I had an interesting online conversation with a friend who is based in the States last night.The chat came round to a lab supervisor who was upset that a person they had recently hired had “embelllished” and added details onto their CV. Essentially, they had lied in order to get themselves ahead of the pack. Although upset, the supervisor was dealing with it and moving on, I assume because this person had been doing some solid work since they started. How would you react if you were the lab supervisor?

It’s a well known fact that people highlight their CVs to the best of their abilities, but there exists a fine line  between this and adding skills there which don’t exist (and which, if discovered would make your employer upset).

Personally, I would have to give this person their P45 – how could you expect a constructive business relationship to be built if the candidate effectively undermind you to get the job? The relationship is effectively undermined from the outset, and it’s tough to build confidence when this happens.

I think it boils down to passion for what you do. Do you see your job as just a job? Do you dread Monday mornings? Yes, there are expenses involved with firing and re-hiring. But if you have true passion for what you do and strive to build a team around you who echoes your values, then you have to be able to trust them implicitly. I can’t see how this can be achieved if your recent hire has lied on their CV to get the job.

For more on this, Seth Godin is a great resource (recent posts here and here).

What you you do if you were the lab supervisor? Fire or let it go?

-Brian (bhc at lifescience dot ie)