Is It Ethical To Lie When Applying For A Job Position

Often times, many job applicants will be dishonest on their resumes to make themselves seem like the best fit for the position they are applying for. While this is not only unethical, it could end up being harmful t the company. An MIT dean, Marilee Jones, resigned from the university, due to misrepresenting her academic achievements regarding the degrees she claimed to earn. Jones had claimed on her resume that she obtained both a bachelors and masters. It was later discovered that she had not received any degrees at all. Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson is another example of an employee who had lied to get a job position. Thompson had claimed that he received both a degree in accounting and computer science, when in reality he had only received a degree in accounting. While many people would think that lying about a degree on a resume is a minor issue, they need to look at the bigger picture. Lying when applying for a job position automatically lowers your credibility in the eyes of the employers. Also, for future careers you may want to pursue, your previous employer can be contacted as a reference and can expose that you had lied on your resume once before.

Often times they skip over the contacting part, but if they went into more detail on a job applicant and did contact references listed, they may be able to uncover an applicants lies sooner than later. Also, Human Resources can look out for the most common things people may try to lie about to make themselves look better on a resume. This could include dates of previous employment, the degrees they claim to have, fake addresses, exaggerating skills, etc. While going into detail may seem time consuming for an employer, it can save them from harmful actions, dishonesty, or in more serious cases, a lawsuit in the