My colleague lied on his resume, should I throw it away or not?

La Daronne is the queen of not-so-stupid advice, covered with a large dose of more or less subtle humor. Here she is back to help a reader!

The question for Daronne

Dear Daronne,

A few months ago, my company hired a new employee, he works in my team. We all have different, but complementary positions. My new colleague works slowly and I have to systematically catch up on his mistakes before tackling my tasks. He requires a lot of time, which I don’t have, and I often have to stay late at work. I quickly realized that he did not possess certain required skills, despite a solid CV and presumably studies in our field of activity. I’m dishonest, but I took advantage of having a large network to inform myself and this colleague lied. On his studies AND on his professional experience.

I must say that the idea of ​​working with a liar, and perhaps an incompetent one, disgusts me. But I don’t like being an informant either. Do you think I’ll throw it away or not?

Charlie

Daronne’s response

My little hunting horn,

What can I say? The company is the miniature reproduction of human society. We find there everything we would find elsewhere: sincerity, lies, petty masters, amateurs, spies and so on.

To be honest, I think your colleague is not the only employee in your office who has falsified his CV. The practice is widespread, but requires mastery of the advertised skills, or a rapid ability to learn. Otherwise disaster is guaranteed, and not necessarily for those we believe in.

So, should we launch it or not? You will find out by reading the rest of this letter.

Lying on your CV: is it bad? Yes but…) !

Let me be clear, fellow readers: I will NEVER encourage you to lie on your CV. The reason is very simple, and this letter is proof of it: you risk getting burned.

For most fans of Friends of you, remember this absolutely unbearable episode where Joey tries to speak French. Joey is immediately exposed, but the pregnant Rachel is very turned on by Phoebe who, SHE, has mastered the language of Molière, all’s well that ends well. Because Friends isn’t real life. In real life, Joey would be grilled ad vertam in his professional environment.

NB: The situation would be completely different if the future employee had the necessary skills to fill the position, but other discriminatory elements stood in his way. We know recruiters who grimace at the three years of parental leave and the child they include on their CV, and who prefer big, very elite and very expensive schools.

But nooooo! I’m not advising anyone to lie, I’m just saying that the ends justify the means.

Should we expose a lying colleague?

I find the principle of denunciation absolutely repugnant. That said, this is not the main reason why I advise you not to reveal the deception.
Reporting means, above all, exposing yourself to serious problems. I do not believe your colleague is a surgeon or rifle instructor and I assume he is not endangering anyone. So believe me, it’s not worth it. Everyone hates the scale, especially those whose words shatter a refusal that is as comfortable as it is voluntary.

What do you think ? That our supervisors spend their meetings touching each other while drinking coffee? NOT ONLY ! They also spend long hours squinting at Excel tables that analyze the smallest result in detail. If your colleague is incompetent, but he remains sitting in the same place, it’s because it was decided that way. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, so I don’t think the reason for this choice involves a global conspiracy. In my opinion, even if this colleague struggles, the others are there to catch up and the overall results are satisfactory. Meanwhile you work overtime and the atmosphere in the team is terrible. But the results are satisfactory. So, what do we need to worry about for your well-being as employees?

Act with nobility of soul, of spirit, but also with malice!

I advise you not to miss the target, but not to stuff yourself without moving. The first thing to do, in my opinion, is to go find the impostor and warn him that you know everything, and that in other circumstances he wouldn’t care (and you should). Unfortunately you have to make up for his mistakes and this is no longer possible for you. It’s up to him to find a way to make things right, otherwise you will have to notify your supervisor, even if you don’t say anything on the resume. I insist on this.

Then you will do as you said. If nothing happens, you will alert your supervisor that your coworker’s mistakes are costing you a lot of time and that this is no longer sustainable. If the situation does not change, I encourage you to contact human resources and/or an employee representative. Always about your working conditions in a team where a position is missing, not about this CV. No, don’t insist.

I’ll leave you, I’ll edit my LinkedIn profile

The kiss,

Your Daronne

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