Ask ReproJobs: I found out that my co-worker lied on his resume.

 Dear ReproJobs,

I have a friend who lied on his resume to get a position at our organization by implying that he earned a bachelor's degree that he did not finish. Our management team believes that he has this degree and has mentioned his status as an alumnus of the university he listed on his application materials; he does not correct anyone when they do this. His position does not require a degree, but it was taken into consideration along with his years of experience during the hiring process. I would typically not say anything because I don't want to get anyone into trouble or cause him to lose his job, but I am also the manager of our HR department and part of our leadership team. I feel like he has put me into an uncomfortable position by admitting this to me, and I'm not sure what to do. What options do I have for handling this situation and not putting our jobs at risk?

—Uncomfortable Coworker

Dear Uncomfortable Coworker,

That definitely does sound like an awkward position that you—and your colleague—are in. So much about resumes and the job interview process is about seeding building trust, and it sounds like that was broken here. First, we don’t condone anyone lying on an application and we’d also ask you to consider why your friend lied about having a degree. The sad reality is that applications without degrees get passed over despite that person having all of the other qualifications and experience to excel at a position. They’re often paid less than others who have degrees, which adds to the cycle of inequality that are often one of the reasons someone isn’t able to attend college in the first place. This is all important context when considering why someone might lie, or intentionally not correct an interviewer. 

We suggest you talk to your friend—recognizing that they may not want to discuss it given your more powerful role in HR and how lines blur between coworkers and friends—to learn more about why he felt that he had to misrepresent his qualifications on the resume. There’s probably a valid reason there, which you can learn from, and implement as part of a revamped hiring process. Perhaps your colleague will want to come forward and explain why he made the decision to misrepresent his qualifications, but we wouldn’t encourage pressuring him to do so as that can be scary and he could lose his job; this is particularly worrisome for people who have multiple marginalized identities. Again, as an HR staffer, we hope you’ll take a moment to evaluate why someone would feel they’d need to hide this within your workplace. Is there something about the job description, the work culture, the interviewer’s line of questioning that led this candidate to believe they wouldn’t be welcome if they didn’t have a degree? 

Lastly, so long as he is able to complete all of his work and is receiving good reviews from his colleagues and manager, think about whether or not this disclosure would affect anything. Of course we encourage everyone to be honest on their job applications and interviews, yet we can’t ignore the various circumstances that push people to make decisions that we would otherwise not make. This is definitely a complicated one -- we trust you’ll do the right thing.

Love,

ReproJobs