Little white lies
This month, Rev. Cean James was set to succeed the Rev. William H. Gray III as pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church, a legendary church in Philadelphia which boasts more than 2,500 members. However, James had to step aside when it was discovered that he had lied about obtaining three degrees, reports blackamericaweb.com. And, in a few weeks, New Jersey developer Zygmunt Wilf will officially become majority owner of the Minnesota Vikings, a position Arizona businessman Reggie Fowler had all but locked up earlier this year until questions arose about his official bio.
Each lied on his resume, but were considered exceptional in their prospective fields. How much weight should a "little white lie" hold?
Comments (5)
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I'd have a problem with someone who claimed ot have degrees that they didn't actually hold. That would make me wonder what else have they lied about and can I trust this person at all.
Posted on June 9, 2005 3:07 PM
...but then again, isn't corporate America, at least, full of little white lies? I guess I'd be less forgiving of the pastor, but then again...should I?
Posted on June 9, 2005 3:19 PM
There's pressure in all areas of business (including employment at churches) to stand out from the crowd. That is (I think) the reason behind an awful lot of resume padding. I even did it when I was starting out -- never helped me any, but I did try it.
That doesn't mean it's excusable, only that it's understandable.
It seems to me that things from a person's distant past should have far less influence on such things as employment than more recent. So what if I only graduated from Smith in 1976 (which I did) with a 3.7 average (which I didn't)? The more pertinent quesion should be "Has Eric's experience over the last 5 years prepared him for this job?"
But to address your basic question... it's a judgment call. I'd forgive a person for a true "little white lie" about the distant past, but not an egregious lie about experience (or other qualifications) vital to the job.
Posted on June 9, 2005 4:09 PM
See, saying you have degrees (not A degree but THREE degrees, mind you) that you don't have, that's a big lie to me. Why don't we all just skip college and make up credentials and see if they fly? If he wanted a job he couldn't get without the credentials, he should have gone and gotten the credentials. It speaks to character. If you lie about this, what other lies have you told when you thought we weren't looking?
Posted on June 9, 2005 6:20 PM
I agree with you on this specific issue, g-w. Claiming a degree implies years of study with qualififed instructors and a great deal of independent work. Not bothering to actually do the work is a pretty serious breach of ethics.
But I'll tell you... in my experience, the folks who are in positions of power, who got those positions at least partly because of the qualifications of getting a degree... those degrees don't necessarily buy you quality. I know several Masters and Ph.D.'s who are idiots when it comes to actual work. OTOH, I know plenty of folks who got their "education" with their work, and they know far more about business than a lot of "doctors."
That's something to consider when doing a job search. Life experience is a far better teacher than most Ivy League classroom instructors.
Posted on June 9, 2005 8:51 PM