According to Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics, a small bit of inflation on one$$s r$$sum$$ is universal. Levitt estimates that at least half the people engage in this deception to some degree. Typically the small edits to one$$s r$$sum$$ are done to disguise some unaccounted for time in between jobs. On other occasions the deceptions have been more substantial; for example, claiming an academic degree one almost acquired but didn$$t: $$Well$,$ I was just two courses short!$$ It has also been said that based on studies, the average American tells one or two lies a day, often at work. A recent survey of hiring managers by CareerBuilder found that percent of them find false or misleading information on applicants$$ r$$sum$$s$.$

A r$$sum$$ controversy with significant consequences occurred when Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson was questioned about a statement on his company$$s Web site that reported he had a degree in computer science. A dissident shareholder went public with the revelation that Thompson couldn$$t have a degree in computer science because the small college he graduated from didn$$t have a computer science major until after he graduated. The company$$s regulatory filing indicated that Thompson had a degree in accounting and computer science. Thompson claimed the Web site information was an inadvertent error without providing more information. According to his college, Thompson graduated with a bachelor$$s of science in business administration.

Days after this information came out, a person close to Yahoo$$s board reported that in absence of information that Thompson intentionally misled, the company probably would not force him out, indicating that his importance as CEO to the company was more important than whether he had a computer science degree or not. In spite of this, CEO Scott Thompson resigned his position soon thereafter amid the controversy over his r$$sum$$ discrepancy.

In light of the prevalence of these practices, is r$$sum$$ inflation and deception okay? Is it okay up to a point as long as the distortion doesn$$t get too big? Is a small amount of puffery on one$$s r$$sum$$ just expected as part of the game of getting a job and getting ahead? What would the conventional approach to business ethics say?

Some small schools don$$t have official majors but people sometimes claim them anyway. Is this an acceptable practice?

If you had been on Yahoo$$s board, would you have supported keeping Thompson?

Why do you suppose Thompson resigned?