Talent Tip #44: Liar Liar, Pantalones en Fuego!
I love a good story — especially if there is a good lesson we can draw from it. That’s why I wanted to share this tale I just heard from a friend.
A gentleman recently applied for a job with my friend’s organization. During the application process, the candidate was asked to provide his current and desired salaries.
He provided the following figures:
Current: 85k*
Desired: 97k*
Fair enough, right? Of course, we can debate the 14% desired increase, but it’s not outlandish.
You know what is outlandish?
Being employed on Capitol Hill and thinking you can lie about your salary.
That’s right. It turns out the applicant is a legislative staff member, and as such, his compensation is public record.
My friend thought the current salary provided seemed steep for someone at the candidate’s level, so he engaged in a little research. Lo and behold, he discovered the candidate is actually only making 60k.
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
Well, I think that serves as an automatic disqualification. As my friend so eloquently stated, “Disqualified for lying, but also disqualified for idiocy.”
Ahh, there are so many lessons here! Here are the two biggest:
If you’re a potential employer, do some homework about candidates’ salary information – especially if something seems amiss to you. You won’t always have the ease of finding salary information online, but you can call former employers for such data. I hope it goes without saying, but if you find a candidate in a lie, drop him/her like a bad habit.
If you’re on the job hunt and even contemplating being dishonest about salary, please consider doing something less ridiculous like getting multiple facial piercings or taking Paul Krugman seriously.
*Numbers have been changed to protect the guilty.
