Resume fraud has been a hot topic ever since Scott Thompson, Yahoo! CEO, was outed as having added an extra, non-existant degree to his academic credentials. 
The situation has brought resume embellishment into the spotlight, but this type of fraud is not uncommon. A 2004 study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found 60 percent of human resource professionals had found inaccuracies on resumes “often” or “sometimes.” The Yahoo! incident shows even prominent leaders aren’t innocent. An article by AP highlighted leaders who’ve also lied about their credentials. Check out a few of them below:
Scott Thompson – After spending only a few months as CEO of Yahoo!, Thompson was fired when an activist investor revealed he did not actually hold a degree in computer science from StoneHill College, as his credentials had said. His degree was actually in business.
Ronald Zarrella – In 2002, the CEO of Bausch & Lomb offered to resign after it was revealed he did not actually have a master’s degree in business administration from New York University, which he had listed on his resume for a decade. His $1.1 million bonus was revoked.
Ken Lonchar – The executive vice president and chief financial officer of Veritas software–now Symantec–resigned after reports that he embellished his resume with a fake MBA from Standford University.
Joe Biden – Now the vice president of the United States, Biden dropped out of the 1988 president race after it was found he had plagiarized during his time as a law student, made false claims about his academic history, and plagiarized a speech.
Marille Jones – Jones resigned as dean of admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007, after admitting she had lied about her academic degrees on her application to work there 28 years before.
You can check out more leaders who have been undone by resume fraud here.
Have you ever lied on your resume? How can HR professionals ensure applicants are being truthful? Share your thoughts below.
