Making It by Faking It

Executives: Making It By Faking It

Companies need every bit of resourcefulness they can muster to make hiring decisions at all levels of management. Applicants who go out of their way to appear more knowledgeable or experienced can cause trouble in the future. It would seem obvious that companies would not want to hire someone who deceives them. However, this may not always be the case. Following are short discussions about truth when hiring management positions based on education, experience and background checks.

A good HR manager will know which positions have legal requirements that are usually in the form of certification, credentials, licenses etc. For example, a stock broker must be accredited before being hired, an attorney needs to pass the bar before practicing law a CPA must be licensed in the state where they are practicing. Proof of education is not crucial in these cases, but proof of credential/license is necessary.

As far as general education goes, something as basic as salary might determine what level of education a company might seek. If the position has a low or non-competitive industry wide salary, they are probably not going to attract a candidate with a PhD, and, depending on the other requirements, the company may need to look for entry level candidates with high school diplomas or GED equivalent educational levels.

Some HR personnel say that while education is relevant, the specific school attended may not be as important. A candidate from a public institution might beat out a graduate of Yale because the company is looking for people who will do what is necessary to get the job done, and these candidates have fought to get to where they are more so than a candidate from a prestigious school. On the other hand, some HR personnel feel that the school the candidate attended is important since the quality of education received is more important to them in a manager. This may be more pertinent in some businesses...