The Career Coach Quick TipA small fabrication is causing a big uproar across the tech community. Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson is accused of exaggerating his credentials on his resume. According to news reports, a regulatory filing and a company press release mention Thompson as having earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College. But checks of his school record show an accounting degree only. Now there are demands for his departure as head of the struggling Internet company.

Despite his 30+ years of real world experience, what Yahoo is calling an “inadvertent error”, may lead to Thompson’s downfall. Still feel like embellishing on your resume? We’ve all heard the admonishment, never lie on your resume. Well here’s a real world example to show no matter how high you get on the food chain, an embellishment, error or exaggeration will catch up with you.

What’s interesting to me is that Thompson does have a Bachelor’s degree, it’s just not in computer science. Imagine the uproar if he didn’t have a degree at all!

~Linda