by Trevor Gelder, Corporate Director
Talent Acquisition and Deployment
I have a friend who has been trying to find permanent work for a couple of years now. He came to me and asked for my help, and we worked together to come up with a plan. We set up a LinkedIn account and started him down the networking path. To make a long story short, he connected with a great recruiter who connected him with a fabulous opportunity. It was actually the highest salary he had ever made and was a great position. Unfortunately, he made a few errors of integrity that ultimately got him fired after only a few weeks.
While there were a few problems, the root of them was dishonesty that caused his employer to question his integrity very early on. In the interview, the company asked if he had dependable transportation. He didn’t, but he was so desperate for a job that he said yes. In his mind, he justified the answer because he planned on using his first check as a down payment on a car, so it would only be a few weeks before he really did have dependable transportation. He also said he lived within an easily commutable distance. The fact of the matter was he was staying with me almost an hour away from the office, but again, he planned on moving to a new place as soon as he had a few checks under his belt. So he felt like his answer was “almost” true.
And so it went. He didn’t see any of these issues as long-term problems – and they probably wouldn’t have been issues at all. However, because he wasn’t honest about his transportation and living situations – which were short-term and temporary – he put himself in a bad position. Instead of him being the one to explain his situations in a positive light, his manager uncovered the truth when he saw my friend’s address and realized how far it was and noticed him out in the company parking lot working on the junker he was driving. This caused the manager to question my friend’s integrity; and the first time something went wrong on the job, the manager offered no second chances.
Had my friend been honest from the start, he could have turned most of those things into pluses for his new employer. Here are some responses that would have allowed my friend to maintain his integrity without compromising his position with the employer:
“I just moved to town and don’t have a permanent place yet. I wanted to wait on securing a permanent address until I found a job so I could locate nearby to offer the most flexibility.”
“The car I have right now is not much, but I wanted to wait and see what position I take so the vehicle I end up with works well for my needs. I will be putting a down payment on one with my first paycheck.”
A straightforward approach would have demonstrated flexibility, let the potential manager know my friend had a plan and would not have called into question his integrity.
More links on Lying: http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/resume-writing-tips/lying-on-your-resume/article.aspx