng)爭(zhēng)之列。
騙子們給自己造成了什么損害呢？Levitt警告說(shuō)：“即使你從未被抓到過(guò)，你還是會(huì)生活在持續(xù)的恐懼中，擔(dān)心自己將來(lái)有一天會(huì)被抓住并受到懲罰，并且生活在自己做了錯(cuò)事的罪惡感中�！�
獲得成功的誠(chéng)實(shí)策略
無(wú)論說(shuō)謊有著什么樣的原因或理由，只要你的簡(jiǎn)歷不是完全真實(shí)的，那么記住這一點(diǎn)：你并不是非要靠欺騙來(lái)獲得一份工作的。這里有一些正當(dāng)?shù)牟呗怨┠銋⒖�，以處理那些跳槽、失業(yè)、缺少工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)、沒(méi)有或是不夠的大學(xué)學(xué)位、被解雇和有犯罪記錄的情況。
Levitt的研究結(jié)果和那些在簡(jiǎn)歷中說(shuō)謊被抓的求職者的故事足以告誡勞動(dòng)大軍中的每一個(gè)人：你在為過(guò)去說(shuō)謊的時(shí)候就危害到了你的將來(lái)。
Lying on Your Resume
What Are the Career Consequences?When a woman we'll call Mary was offered a high-level student-services position at a prestigious college, she was thrilled to accept. But two years later, Mary was fired despite strong performance reviews and a reputation as a rising star at the college. The reason? She lied on her resume -- and got caught.
An HR initiative requiring employees to furnish college transcripts revealed Mary lied about having a master's degree. It wasn't lack of a degree that cost Mary her job; it was her dishonesty. Unemployed and with a blown reference to boot, Mary demonstrates what can happen when you lie on your resume.
Companies are growing increasingly savvy in ferreting out resume cheaters through more comprehensive background checks conducted both pre- and post-hire. Why the latter? Subpar job performance can prompt a follow-up investigation into an employee's past. If dishonesty is discovered, it is often grounds for termination and possibly legal action.
Yet Mary is hardly alone in falsifying information on a resume. Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics and a renowned economics professor at the University of Chicago, cites research suggesting that more than 50 percent of people lie on their resumes.
Given such repercussions as Mary's fate, you might wonder why anyone would attempt to get away with lying on a resume in the first place. Levitt refers to a W.C. Fields quote in his explanation: "Anything worth winning is worth cheating for."
Power -- and Misery -- Foster TemptationIn a kind of twist on the Peter Principle, which suggests that within corporate hierarchies, employees tend to be promoted until they reach their ultimate levels of incompetence, Levitt postulates that "the higher up in the organization a person rises, the more likely it is that he or she will cheat."
His observation is certainly borne out by news headlines about executives resigning in the face of resume dishonesty. Common resume lies include falsifying academic credentials, padding dates to mask employment gaps, exaggerating job titles, embellishing job responsibilities and achievements, claiming sole responsibility for team efforts and even making up fictitious employers.
Levitt also found a correlation between mood and the temptation to cheat. The desperation felt when weeks of unemployment stretch into months, or the low morale experienced by someone employed but truly miserable in a job, appear to increase the incentive to lie.
The Big Consequences of Little Lies"The best lies will be those that mirror reality," Levitt says. "My hunch is that the reputed 50 percent of resume cheaters are mostly making little cheats here and there, for instance, to cover up times when they were out of the labor force for six months."
Perhaps viewing these mistruths as harmless white lies or marketing spin, people who lie on a resume may end up doing more damage --to themselves and others -- than they realize.
"When someone else cheats, it hurts the honest people," Levitt says. Honest job seekers can be edged out of competition by individuals who give themselves an unfair advantage by fabricating or exaggerating credentials.
And what about the damage cheaters do to themselves? "Even if you are never caught, you will have to live in constant fear that someday you will be caught and punished and with the guilt of knowing what you did was wrong," Levitt warns.
Honest Strategies for Getting AheadNo matter what the reason or justification for lying, if your resume isn't entirely truthful, know this: You don't have to resort to lying to win a job. There are ethical resume strategies you can use to address issues like job-hopping, time off from the workforce, minimal work experience, lack of or incomplete college degrees , being fired and having a criminal record.
Levitt's research findings and the stories of job seekers who got caught lying on their resumes are cautionary tales to anyone in the workforce: You jeopardize your future when you lie about your past.
