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Outright lies about education

Egert

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Recently talked to someone working in front office in investment banking and when I asked, how did he end up there (pretty respectable bank, pretty respectable position held a few years now @ London), I got a response that shook me a bit.

But since it's kinda ethical thing and respectable banks don't even look at your resume when you don't come from top schools, he outright lied in resume and got hired. I don't know how far in details the lie went, but I'm pretty sure he didn't forge any diplomas, as that would be considered criminal.

Now, I also know that if you already work in a field, you probably don't gain anything in school, but pick it up when you need it. He is pretty much a superstar in his department and it's a win-win for both him and the bank, even though it can be frustrating and too machiavellian (I assume he has kept it to himself @ the bank).

Now, how is the education really checked? Or do employers just assume that one wouldn't dare to lie about something like that? What's your take on this and the situation?
 

globetrotter

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Originally Posted by Egert
Recently talked to someone working in front office in investment banking and when I asked, how did he end up there (pretty respectable bank, pretty respectable position held a few years now @ London), I got a response that shook me a bit.

But since it's kinda ethical thing and respectable banks don't even look at your resume when you don't come from top schools, he outright lied in resume and got hired. I don't know how far in details the lie went, but I'm pretty sure he didn't forge any diplomas, as that would be considered criminal.

Now, I also know that if you already work in a field, you probably don't gain anything in school, but pick it up when you need it. He is pretty much a superstar in his department and it's a win-win for both him and the bank, even though it can be frustrating and too machiavellian (I assume he has kept it to himself @ the bank).

Now, how is the education really checked? Or do employers just assume that one wouldn't dare to lie about something like that? What's your take on this and the situation?



never outright lie on your resume
 

Egert

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I'm not considering doing it myself
smile.gif
 

mm84321

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Originally Posted by Egert
Now, how is the education really checked? Or do employers just assume that one wouldn't dare to lie about something like that?

I've often wondered this as well.
 

patrickBOOTH

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My current employeer definitely checked because my school notified me they were checking. They called every one of my references as well.
 

Egert

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I work in equity desk as well and I'm still doing my undergrad, probably will graduate next spring. I have worked for a year here now and I was asked to provide 2 references. First one was my previous boss from a summer/sidejob held in highschool and other was academic (took my professor, who teached capital markets). And the HR lady told me after talking to my ex-boss that academic reference will not be contacted as first reference was enough...
 

patrickBOOTH

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Originally Posted by Egert
I work in equity desk as well and I'm still doing my undergrad, probably will graduate next spring. I have worked for a year here now and I was asked to provide 2 references. First one was my previous boss from a summer/sidejob held in highschool and other was academic (took my professor, who teached capital markets). And the HR lady told me after talking to my ex-boss that academic reference will not be contacted as first reference was enough...

I have friends who put me down as a reference. They think it is funny. I have never been called. Probably why they are still unemployeed.
 

Concordia

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A friend of mine once lost his job because his senior partner (this was a very small hedge fund) turned out to have fudged a master's degree on his own CV. Didn't help fund-raising very much. My friend is doing OK, but I have no idea where the senior partner wound up.
 

kasper007

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Originally Posted by Egert
Now, how is the education really checked? Or do employers just assume that one wouldn't dare to lie about something like that? What's your take on this and the situation?

While i was going through recruiting my final year, i noticed some of my classmates who had GPAs that were just too low for getting IB interviews were actually getting some interviews. After being hired, i realized that absolutely not checks were done on my GPA (they confirmed that i actually attended the schools i had in my resume and had the diploma i listed, but never actually checked my transcripts). Knowing that GPA is by far the most important first round selection criteria (and having working ****** off to get good grades), this left a pretty sour taste in my mouth as i knew that some students were "stealing" interview spots that they didn't deserve. Knowing the GPA cutoff is usually around 3.7 - 3.75, there's a huge incentive for candidates to bump up GPA to be able to get an interview. When i discussed this with my colleagues, some were on my side, but many were of the opinion that that recruiting process was too "robust" to have cheaters get offers. While this is probably true in over 95% of the time, i'm sure it's possible for someone to get through the crack, especially since the "robustness" of the recruiting process can vary.....

I think consulting firms actually do check GPA, but from my experience, most IB don't.
 

StephenHero

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I go the opposite route. Ever since Time came out with their stupid 2005 Person of the Year issue I've included it amongst my "awards and honors" section of my resume. I'm lucky to have a portfolio based career, so I have some freedom to poke fun at the typical resumes that make their way to the trashcan. I list some campus extracurriculars with descriptions and describe how I took part in most of them for the free bagels and resume building. I'm 2 for 2 on job interviews. They eat blatant honesty up. There's nothing that they find more annoying than going through lines of bullshit after bullshit.
2010-12-20-16-46-35-7-the-selection-of-you-as-times-person-of-the-year.jpeg
 

gdl203

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Very odd. All big investment banks perform thorough checks and request copies of diplomas/transcripts when HR processes a new hire.
 

Manton

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Originally Posted by gdl203
Very odd. All big investment banks perform thorough checks and request copies of diplomas/transcripts when HR processes a new hire.

Every place I have ever worked has thoroughly checked every claim on my resume. Once I almost got in trouble becuase I listed a degree that, because of a paperwork delay, had not processed yet even though I had done all the work and "graduated."
 

kasper007

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really????
i spoken about this with friends and checking transcript wasn't done at at least a half dozen BB. I graduated in 06 so maybe it has changed since....

Also, i never had to submit anything to HR, i only signed an authorization form from a security firm (think it was Kroll) and they took care of checking everything. I think this was pretty standard for pretty much all friends, but maybe there's some geographical differences.

Edit: for the record, my pre-employment checks were very thorough too, just no check on GPA
 

gdl203

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In my experience, they do. I haven't been hired by all BB firms obviously so there may be discrepancies. But given the regulatory environment and the growth of the Compliance function and focus, I would think thorough checks are prevalent.
 

gdl203

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I was talking about diplomas, schools, etc... rather than GPA. My transcript was requested but I don't know if they used it to check my GPA. I actually don't think I had my GPA anywhere on my resume.
 

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