In an effort to keep up with current events and in an
attempt to tie them into the theme of my column (careers, jobs, resumes, etc.),
let’s look at the Lance Armstrong saga and the numerous Major League Baseball
players who were denied entry into the Hall of Fame. This won’t be a stretch and frankly can be
used in an “apples to apples” comparison.
For those of you not paying attention, Lance Armstrong has
recently come clean and admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs to help
him win the Tour de France seven times.
Prior to this, he had been stripped of his titles and banned from future
participation. Also, in the last few
weeks, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America decided not to vote in
notorious members of the “steroid era” in baseball including but not limited
to: Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens, and Rafael Palmeiro. Both of these examples are the formal,
by-the-book results of their actions.
For the most part, on the other hand, the public opinion of these
athletes is very negative and “our” minds are made up. They tainted the game and their reputation. We cannot trust them and forgiveness may or
may not be an option.
This applies to you, as a current or future job-seeker, whether
you think it does or not-
- On your resume, don’t lie. If you got a 2.9 GPA, don’t list it on your
resume as a 3.0 GPA. If you went to one
meeting for a professional organization three years ago, don’t list it as
currently participating.
- During an interview, don’t overstate what you
did on a given project and/or your skills.
If you worked on a team and others contributed, say so. If you don’t know how to do certain things in
Excel or PowerPoint, don’t say that you are advanced or proficient.
- On the job, if you have to call out sick, don’t
do so and then play hooky. If there is a
mistake in your work, take ownership and offer to correct the mistake.
There are plenty of other similar examples but I put these
in front of you to let you know that this isn’t just an
on-the-field/court/route issue. This is
an everywhere issue. As a job seeker in
an industry as small as sports where everyone knows everyone else and in a job
market that is tight as ever due to the economy, you cannot afford to be like
Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, or any of their cheating friends. You have to be accountable for your actions
and take responsibility. Major missteps
with no resolution will follow you throughout your career. Take ownership of your successes and your
failures.
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