Education Matters: Caught Lying on a Resume

Jesse Schmitt, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jun 10, 2011 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

I have been to college. I have actually attended four colleges in three states. College is one of those things I always have been very interested in finishing, but "real life" keeps getting in the way.

For several years now, though, I have been telling employers that I'm a graduate of Hunter College in New York City with a creative writing degree. It seems as though no one will even talk to you unless you've got a college degree, and I have actually more than enough credits to graduate and I've spent more years in college than I care to admit, I am just missing a few key classes.

So a few years ago when I stopped trying to explain why there were all these different universities and time periods for attendance on my resume, I finally decided to just go with the story that I graduated from Hunter College. Hunter is a City University of New York (CUNY) school; employers in the city recognize and appreciate the school.

It's not even as though the jobs I'm applying for have too many requirements of a collegiate experience. What was once good for a non-felon and high school graduate now requires a four year degree? But this is the way of the modern job seeker; in a field with so many other equally educated and qualified candidates, job seekers need to do whatever they need to in order to get jobs they are otherwise qualified for.

While this tactic of faking my graduation from Hunter College never caught up to me (or at least to my knowledge) in New York City, it was all the way across the country, in Los Angeles that I came face to face with my lies.

The job was an overnight worker "shift supervisor" for a hotel in Los Angeles. I was perfectly qualified for the job; I had a lovely interview and got the strong signal that I would indeed be joining this property in no time.

However when a couple of days had passed and I heard nary a peep, I began to get curious. I took the opportunity to send along a gentle reminder to my potential employer that I was still available for the job, that I was busy getting myself ready for the overnight schedule, and that I was excited to represent the company to the 11pm-7am crowd in Los Angeles.

Still, nothing.

I figured they were just preparing an offer for me. Or maybe they were very busy. I let it go and then a day later I got a single line reply to my query.

"Hunter College has no record of your graduation."

That was it. All that time spent and I began to reflect on all the jobs I never got during these same years. Was this because I'd lied about my education?

I took this as a sign. Now my education portion of my resume says, "Studied Creative Writing at Hunter College," and the years I was in attendance.

No more resume lies for me.

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The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.

Published by Jesse Schmitt

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