When, if ever, are you asked to show your diploma?
 

i was just reading slushi's thread on outsourcing papers for college and thought of an extension of this.

how easy is it to just say you went to a certain college on a job application or your resume?

how much trouble can you get in if you're caught in the lie?

is there a certain level of pay or executive status where you are required to supply a copy of your diploma?

i don't think i'd personally do it...the worst thing i ever do is fudge a job title i had in my work experience to jive more with what im applying for. and i have enough college to get the jobs i do apply for.

i just always wondered..... what do you guys think?

I suppose you could. I hate this kind of thing. I thnk its something that plagues today's society. People who are willing to cheat and lie in order to achieve their goal(s) don't deserve to attain them. I equate this with greed.
You'd almost certainly be fired, and they could possibly pursue legal action.

The real kicker is that you could be fired at any time. HR departments in large companies routinely check filed resumes for inaccuracies or errors. How shitty would it be to working at a place 10 years and get fired for falsifying your resume?

It's all over the news - stuff like "California's first poet laureate resigns for falsifying resume"

Further still, lies are always parasitic. When someone lies about something, you begin to question other things about them - were they lying when they said they filed that proposal? What else is a lie on their resume? Even if you stay employed, you've eroded YOUR ethics and THEIR trust. No good.

Honestly, I don't think it would be easy to lie about an entire degree -- but I could be mistaken, I've never tried. I can only hope that a diligent HR worker would find and purge the parasitic liars.

Simply: You jeopardize your future when you lie about your past.

EDIT: Oh -- want to see something entirely fucked?

"The ultimate guide to helping you get a great high paying job you want by helping you lie on your great resume. Everyone else is doing it, shouldn't you?"

http://www.fakeresume.com/What_if_You_Get_Caught.html

We had a sherriff's election here torn apart by forged credentials--the guy had bought a degree from a diploma mill online.

He also lost his job as a sherriff's deputy and had his other credentials looked into as well. The county would have brought criminal charges against him if the statute of limitations hadn't run out.

So that's what can happen with a fake diploma or credential.

When I applied for my teaching job in Japan, for Visa purposes I had to supply the Japanese Consulate with my original diploma. Not a copy, the original, which they had for about two weeks while processing my visa.

As a Placement Specialist, I know all too well how easily you can go from employed to not by falsifying or not disclosing information. As far as high school/GED, some employers require you to furnish one as proof of education - including my training institution. It hasn't really mattered WHERE it was from, but that it is an offical document with a seal and appropriate signatures.

every teaching job i have held has asked to see my ORIGINAL college diploma...

Very. Type it on your resume.

Where I work, you're fired. We just caught someone faking a diploma a couple months ago. Not only is he fired, but everyone in the business knows about him. Doubt he'll be getting a comparable job any time soon.

In some fields it's more important than others, I'm sure. I'm a physician and, as a requirement for applying for certain exams or taking certain jobs, I'm asked to provide either the original or notarized copies of many official documents including my medical diploma.

Most jobs don't verify their employee records, I'm sure. But they could choose to audit your records at any time when you're under their employ. In my medical residency we had one guy who falsified a document in his file. It was discovered several months into his internship. It was a criminal offense on top of everything else. Not only was he removed from the program but the appropriate government agency was notified.

Huh. I've never been asked to see any of my degree certificates. For all of my teaching jobs, I've had to have an official copy of my degree dated transcripts to verify the information on my resume and cv. So I suppose they didn't need to see my degree itself, but did need proof that I had one from the university.

Gilda

I always tell prospective employers I would never embellish a resume because I have a hard enough time living up to realistic expectations! :lol:

No one has ever asked to see my diploma, but then again, the principals of two of the three jobs I've had since graduation were guest instructors (i.e - they were practicing professionals in my degree) at my alma mater while I went there - so they knew me and my work.

But hired me anyway :D :thumbsup:

when I went to work for two different firms on wall street, i was asked by both human resource department morons to produce the diploma.. umm i tossed it years ago... you want proof i graduated- call the school...

Two jobs ago... two days before I was supposed to start.. I got a call from one of hte hr people... my date of graduation on my resume was incorrect (I hadn't changed it in years) this was the first company that ever checked it- I hadn't lied about anything else.. but they were very concerned that i had the wrong date... :D

The bank that owns my company recently fired one of my coworkers in another office for falsifying a bunch of stuff on his resume. That said, it was just an excuse since the guy's numbers were absolutely pitiful (i.e., his yearly revenue was lower than his assistant's annual salary, which is a huge no-no). They could have just as easily decided to go over his expense report with a fine-toothed comb or check his internet usage. If they want you gone, they'll find a way.

I've worked at the same company for 29 years and received my degree through a tuition refund program (read: they paid for it). When transferring to Colorado 7 years ago, I had to produce the original diploma, as well as a transcript. Seems they couldn't quite figure out the difference between IIT and ITT.

On an interesting note, don't put anything criminal that you don't have to on a resume. Typically it's only "have you been convicted of any felonies" but I had one that was "have you been arrested for anything." What I disclosed wasn't even on my record, and they were confused that I had specified something I had been arrested for but didn't appear on my criminal record. It'd been dismissed but I figured I should disclose it anyway. They were shocked by my unfortunate honesty, and I ended up hired. :)