Reviewing a CV and seeing your work being claimed as theirs

[SirDuff]

I started a new role in November (same organization but I moved from our HQ to a regional office) and I'm looking at CVs for the consultant pool (set up before I joined). I see that a consultant I worked with in HQ (whose contract we didn't renew when it ended at the end of 2019) is in the consultant pool. In looking at the CV, I see that she has claimed (a) work that I did while she was working with us (I can kinda/sorta give her this as she claims she "facilitated" it which, I don't really think she did but I guess could be argued); (b) work that I did after she left (and we're talking work I did in late 2022/early 2023 - not stuff that happened in the months after she left); and (c) work that was never done at all.

For now, I'm not saying anything as we aren't considering her for a specific role at this time, but geez.

Since the pool was made before I came here, I guess she assumed that I/our old team would never see it. She must have panicked a bit when she learned that I was here. Never thought that this is a situation that I'd find myself in.

For full disclosure - I don't like her (either as a person or a coworker) and would never willingly work with her again (even before I saw the CV lie).

 

[tvguy]

I have found many CV's/Resumes to be in part works of fiction. Most I have found involve people claiming to have been working somewhere I was working at the time but we never worked together. Or claiming to have worked on projects which they were not a part of like your situation. In my cases, these are things that happened 30-40 years ago, and there are very few of us around that would know.
For that matter, I have also found many Obituaries to also be in part works of fiction.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

I started a new role in November (same organization but I moved from our HQ to a regional office) and I'm looking at CVs for the consultant pool (set up before I joined). I see that a consultant I worked with in HQ (whose contract we didn't renew when it ended at the end of 2019) is in the consultant pool. In looking at the CV, I see that she has claimed (a) work that I did while she was working with us (I can kinda/sorta give her this as she claims she "facilitated" it which, I don't really think she did but I guess could be argued); (b) work that I did after she left (and we're talking work I did in late 2022/early 2023 - not stuff that happened in the months after she left); and (c) work that was never done at all.

For now, I'm not saying anything as we aren't considering her for a specific role at this time, but geez.

Since the pool was made before I came here, I guess she assumed that I/our old team would never see it. She must have panicked a bit when she learned that I was here. Never thought that this is a situation that I'd find myself in.

For full disclosure - I don't like her (either as a person or a coworker) and would never willingly work with her again (even before I saw the CV lie).

I would say report report report. Do everything you can to inform folks to never hire this individual. Keep in mind however, I work in academia so integrity about accomplishments and academic honesty is sacrosanct so I would go at her with a ton of bricks.

 

[Sleepy425]

Not the same thing, but still a lie on a resume...
I was helping to hire a dentist, and found a resume of someone who looked fun - he had hobbies of sky diving and playing a musical instrument and some other unique stuff listed (not just the boring "board certified in blah blah blah" or whatever).
I chose the resume to add to the interview pile and someone else did the interviewing. After he was hired, I was chatting and started asking him about the hobbies listed and he looked at me like I had 2 heads. Swore he had no idea what I was talking about.
I did go find the resume and showed a coworker to confirm I wasn't cracking up, but I didn't have the guts to bring it to him and ask him "***!"

 

[SirDuff]

I would say report report report. Do everything you can to inform folks to never hire this individual. Keep in mind however, I work in academia so integrity about accomplishments and academic honesty is sacrosanct so I would go at her with a ton of bricks.

See, I come from academia and totally hear/feel you on these thoughts but am learning that the world of international organizations is a different beast (part of my move from HQ was how my old supervisor dealt with authorship of a paper).

As noted, I'd fight hiring her anyway. And, if it comes to it, I can easily prove the work that I did (and she wouldn't be able to do so).

I think it is telling that, she has only had consultancies (despite wanting a staff position - she's not one of those people that just wants to be a consultant).

 

[tvguy]

I would say report report report. Do everything you can to inform folks to never hire this individual. Keep in mind however, I work in academia so integrity about accomplishments and academic honesty is sacrosanct so I would go at her with a ton of bricks.

Given recent events (as in today) in academia, I'm not so sure how sacrosanct things are BEFORE you get caught.
Not sure how I would proceed. In todays world, you can be 100% correct but find yourself in court defending any action you might take.

 

[Karin1984]

That is just dumb or arrogant.
Even if it wasn't for you on the team, it is possible that her claims were verified. If your lie is about work you did at company x, you don't use that on your resume when applying (again) at company x. You do that at company y, where the chances of people checking to a detailed level are much lower.

Either she was dumb and mixed up the resumes, or she is arrogant enough that she thought she wouldn't be caught.

Yes, she needs to be reported and get a note on her file at recruitment not to hire her again, or at least be careful.

And it would be decent to tell her that she wasn't considered for this part anyway, and that the company is aware she lied on her resume.

 

[_19disnA]

When in the process of hiring new employees, I review resumes (or other similar documents) provided to me by HR. I read through them and eliminate any that either don't meet the criteria, don't seem to have the required experiences, are poorly written or as you indicated you actually know that person so you can spot items on the resume that are exaggerations of their real experience. I don't need to explain why I set those aside and only plan to interview the candidates worth following up on.

I would avoid focusing on the fact you don't like her (which is subjective) and stick with factual things you know to be true, such as claims of leading/directing/coordinating when you know that wasn't the case.

During the actual interviews, it usually becomes clear when someone has perhaps embellished their prior job experiences in an effort to be interviewed.

 

[Travel60]

Reference Harvard in the news this week ....yes it's academia and sometimes that gets dismissed.....but do you want to work (or want your company to hire) someone who is dishonest? What else is she dishonest about? I think we (as in the "greater we") have let ethics slide enough because we are afraid to call it out. Document and call it out.

 

[NotUrsula]

In academic circles it's a major ethical breach to publicly claim someone else's publication; the sort of thing that will kill a career if reported, because it will involve a public retraction.

Work done on internal or client projects is a much more flexible standard, which people take advantage of. In this case I'm not sure I'd try to report it in a way that would affect her overall career, but I would definitely flag her in the pool at your company on the grounds of lying on her C.V.