Guru tricks 3 — Lying
by Angelo Mouthful Marketing
medium.com
Mar 17, 2019
With the help of John Driver, an Englishman who was also tutoring Trungpa, Freda set about getting a Spalding Scholarship for Trungpa, and succeeded. In early 1963 Trungpa set sail for England accompanied by Akong Rinpoche, to enter into the arcane, privileged, and hallowed halls of Oxford University. It was another epic journey into the unknown, heralding as many adventures, pitfalls, and triumphs as they had met in their escape from Tibet.
-- The Revolutionary Life of Freda Bedi, by Vicki Mackenzie
Along with John [E. Stapleton] Driver, a scholar of Tibet who had spent several years in Kalimpong, she managed to secure a Spalding scholarship to allow Trungpa to study at Oxford University....At Tilbury, Cherry's parents were on hand to welcome the two Tibetans -- as were Anita Morris and other well-wishers -- and to provide them with an initial berth at the family home in High Wycombe. Once installed at Oxford, Trungpa and Akong were joined by an old friend and another alumnus of the Home School, Chime Rinpoche. They shared a small flat in St Margaret's Road, on the same street as Freda's old college, and Akong took work as a hospital orderly to help support the household. All three became powerful beacons of Tibetan Buddhism in the west.
-- The Lives of Freda: The Political, Spiritual and Personal Journeys of Freda Bedi, by Andrew Whitehead
Driver was a graduate of Merton College (in Classical Chinese, 1954), and then pursued his interests in Tibetan studies (Guhyagarbha Tantra) in Kalimpong, Gangtok and Kathmandu, 1957-60.
He returned to St Antony's College as a fellow to continue his researches (1961-65), and thus was in Oxford when the Tibetan Buddhist lama tulkus Trungpa Rinpoche, Akong Rinpoche and Chime Rinpoche first came to Oxford (1963).
-- Donation of J.E. Stapleton Driver Collection of Tibetan texts to Bodleian, by yeshiuk.blogspot.com
Around this time, Rinpoche received a Spaulding [Spalding] Scholarship to attend Oxford University. This had come through the intercession of Freda Bedi and John Driver, an Englishman who tutored Rinpoche in the English language in India and helped him with his studies later at Oxford. The Tibet Society in the United Kingdom had also helped him to get the scholarship. To go to England, Rinpoche needed the permission of the Dalai Lama's government. They would never have have allowed him to leave if they had known about his sexual indiscretion, nor do I think it would have gone over very well with the Tibet Society or his English friends in New Delhi. He and Konchok Paldron kept their relationship a secret, and it was a long time before anyone knew that Rinpoche was the father of her child. This caused him a great deal of pain, although I also think that he hadn't yet entirely faced up to the implications of the direction he was going in his relationships with women. At that time, in spite of the inconsistencies in his behavior, he still seemed to think that he could make life work for himself as a monk. Rinpoche continued to stay in touch with Konchok Paldron and his son Osel, and a few years later, he returned to see them and to make arrangements for his son to come to England.
Rinpoche sailed from Bombay for England early in 1963, on the P&O Line, accompanied by his close friend Akong, who was to be a helper and companion to him at Oxford. Rinpoche had been working very hard on his English, but when he left India, he was still struggling with the language, speaking what would be called a form of pidgin English. When Rinpoche and Akong docked in England, they were welcomed by members of the Tibet Society, and before his studies started at Oxford in the fall, Rinpoche spent time in London, where he met many of the most prominent members of the English Buddhist community. He was invited to give several talks at the Buddhist Society, and he attended a kind of summer camp they sponsored each year, where he gave a number of lectures....
When he went up to Oxford, he had quite a challenge trying to bring his English up to speed so that he could understand the lectures and the books he was given to read. Rinpoche wanted to learn as much as he could about English history, philosophy, religion, and politics, but it was pretty tough going for him at the beginning. John Driver, whom he had met in India and who had been instrumental in bringing him to England, returned to England and helped Rinpoche a great deal with his lessons, and Rinpoche never forgot this kindness. In the evenings, Rinpoche attended classes in the town of Oxford to improve his English...
Rinpoche had started writing poetry in English while he was in England. He had studied English poetry at Oxford, and his early poems tended to be more formal, with allusions to Christian themes and Greek mythology as well as to Buddhist deities....
Most of the Western students at Samye Ling were English or Scottish. I don't remember meeting any Americans at that time. In addition to Rinpoche and the painter Sherab Palden Beru, we were introduced to another Tibetan: Akong Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche's longtime companion and the cofounder of the center. Akong had escaped from Tibet with Trungpa Rinpoche and had lived with him at Oxford University, where Rinpoche had studied for several years after he arrived in England....
-- Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chogyam Trungpa, by Diana J. Mukpo with Carolyn Rose Gimian
In 1963, with the assistance of sympathetic Westerners, Trungpa received a Spalding sponsorship to study comparative religion at St Antony's College, Oxford University.
-- Chogyam Trungpa, by Wikipedia
And at that moment, a young woman came in the door, and she kind of pulled me aside and she said, “If you don’t mind me asking, ‘what are you doing here’?” I said, “Well, it’s really hard to explain, but I’m really interested in the teachings of the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism.” She said, “Oh, you know there are two Tibetan lamas in this country, and they belong to that Kagyu order.” And then she reached into her purse and she pulled out a photo, and she pointed to the one on the left and she said, “That’s Trungpa. That’s the one you want to meet.” I said, “Yes. Okay.” And then she proceeded to give me the address and phone number. They were living in Oxford.
And so I was very excited. She actually gave me the photo. And I remember going into the park -- it was in the summer -- and sitting on the grass and trying to meditate. And I was looking at this photo – I had it on the grass in front of me – and I could see this kind of aura around the head of Trungpa Rinpoche in the photo. And I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, and I thought, “I have to contact him. I can’t wait any longer.” And I rushed home, and I phoned the number in Oxford, and asked to speak to Venerable Trungpa, and someone with a weird foreign accent said, “Oh, he no here right now. Better you write to him.” And then they gave me an address of some place called Biddulph in Staffordshire, Biddulph Old Hall in Staffordshire.
And so I sat down and wrote a letter, “Dear Venerable Trungpa. I’d very much like to come and meet you, and study under your guidance. And I’d be willing to meet you any time or place that would be suitable to you.”...
So during the week, he told me that the time would come when he would have his own center, which seemed at the time utterly improbable, because he was living, as it turned out, with two other Tibetans in a basement flat in Oxford. And they had virtually no money. One of them was working part-time as a porter, just enough to put a little bit of food on the table. ....
And I guess Rinpoche was studying a little bit at St. Antony’s college in Oxford....
-- Richard Arthure on Meeting Chogyam Trungpa, The Chronicles of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Today’s article is part 3 in the internet guru series. I have been looking at some of the tricks that internet gurus use to draw you in and depart with your cash. Today’s trick is a simple ploy that has been around since the dawn of humanity. Lying. In the internet guru world, lying can range from exaggerating your achievements, camouflaging your environment or just plain old, out and out lying. Today I want to talk about how to protect yourself from these tricks.
A lot of gurus exaggerate what they have been able to do. In some cases, gurus will lie in order to appear successful. They are incentivized to do so because they have something to sell. In the 21st Century, it is easier than ever to masquerade as a successful entrepreneur when in fact you are nothing of the sort. By creating an online persona, with ‘evidence’ of wealth displayed all over a website and videos and instructional videos littered with bold statements of success, internet gurus are able to generate perceived value in their pitch.
How the human brain works in this area is very interesting. If I want to sell you something, all I need to do is provide you with perceived value multiple times. Following this, the brain generates an element of trust in that value and the prospect becomes an attractive purchase. This translates to the same mechanisms that lying achieves in the context of internet guru advice selling. Once the gurus have reiterated their perceived value, genuine or otherwise, a cognitive rapport of trust is generated and you become motivated to buy.
This isn’t to say that every individual on YouTube is a liar when it comes to promulgating their success. In the business world, if you are just starting out with a new venture then you do need to blow your own trumpet. As a seller, it is important to inform prospective clients that you are a high achiever, and demonstrate what you have accomplished due to your prosperous acumen.
As a buyer however, you need to validate these claims. It is your responsibility to differentiate between the self-promotion of a successful individual and a fraud. By definition, this can be a difficult task. Your own critical analysis will play a leading role in this fraud detection. Thankfully, there are a number of techniques you can incorporate in your assessment that will assist you in telling the genuine from the fake.
The first is a simple logic check. If most, or even none, of the proclaimed advice appears to make any sense or departs from pragmatism, then you need to question the validity. It is important here, however, to be mindful of your own cognitive biases. I have talked in a previous article about how the human brain is not always a rational machine. We have a range of quirky biases that influence our behavior. Being aware of these biases is an important step in avoiding being negatively influenced by them. Take an objective view of the advice the guru is offering. Do not become a ‘hater’ and dismiss advice purely for the narcissistic benefit of always being right. Only with an objective and unbiased mindset will you be able to properly asses the validity of the advice proffered by an internet guru.
The second technique is to conduct a deep analysis of the individual claiming internet guru status. If someone is claiming they made $50 million last year doing a certain action, how can you verify that? How do you know whether XYZ actually sold the 500 houses they are claiming to have sold? Well, you can check to see if they are registered under any companies or if any sales of similar magnitude have actually taken place. There are a wealth of websites and institutions that can help you do just that. This method is a more time-consuming approach but offers an effective way to detect fraud.
The third technique is perhaps the most powerful and pragmatic — experimentation. By putting the advice on trial, you can get an idea of the validity of the presented instruction. If you prototype the advice, using a small amount of your resources, and the advice works for you, then by definition what the internet guru has provided you has value. You can then move forward with this advice and either conduct more tests, using more resource, or begin the lifestyle change and follow the path the guru is offering.
This is perhaps the most powerful technique as its benefits are centered along two main lines. First, it is effective in fraud detection as it puts the guru’s advice under the microscope. Secondly, it offers a window into whether the advice is right for you, regardless of the validity of the provider. If you repeatedly test out the advice and it never works, then you have a clear signal to avoid the advice from that particular guru. Failure to repeat their success could mean one of two things. Either, the advice is incorrect and will never work, or their advice is generally correct but happens to not work for you. Regardless, the advice is to be avoided and you should move on. If you are trying to replicate the behavior of an individual whose cognitive style is fundamentally different from yours, you may struggle to achieve the same results they did. If this is the case, regardless of how genuine their success is, you should depart and find new advice. If it doesn’t work for you then it doesn’t work.
***********************************
Katherine Felt, Plaintiff, vs. Yogi Bhajan [Excerpt]
by Gordon Reiselt, Esq., Singer, Smith and Williams and Peter N. Georgiades, Esq. & Robert S. Whitehill, Esq., Rothman, Gordon, Foreman and Groudine, P.A.
1986
....The method by which Bhajan induced others to follow him was to pose as a Yoga master and teacher, and then covertly subject yoga students to a process of mental and emotional conditioning in which their personalities are disrupted and ultimately destroyed, and then are supplanted with a "reformed" personality ("reformed" in this context having its most literal meaning of "making over" or "forming again"). This reformed personality is, by design, intellectually, emotionally and ideologically committed exclusively to Bhajan and the service of Bhajan. Once a follower is in this condition, he or she becomes part of Bhajan's cult following, and is invariably exploited by Bhajan for whatever Bhajan can get out of the follower, be that money, property, sex, labor, administrative or business skill or assistance, or social or political contacts, prestige or credibility. This process is, by design, carried out without the knowledge or understanding of the inductee, and was carried out upon the plaintiff in this case.
In order to facilitate the expansion, operation and maintenance of his cult, Bhajan has created and operated a number of corporations and associations, including but not limited to the corporate defendants named in this case. These corporations and associations are used, inter alia, as devices through which he has intentionally misrepresented his personal history and background, his education, training, abilities, goals and objectives, as well as the nature, objectives, history and purposes of the various corporations and other associations. This misrepresentation is necessary in order for Bhajan to attract new followers, maintain the loyalty of the followers he already has, obtain the money, property, sex, labor and other assistance he extracts from his followers, as well as to conceal the true nature, objectives and operations of his organization from those outside the organization....
In addition to the foregoing general misrepresentations, Bhajan also made a number of knowing misrepresentations to the plaintiff while she was at the women's camp that related specifically to his status as a teacher, representative and leader of the Sikh religion of India. These misrepresentations were also made on virtually a daily basis from July 1975 through September, 1975, both orally and in articles, brochures and other promotional materials produced by the defendants, and were made for the purpose of inducing the plaintiff to remain at the women's camp until she could be indoctrinated, and to facilitate the thought reform process. These representations were false, and Bhajan knew them to be false at the time he made them. They included, inter alia:
(a) That he was an "avatar," which means a reincarnation of God. Bhajan has never believed this of himself.
(b) That the form of religious practice observed by Bhajan's followers was ancient in origin, and was followed worldwide by those professing to be Sikhs, including the Sikhs of India. In truth, Bhajan well knew the religious beliefs and practices espoused by Bhajan are not of ancient origin, are only superficially based upon the Sikh religion as it was practiced prior to the founding of Bhajan's organizations, and are very different from or contrary to the Sikh religion as it was practiced in India prior to the founding of Bhajan's organizations.
(c) That in 1971 he was appointed by the governing body of the Sikh religion at Amritsar, India (the Shiromani Gurdware Parbandhak Committee) as the "Sin Singh Sahib," and that this title and office were those of the chief religious leader of the Sikhs in the Western Hemisphere. In truth and in fact, Bhajan never did receive any such appointment, and indeed there is no body within the Sikh religion which as the power to make such an appointment, nor is there any such office within the Sikh religion as it is known and practiced in India. Moreover, the title "Sin Singh Sahib" is not a title of religious significance to the Sikhs of India, and is nothing more than a respectful mode of address used by one Sikh when addressing another.
(d) That he had studied the Sikh religion in India under a Saint of that religion for years before coming to the United States, and that as a result of his long study he was schooled in the ways of the Sikh religion. In truth and in fact Bhajan had not made any such study, could neither read nor write the language in which the teachings and scriptures of the Sikh religion are written (Punjabi), and in fact at least until he came to the United States he had never even read them.
(e) That he had over 250,000 followers, mostly of Indian birth. In truth and in fact he had never had in excess of a few thousand followers, and few, if any, of his followers were or are of Indian birth (other than Bhajan's wife).
(f) That he had washed the floors of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, India for four years to "purify himself," when in fact he had never done so.
(g) That he was always faithful to his wife, and for a period of many years prior to meeting the plaintiff had been entirely celibate, when in fact he was at that time regularly engaging in sexual relations with various members of his staff.
At no time material to this Complaint has Bhajan entertained a sincere belief in the religion he espouses to his followers, or to the Sikh religion as it was practiced prior to the founding of Bhajan's organizations. Nor has Bhajan ever personally acted in accordance with the teachings, tenets or practices of the religion he espouses to his followers, or of the Sikh religion as it was practiced prior to the founding of Bhajan's organizations. Rather, Bhajan's professed religious beliefs and objectives are espoused by him in bad faith, for the purpose of bolstering his credibility with the public and potential recruits, obtaining favorable tax treatment from the government of the United States and various states, concealing the covert manipulation he engages in to effect the thought reform process to which the plaintiff in this case was subjected, and justifying to his followers some of the arbitrary, cruel, bizarre and exploitive actions he takes with respect to his followers.
38. In addition to the foregoing general misrepresentations and misrepresentations pertaining to his status and affiliation with the Sikh religion, Bhajan also made a number of knowing misrepresentations to the plaintiff while she was at the "women's camp" which specifically related to his status as a master and teacher of all forms of yoga. These misrepresentations were initially made at plaintiffs private audience with Bhajan, and also made on virtually a daily basis from July 1975 through September 1975, orally and in articles, brochures and other promotional materials produced by the defendants. These misrepresentations were made for the purpose of inducing the plaintiff to remain at the "women's camp" until she could be indoctrinated, and to facilitate the thought reform process. These representations were false, and Bhajan knew them to be false at the time he made them. They included, inter alia:
(a) That he had studied 22 years with a famous yogi in India named Drindra Brahmachari, when in fact he had studied with Drindra Brahmachari only a few days.
(b) That the forms of yoga which Bhajan taught were ancient forms of "Kundalini" and "Tantric yoga," when in fact they were a collection of exercises put together by Bhajan, sometimes literally made up on the spot by Bhajan as a yoga class progressed.
(c) That the forms of yoga Bhajan taught had physically curative and beneficial properties which they did not and do not in fact have, and which Bhajan knew full well they did not and do not have.
(d) That the forms of yoga which Bhajan taught had spiritual properties which they did not and do not in fact have, and which Bhajan knew full well they did not and do not have.
(e) That he was recognized in India as a master of Kundalini yoga at age 16, when in fact he had not achieved such recognition.
(f) That in 1971 Bhajan was bestowed with unique skills and knowledge by a yoga teacher known as the "Mahan Tantric," who had selected Bhajan to be his successor and who bestowed the title of "Mahan Tantric" upon Bhajan when the former "Mahan Tantric" died. In truth Bhajan did not study under the "Mahan Tantric," nor was he ever vested with any such title by anyone previously holding the title.
(g) That forms of yoga which Bhajan told the plaintiff to perform were designed to benefit the plaintiff in various physical and emotional ways, when in fact they were designed to mentally debilitate the plaintiff and place her in a state of extreme suggestibility, which state was then exploited by Bhajan and his followers as part of the thought reform process the plaintiff was subjected to.
(h) That special diets prescribed for the plaintiff would have curative and beneficial effects upon the plaintiffs health, when in fact Bhajan knew they would not. In truth the special diets prescribed by Bhajan were designed to mentally debilitate the plaintiff and place her in a state of extreme suggestibility, which state was then exploited by Bhajan and his followers as part of the thought reform process the plaintiff was subjected to....
In The Man Called The Sin Singh Sahib, supra, Bhajan makes and publishes a number of misrepresentations concerning his education, qualifications, background and teachings. Among those fraudulent misrepresentations, are the following:
(a) That Bhajan has authored nine (9) books, as well as lectures and articles (p.4). In truth and in fact, employees of the defendant corporations have authored the books, articles and lectures.
(b) That Bhajan has given himself to the service of "God and guru" (p.10). In truth and in fact, Bhajan has no good faith belief that he is serving "God or guru," but rather is devoted to serving himself by obtaining his followers money, talents and sexual services.
(c) That Bhajan's family was wealthy and the family's combined land holdings included the entire village in India where Bhajan was born (pp.19 and 35).
(d) That Bhajan's birthday was a festive occasion in the town of his birth, and that baby Bhajans weight in gold, silver and copper coins and wheat was distributed to the poor of the village (p.19).
(e) That Bhajan was the only male child at the girls convent school in his village, and that he frequently "unnerved" the Mother Superior with his "profound and unanswerable" questions (p.19).
(f) That Bhajan graduated with honors from Punjab University with a B.A. in Economics and a Masters equivalent in 1950 (p.26).
(g) That Bhajan single-handedly led his family and entire village, as well as many people from surrounding villages, to safety when the partition of India and Pakistan occurred in 1947, saving them from "roving bands of murderous Muslim bandits" (pp.2627).
(h) That Bhajan was president of the Student Union at Camp College in Delhi, India (p.35).
(i) That Bhajan organized the Sikh Student Federation in Delhi, India (p.35).
(j) That Bhajan established the Khalsa Council as the chief administrative body for the Sikh Dhanma in the Western Hemisphere (pp.120 and 126).
***********************************
Lying on Your Resume? Here’s How You’ll Get Caught
by Megan Elliott
The Cheat Sheet
November 19, 2018
Honesty isn’t the best policy, at least according to some job seekers. People often stretch the truth on their resumes and cover letters in an attempt to land work, new research by OfficeTeam has revealed.
Nearly half of workers surveyed by the staffing company say they know someone who lied on their resume. That’s a 25% increase from 2011. Fifty-three percent of managers have a sneaking suspicion that candidates are often dishonest, and 38% have said no to an applicant after discovering their lies.
Employers are clearly clued into the fact that some applicants are either exaggerating their experience or handing over resumes that are more fiction than fact. But that doesn’t appear to stop some people from telling a few whoppers as they attempt to weasel their way into a job. Giving in to the temptation to lie when applying for a job is risky though. You could miss out on a job offer, damage your reputation, or even get fired once your fibs are revealed.
Plus, it’s easier than ever for a hiring manager to discover you’re not telling the truth about your past. Here are 10 ways employers discover the truth behind your resume lies.
1. Your alma mater can’t confirm you graduated
Claiming to be a Harvard graduate when you really have a degree from a no-name state school is one of the worst things you can lie about on your resume, according to hiring managers surveyed by Hloom. And while some employers will take you at your word when you say you went to a fancy school, others will check on your educational background by calling the school directly or using a service, such as the National Student Clearinghouse.
Sometimes, it’s interested third parties who clue an employer into a lie, such as the student journalists at a Kansas high school who discovered their new principal had inflated her educational credentials.
2. You can’t pass a skills test
It’s easy to say you’re proficient in everything, from conversational French to coding, on your resume. But proving you actually have those skills is another thing entirely. Employers realize how simple it is for people to exaggerate their skill set, so don’t be surprised if you’re asked to demonstrate your talents.
An interviewer might ask you a question in the language you claim to be fluent in or give you an on-the-spot quiz. Failing such a basic test is a sure sign that you’ve either stretched the truth or overestimated your abilities, both of which are likely to take you out of the running for a job.
3. Dates don’t add up
Roughly a quarter of resume liars are fibbing about their employment dates, according to OfficeTeam. If you’re tempted to cover up a resume gap by fudging employment dates, don’t do it. A quick call to your past employer is all it takes for someone to find out that you got laid off back in January, not June.
Trying to cover a gap by listing your job history by year, rather than month and year, is also suspicious and might prompt a hiring manager to do some further digging. If you’re worried about a resume gap making you look like a slacker, fill it with volunteering or consulting work, not lies.
4. Your resume and cover letter don’t match
A sparkling, error-free resume paired with a messy cover letter is a red flag that a candidate is not being totally honest. Such a discrepancy suggests you got a helping hand with your C.V. or maybe even stole another person’s work history to pass off as your own. Being unable to recall key details of your past experience and jobs during an interview is another huge giveaway that you’ve fabricated your past employment.
5. Your job titles are too good to be true
Two years out of college and already sitting in the C-suite? Expect an interviewer to ask some pointed questions about your responsibilities to make sure you’re actually telling the truth about your title. Inflated job titles will also come to light if the prospective employer calls your ex-boss to confirm your past employment. That’s when the promotion you gave yourself from marketing intern to senior marketing manager is going to be revealed.
6. You’re vague about your skills and experience
Job candidates might stretch the truth by using vague terms to describe their skills and experience. Perhaps they reason that as long as they’re not spouting an outright lie, it’s OK. But savvy interviewers will spot people who aren’t quite as knowledgeable as they initially appear. “Using ambiguous phrases like ‘familiar with’ or ‘involved in’ could mean the candidate is trying to cover up a lack of direct experience,” noted OfficeTeam. In other words, claiming to be familiar with event planning because you sometimes pick up doughnuts for the weekly staff meeting isn’t going to fly.
7. Your body language betrays you
You might think you’re an impeccable liar. But subtle body language cues in the interview could be giving away your resume lies. “A lack of eye contact or constant fidgeting may suggest dishonesty,” noted OfficeTeam, though those behaviors aren’t guarantees of dishonesty.
Touching your nose, looking down when you’re answering a question, and turning your body away from the interviewer are other ways you might inadvertently signal that you’re not telling the truth, according to the Los Angeles Times.
8. Your references don’t back you up
If you’re a skilled liar, you might get away with embellishing your skills or past responsibilities in an interview or on your resume. But you won’t necessarily be able to count on your references to back you up. An honest reference will reveal the real extent of your job responsibilities or the truth about your so-called accomplishments.
Even if you find a reference willing to go along with your charade, the interviewer might do some extra digging on their own, reaching out to mutual connections or independently contacting your old boss or co-workers to find out what you’re really like. And remember, there are no laws restricting what an ex-employer can say about you, despite what some job seekers might think.
9. A Google search reveals the truth
Seventy percent of employers snoop on candidates before offering them a job. You better hope that what HR finds on social media or as part of a basic Google search matches what you have on your resume. Of employers who decide not to hire someone after researching them online, 27% did so because they discovered the candidate had lied about their qualifications, CareerBuilder found. A little Nancy Drew-style sleuthing is all it takes to discover that your alma mater is a diploma mill or that the company you claimed to work for last year went out of business a decade ago.
10. The employer conducts a background check
Not all employers conduct formal background checks. But if you encounter one that does, it will sink you if you’re being untruthful. If a prospective employer conducts a background check and discovers you’ve lied (either directly or by omission) about your work history, criminal past, education, professional certifications, or other key facts, don’t expect a job offer.
***********************************
BUSTED: This Is What Happened To 10 Executives Who Lied About Their Resumes
by Vivian Giang and Jhaneel Lockhart
Business Insider
May 7, 2012, 6:15 AM
A little fibbing on your resume might not seem like a big deal when you're applying for a low-ranking position, but you never know where your professional career will end up.
And these little lies can come back to threaten you career, as in the current revelation of Yahoo's CEO Scott Thompson's fake resume.
As these top-notch executives prove, even if your career stays intact, be prepared to be publicly shamed, or at least embarrassed.
Celebrity chef Robert Irvine lied about designing Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake
In 2008, British chef Robert Irving was fired from his own show on the Food Network's Dinner Impossible when it was uncovered that he didn't actually design the royal couple's wedding cake, but that he only attended the school where it was made and contributed by picking fruit for the cake.
An MIT dean never received any college degrees despite claiming to have a bachelor's and a master's
Marilee Jones had been with MIT for 28 years before the university realized that she never received the undergraduate or master's degrees that she said she got on her resume. In fact, Jones never received any college degrees.
In 2007, she resigned stating on the university's Web site that she had "misrepresented her academic degrees to the institute" and explained that she "did not have the courage to correct [her] resume when [she] applied for [her] current job or at any time since."
She is now a college admissions consultant at the Berklee College of Music.
An IBM president kept his position after lying about his records, but later resigned due to a sexual discrimination complaint
In 1999, it was revealed that Jeffrey Papows, president of IBM's software maker Lotus Development, fibbed about his academic and military background.
Jon Auerbach at ZDNet reported that Papows said he was a pilot when he was actually an air traffic controller and a captain when he was actually a first lieutenant in the Marines. He also said he got his PhD from Pepperdine, but actually got it from an unaccredited correspondence school.
Despite the lies, Papows kept his position with the company, but resigned the next year after he was named in a sexual discrimination complaint, according to CNET News.
His LinkedIn page says he's now CEO of Maptuit Corp. and Weblayers, Inc.
A top Wall Street analyst lied about studying at MIT when he actually attended Boston University
At one time, Salomon Smith Barney's Jack Grubman was Wall Street's highest-paid analyst with a salary of $20 million per year.
Then it was uncovered that he never attended MIT like he told his employers. In an interview with BusinessWeek, Grubman said that he lied because he "probably felt insecure."
He is now the founder of Magee Group, which provides strategic advice to telecom and technology companies.
Former Notre Dame Head Coach lied about a master's degree and being a football legend in college when he never even played a game
Five days after being named as Notre Dame's news head coach, George O'Leary was forced to resign for lying about a master's degree in education from New York University that he never received.
The university did verify that he was a student there in the '70s, but that he never graduated.
Furthermore, O'Leary told his employers that he played college football for three years at the University of New Hampshire, but, in actuality, he never even played a game of football.
In a statement released to the Notre Dame, O'Leary said: "Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans."
O'Leary is known for his coaching success with Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1994 to 2001.
He is currently the head coach at University of Central Florida.
A top Norwegian bureaucrat lied about being a registered nurse and having two degrees. She was sentenced to 14 months in prison
Before she became a convicted felon, Liv Løberg held top administrative jobs within health care and other public sectors, and was also a former politician for the Progress Party in Norway.
In 2010, a journalist revealed that Løberg did not have the degrees she claimed she did from the London School of Economics, Queen Mary College and Norges Handelshøyskole. She wasn't even a registered nurse. In actuality, Løberg dropped out of high school and only had one year of practical nurse education.
In 2012, she was sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined 1 million NOK.
Bausch & Lomb CEO lied about his MBA degree, but was able to keep his position because he was deemed 'too valuable'
Ronald Zarrella had to give up his $1 million bonus when it was revealed that he never received his MBA from NYU like he claimed he did. He actually started the program, but never finished it.
However, Bausch & Lomb — a supplier of eye health products — decided that Zarrella was too valuable to the company and he was able to keep his job, but eventually left in 2008 when the company experienced "extensive product recall and hundreds of product liability lawsuits."
RadioShack's CEO lied about having a four-year degree when he only had a three-year degree
David Edmondson joined Radio Shack in 1994 and quickly advanced in the company until he became CEO in 2005.
A year after attaining his new title, the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reported that Edmondson had not earned degrees in theology and psychology from Heartland Baptist Bible College as he had claimed. Radio Shack's board of directors stood up for their new CEO, but Edmondson decided to resign. In his statement, he said:
"I clearly misstated my academic record, and the responsibility for these misstatements is mine alone. I understand that I cannot now document the ThG diploma."
The CEO of a major software firm lied about getting an MBA from Stanford. The company's stock dove when the truth surfaced
Kenneth Lonchar joined Veritas Software Corp. through a merger in 1997 — both companies were small at the time.
Four years later, Lonchar won CFO Magazine's Excellence Award for Managing External Stakeholders, but the next year, the glorified CFO fell from grace when it was revealed that he never received an MBA from Stanford as he claimed.
He never even earned the accounting degree he said he did from Arizona State University, but instead got his degree from Idaho State.
Shortly thereafter, a Merrill Lynch analyst downgraded the company's credit ratings and shares dropped by as much as 20 percent.
Lonchar was asked to resign, saying the following in a statement released by the firm:
"I regret this misstatement of my educational background. Under the circumstances, I believe my resignation is in the best interests of both the company and myself," Mr. Lonchar said in the written statement.
Yahoo's CEO never earned the computer science degree he claims he got
On Scott Thompson's resume, he had degrees in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College.
When Thompson, the former president of PayPal, was named as Yahoo's CEO in January 2012, Daniel S. Loeb, the founder of hedge fund Third Point and a shareholder of Yahoo, investigated into Thompson's background and uncovered that the new chief executive only had a degree in accounting, not computer science.
Loeb wrote:
“If Mr. Thompson embellished his academic credentials we think that it 1) undermines his credibility as a technology expert and 2) reflects poorly on the character of the C.E.O. who has been tasked with leading Yahoo! at this critical juncture. Now more than ever Yahoo investors need a trustworthy C.E.O.”
BONUS: Former Harvard student fabricated SAT scores, letters of recommendations and transcripts to gain admissions and received $40,000 in grants
Adam B. Wheeler lied about his entire academic background in order to get into Harvard University — even telling the school that he was transferring in from MIT with perfect grades. He was actually a former student at Bowdoin College, but was suspended for academic dishonesty.
Once admitted into Harvard, Wheeler plagiarized essays and research proposals that would eventually earn him more than $40,000 in grants and prizes.
His background was revealed when Wheeler attempted to apply for the Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships in his senior year.
Wheeler eventually pleaded guilty to 20 misdemeanor and felony counts of larceny, identity fraud, falsifying an endorsement or approval, and pretending to hold a degree. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation and ordered to pay a restitution of $45,806 to Harvard University.
***********************************