Posted on 05/22/2007 4:46:44 AM PDT by theothercheek
In a classic example of misleading by omission, OpinionJournal.com editor James Taranto’s bio states, "He attended California State University, Northridge." In a commentary about Marilee Jones, who had lied to her bosses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology about her educational credentials for 28 years, Taranto belatedly fills in the blanks:
I left high school after my sophomore year; and although I spent several years in college, I never bothered to graduate.
Noting that "[b]y all accounts Marilee Jones did an excellent job," Taranto brushes aside the central issue in her dismissal - "[o]stensibly Ms. Jones was forced out because she committed fraud" - before launching into a completely irrelevant disquisition about why higher education is irrelevant.
Taranto argues that a college diploma has become a surrogate for aptitude tests employers are barred by law from administering to job applicants. But companies are not barred from checking the veracity of résumés, as well as from pre-employment criminal and credit history investigations. Someone who misrepresents himself to get a job is, by definition, untrustworthy. A potential embezzler, for instance. Thus, companies rightly remove such people from their employ when they learn of résumé inflation - without regard to competence or performance.
Editorial Note: The Wall Street Journal’s recent World Bank scandal revelations just might get Taranto thinking about additional disclosures he could make to readers of OpinionJournal.com and Best of The Web Today.
smells like a cat fight...too much hisssing.
Who cares? I like the occasional WSJ article.
There is nothing misleading in Taranto’s statement. He distinctly uses the word “attended” rather than “graduated from.” How else would you say it if you took classes at a school but did not finish with a diploma? NO, if there is an attempt to mislead, it is on the part of the author of THIS article. Note too the use of “outs” in the title which is a code word on its own. That in itself is misleading. I’d say someone playing with a stiletto cut themselves this time.
If someone has a hidden agenda I’d like to know about it. It’s amazing how much of the information being presented by the MSM is for the benefit of someone other than the readers or viewers.
Unless you have completed a degree - two-year, four-year - it is misleading to say you attended a college or took classes. Someone with one semester of college under his belt could make that claim. If he’s so proud that he was too cool for school, why not convey the information in his commentary exactly in that clear, forthright language in his bio?
Anyway, as I see it, the point of the article is about resume inflation and why employers care about it. That he has embellished his own academic credentials a bit is just the ironic icing on the cake - a cake he baked, by the way.
But your advice is to omit that completely from the resume? Again, how else would you say it if you have years of college work under your belt but hadn't finished the degree?
Oh, and for what its worth, I do have a post-grad in a couple of subjects. Doesn't impress me a bit..
But then I'm not easily impressed.
Obviously, MIT did not care whether their stellar-erforming employee whi claimed to have graduated from RPI instead of just having taken a couple of courses there, was competenet. They cared that she was truthful. Ethics is not something you can learn in school - except in an abstract, intellectual way. You got it or you ain’t. You’re truthful or you ain’t. Has nothing to do with education.
Obviously, MIT did not care whether their stellar-erforming employee whi claimed to have graduated from RPI instead of just having taken a couple of courses there, was competenet. They cared that she was truthful. Ethics is not something you can learn in school - except in an abstract, intellectual way. You got it or you ain’t. You’re truthful or you ain’t. Has nothing to do with education.
AFAIK, Sean Hannity has not lied about his educational background. That seems to be the issue regarding the MIT admissions director. In the Information Age, it is not only unethical (as it always has been) to misrepresent your credentials, it is also stupid and (often) ultimately self-destructive.
Agree with you about the Hannity remark. The Admin Dir seems to have slipped through the wires as she had worked there for 17 years and was continually promoted - and by all accounts outstanding in her job performance. This leads me to question the stated requirements for the job rather than her abilities. Now, I know, and agree, mis-repping your CV is unethical, stupid and in some cases illegal and subject to legal action. When those are the rules - You gotta follow the rules. Agree completely.
Just my thoughts...priced appropriately.
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