| As the job market remains sluggish, people are doing | | | | There, included with the candidate's educational |
| whatever they can to beef up their resumes. | | | | credentials, was the MBA he never received. In large, |
| Sometimes they make unwise choices. | | | | bold type, he noted the name of the small state school |
| Like calling out a piece of ancient history that puts | | | | he attended (not Wharton, not Kellogg - the point is |
| them in a bad light. | | | | you'd think if someone is going to try this tactic, it'd be |
| If a candidate walked up to you and said, "Hi, I'm Joe. | | | | because he wanted to toss out a "name") followed by |
| Glad to meet you! I realize we've only got a few | | | | Master of Business Administration (again - BIG and |
| minutes to get acquainted; I'll take just a second to | | | | BOLD)...and the date. Late 1980s. |
| point out the fact that fifteen years ago I was | | | | In the next line, in much smaller font, we read that he |
| assigned an important project I never completed. You | | | | completed XX hours of coursework. (Pssst.....I didn't |
| could say I dropped the ball, I quit, I got sidetracked. | | | | finish.) |
| Whatever." | | | | Ah-ha! There IS no MBA. |
| "The project had some visibility, though, so I'm bringing it | | | | Highlighting this ancient history accomplishes a few |
| up because I think you might be impressed to see my | | | | things (none good): |
| name associated with it. I'm just hoping you don't pay | | | | It takes up valuable space on the page which he |
| attention to the fact that I didn't actually deliver." | | | | could've used for his experience record. |
| Is Joe going to impress you with this pitch? | | | | It makes him look foolish. Bad judgment is |
| I didn't think so. | | | | unbecoming, especially in this context. |
| So is it a good idea to try this with your resume? | | | | It sends the message, intended or not, that he thinks |
| Of course not. | | | | the reader can be played. |
| Why, then, do some candidates make themselves look | | | | Not the way you want to start out with the hiring |
| foolish (or worse) by listing "phantom" MBAs? | | | | manager. Don't make the same mistake. |
| I saw another one just last week: | | | | |