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Student Guide to Ethical Self-Marketing:

How to Ethically Appeal to an Ethical Employer

by Di Ross and D. William Deck, Jr.

Peer Reviewed

Di Ross diross@vt.edu is an Instructor at Virginia Tech University, and D. William Deck, Jr. is an Associate Professor at Concord University.

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ABSTRACT

Individuals can increase their likelihood of working in ethical organizations by communicating their own suitability as applicants with values like the organization for which they are trying to work. This communication ability is greatly helped by first thinking through many of the issues related to the application process and what it means for individuals to ethically market themselves. This article considers many of these issues, such as:

Why market oneself ethically when competing with others for employment?

What is ethical marketing and what does it imply about trying to market oneself

and one’s abilities?

What are unethical resume/interview choices and why might individuals choose

those actions?

What attitudes and decisions can produce an ethical resume and interview?

How can one audit the ethics of target employers?

How can applicants audit their own resumes to catch even those inadvertent

errors that can cause a resume to self-destruct?

The authors recommend a self-informed, thoughtful, and balanced path by which one can present one’s experiences, skills, and ambitions in an appealing, understandable, low-risk manner to organizations that would benefit from those experiences, skills, and ambitions and likely employ them in a responsible manner. In recognition of the diversity of applicant values and available time, the reader is encouraged to craft a custom self-determined path to ethical employment, one appropriate to the individual’s values and time constraints, by selecting from among the attitudes, tools, and approaches offered in this article. Its discussion concludes with a series of practice activities to assist applicants on their paths to ethical employment.

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WHY BOTHER BEING ETHICAL?

“A resume is an ad, and since when were ads honest and truthful?!?” [1]

Ethics is the consideration of how human actions can improve or deteriorate the environments in which we work and live. Acting ethically when marketing anything can serve as a multi-layered defense against harmful consequences of unethical marketing for the marketer, the customer, the industry, and beyond. The ethical marketer, such as the truthful job applicant, can avoid deleterious consequences of dishonesty such as exclusion from consideration by the savvy hiring manager (customer); anxiety during the interview process that an untruth may come to light; embarrassment during the interview process when an untruth does come to light; stress and loss of job if the untruth is discovered during employment; lessened ability to find work after being fired for lying; and possible legal consequences for fraudulent employment application.

On the other hand, applicants who provide only the truth in applying to work for an organization will likely reap a number of benefits from the decision to be truthful. First, having already decided to do the right thing will reduce the stress at each choice point. Second, truth tellers stay high on the slippery slope by avoiding the first missteps. Third, we better control who we become as we avoid the downward spiral of defending or living down to our previous behavior. Fourth, we have the most precious of treasures: we feel good about ourselves and our place in the world. Fifth, we optimize trustworthy communication in our relationships, and as we sow, so shall we reap. Sixth, the benefits of truthfulness extend beyond the truth teller to the organization and industry that hires that applicant. Lastly, our ethical influence has helped “right” the world in a process similar to the effect of the butterfly wings on weather across the globe [2]. These pros and cons are summarized in Table 1 below.

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Table 1: Truth-telling and lying when self-selling and applying

Upsides of truth-telling when self-selling

Downsides of lying when applying

Clear-cut decision rule: tell only the truth Anxious at each honesty decision choice point

Can truthfully claim honesty as a quality Anxious when dancing around the truth in interviews

No need to defend or act consistently with lies

Embarrassed when falsehoods discovered

Develops trust with colleagues and supervisors

Asked to resign or fired for fraudulent application

Maximizes freedom of job movement Unable to find subsequent comparable employment

Improves the world’s moral climate Worsens the world’s moral climate

The Temptations

So why would an applicant consider being dishonest when applying for a job? Incentives to shade the truth are many, particularly in a difficult job market. If lying is thought to be pervasive, it can appear to be the norm. To avoid losing a job to untruthful braggarts, one may be tempted to exaggerate in self-defense, so an applicant wishing to compete with a field of candidates presumed to be inflating their qualifications may be tempted to inflate their credentials as well. Similarly, in a tough job market, applicants may consider feigning ambition and interest in jobs that would otherwise be unappealing. One may be tempted to feign ambition tailored to the particular job under consideration. Of course, then one risks being given a job that is unappealing and therefore more difficult to do.

Educationally, an applicant might consider claiming a false degree, particularly if that applicant has relevant knowledge gained by working, by volunteer work, or through self-study. In such a case, an applicant may feel that the degree is merely symbolic of knowledge the applicant actually has. Also, an individual may think that the requested degree is mere window dressing and not essential to the target job, in which case claiming a false degree may seem permissible. It must be pointed out, however, that a person without a given degree really is not in a position to judge what might be comparable. Not even an understanding of required coursework can impart the systematic knowledge gained by completing an entire educational program. Potential employers will understandably take their own requirements quite seriously, and the dishonest applicant risks discovery and its attendant consequences.

To adequately communicate the presence of desired experience, one might choose to claim an inaccurate, but apparently more appropriate job title in a job previously held, one that seems to capture the essence of the work that was in fact done. One’s experience may seem broader than duties and the titles of the jobs

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previously held suggest, so claiming others’ duties may seem a satisfactory solution to the apparent discrepancy. One might claim, for instance, to have had formal job duties that in reality were duties of a supervisor who was assisted in their accomplishment by the applicant. Again, the dishonest applicant risks the consequences of discovery.

Claiming nonexistent skills might seem justified on the basis of an applicant's belief that those skills, or a semblance of same, could be developed by the time of any interview and certainly by the start of an offered job. This reasoning is reminiscent of Shakespeare’s line spoken by Hamlet, “Assume a virtue if you have it not.” One risks not being able to acquire a satisfactory level of the needed skills by the time such lack of skills would be discovered. Summarized in Table 2 below are these five temptations.

Table 2: Five temptations to lie on job applications and resumes based on above beliefs

1. Competition: Out-lying the liars to compete with them

2. Ambition: Feigning a dedication to a job offering or that organization’s well-being

3. Education: Claiming a false degree, symbolic of one’s perceived degree-equivalent knowledge

4. Experience: Claiming inaccurate job titles and duties, to give a better idea of one’s experiences

5. Skills: Claiming them now; gaining them later

In addition to all these perspectives, some applicants will consider lying justified because:

they desperately need the job;

they think they deserve the job;

they think they will do well in the job;

they believe that truth has little place in business (“It’s not personal; it’s strictly

business” [3]).

This last line of reasoning has been encouraged by revelations of fraud and unethical practices in various organizations, nonprofit as well as profit seeking businesses. Also, some may have discovered that their employer in fact misrepresented the organization and the job in the job description. Such applicants may reserve their most ethical behavior for those organizations believed likely to reciprocate. This article will provide resources to enable applicants to increase their chances of applying to organizations that meet high ethical standards.

Also, applicants may believe that the requirements listed by a human resources department are unrealistically high, thereby discouraging qualified applicants from telling the truth: that they have most, but not all, of what the organization says it is

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seeking. For instance, a position may be advertised as requiring, among other things, a working knowledge of specific software. Given two otherwise qualified applicants, neither of whom have experience with the required software, the applicant who fraudulently claims familiarity increases the chance of being hired over the applicant who is honest about this deficiency and certainly over an individual who, in response to the requirement, does not even apply. For some famous instances of false self-marketing, the rationales may never be known.

Listed in the Table 3 below are some of the better known misrepresentations made when applying for a job. For most, these untruths resulted in resigning or in being fired in the midst of scandal about their unethical self-marketing choices. However, one of them, Adam Wheeler, was prosecuted and sentenced to ten years of probation after he pleaded guilty to submitting false data in applying to Harvard with false transcripts, test scores, and letters of recommendation [4].

Table 3: Selected false self-marketing claims Michael Brown’s

bio posted at the FEMA website claimed [7] having served as assistant city manager for the City of Edmund, Oklahoma with emergency services oversight, while the White House claimed that he worked from 1975 to 1978 “overseeing the emergency services division”.

[In fact, he was not a manager but was assistant to the city manager from 1977 to 1980 while attending Central State University with no authority over other employees.]

Brown’s profile at FindLaw.com (information from lawyer or firm) claimed he had been an outstanding Political Science Professor, Central State University. [He was not a professor there at all.]

Dave Edmondson falsified his resume by claiming [8]

degrees in psychology and theology from Pacific Coast Baptist College in California. [In fact, the school had no psychology degree, and Edmondson attended only two semesters.]

Marilee Jones, in applying to work at MIT, failed to disclose her actual degree from The College of Saint Rose [9] and instead claimed [10]

degrees from Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

and a doctorate from the Albany Medical College. [She never attended Union College; she studied at Rensselaer for only one academic year; she never attended Albany Medical.]

Alexander Kemos, in applying to work at TAMU, claimed [11]

having an MBA and PhD from Tufts

and having been a Navy SEAL. [Work was not completed on either degree, and he was never a SEAL.]

Kenneth Lonchar claimed [12]

an ASU accounting degree

and a Stanford MBA graduate degree. [He had only an undergraduate degree from Idaho State.]

Longtime college football coach George O'Leary, in applying to coach at Notre Dame, claimed [13]

having a master's degree from NYU-Stony Brook University

and having earned three letters in football at the UNH. [He never played a game at UNH, and there is no such school as NYU-Stony Brook.]

Jeff Papows claimed [14]

he was orphaned;

he had been a lieutenant and a pilot;

he had a Ph.D. from Pepperdine University. [His parents were alive; his degree was from a correspondence school; he was a captain and air traffic controller.]

Adam Wheeler’s resume for an internship claimed [15]

a Harvard 4.0, a summer at Oxford and independent graduate study at Georgetown, plus numerous awards and scholarships from Harvard, lecture invitations, and more.

[None of this was true, and he had been admitted to Harvard based on plagiarized and faked documents.]

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For more about these and other false self-marketing claims, see such online

sources as http://www.investigativecheck.com/exposed.html.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to demonstrate their character and courage when the initial self-marketing decisions are made, because there is no clear way to undo the lie except to later have the courage to accept the consequences of admitting the lie. George O’Leary, in resigning five days after he was hired to coach Notre Dame football, admitted: "Many years ago, as a young married father, I sought to pursue my dream to be a football coach. In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatements were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years."[5]

Marilee Jones, former Dean of Admissions at MIT, had claimed false credentials when she was starting out and then could not really refute them later when she had hard-earned credentials of her own; Ms. Jones said she simply "did not have the courage to correct my resume when I applied for my current job or at any time since." [6] Most individuals included in the table were thought to have done exceptional work in the jobs they obtained based on false credentials which, when discovered, caused the loss of the jobs they were so competently doing.

THE ETHICS OF MARKETING

Temptations to engage in dishonest self-marketing appear differently in the context of the American Marketing Association’s perspective on what ethical marketing involves as the focus is shifted from the self-oriented concerns of the marketer to a broader perspective on the marketing process.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) is clear on the nature of ethical

behavior when trying to persuade others to adopt/hire/buy/promote a given good/service/entity/attitude. The AMA Statement of Ethics, available at www.Marketingpower.com ) is excerpted in Table 4 below. It outlines ethical marketing goals, norms and values. An overarching goal of ethical marketing is to maintain a sustainable productive marketing environment by fulfilling moral responsibilities to various stakeholders. Essentially, systems requiring trust function optimally when system parties behave in predictable ways that are consistent with the explicit and implicit agreements to protect stakeholder interests. If each party to such a system responsibly balances the interests of self and organizations with those of the broader society, that system can continue to provide a living to its practitioners and a service to its customers.

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Table 4: Excerpts from the AMA’s Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers

The American Marketing Association commits itself to promoting the highest standard of professional ethical norms and values for its members (practitioners, academics and students)....

As marketers, we recognize that we not only serve our organizations but also act as stewards of society in creating, facilitating and executing the transactions that are part of the greater economy.

In this role, marketers are expected to embrace the highest professional ethical norms and the ethical values implied by our responsibility toward multiple stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, investors, peers, channel members, regulators and the host community).

ETHICAL NORMS (established standards of conduct) 1. Do no harm… avoid harmful actions or omissions… 2. Foster trust in the marketing system…contribute toward the efficacy of the

exchange process. 3. Embrace ethical values… building relationships and enhancing consumer

confidence in the integrity of marketing.

ETHICAL VALUES (what communities find desirable, important and morally proper; the criteria for evaluating our own personal actions and the actions of others) 1. Honesty – to be forthright. 2. Responsibility – to accept the consequences of decisions and strategies. 3. Fairness – to balance justly the needs of the parties involved, including rejecting

a. manipulations and tactics that harm trust while seeking to protect the private information of involved parties.

4. Respect – to acknowledge the basic human dignity of all stakeholders. To this end,

we will: a. Listen to the needs of customers and make all reasonable efforts to monitor

and improve their satisfaction on an ongoing basis. b. Make every effort to understand and respectfully treat all involved parties. c. Acknowledge the contributions of others. d. Treat everyone as we would wish to be treated.

5. Transparency – to create a spirit of openness in marketing operations. To this end,

we will strive to communicate clearly with all constituencies. 6. Citizenship – to fulfill the economic, legal, philanthropic and societal responsibilities

that serve stakeholders, including contributing to the overall betterment of marketing and its reputation.

Adapted from download of the American Marketing Association’s Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers available at www.marketingpower.com.

AMA norms in service to that overarching goal are to do no harm and to build relationships embodying the trust essential to marketing. These norms are based on values such as honesty, responsibility (accountability), fairness (balancing the interests

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of various stakeholders), and respect. Respect implies an active, rather than passive, attempt to understand the needs, interests, motivations, and power of those stakeholders. If one does not know these essential aspects of a marketing audience, one is less able to:

accomplish the fair balance of interests,

communicate understandably, and

predict the consequences to the marketing system of chosen marketing approaches.

In summary, one is recommended to take care of one’s own long-term interests by

refraining from doing harm while acting as one would wish others to act.

CHARTING THE THREEFOLD PATH TO ETHICAL EMPLOYMENT

Developing an ethical resume to submit to an ethical organization and preparing for an ethical interview can involve a significant investment of time on the part of the applicant. This investment supports the perspective that you get what you pay for and should greatly increase the probability of a productive healthy match between applicant and employer. Applicants are advised to be thorough in their research and thoughtful and creative in their communications on the threefold path:

Attempt to determine how ethical potential employers might be,

Craft an appealing, ethical resume and prepare for a truthful, effective interview,

Ensure the resume is truthful by auditing it prior to submission.

HOW TO TELL HOW ETHICAL THE COMPANY MIGHT BE

Individual applicants may have specific attributes they seek in an employing organization. Individuals may also apply distinctive weightings to the various factors that define, for them, characteristics of an ethical organization. Although recognizing that ethical perceptions can vary culturally and individually, there is also some common perception as to what would be true, ceteris paribus, of an ethical entity. Bill Sledzik of Kent State, for instance, finds that organizations are perceived to be ethical [16] as they consistently show:

Respect for people over profits,

Respect for the communities where they live and work,

Respect for quality (of products and services),

Respect for 2-way communication (listening and responding to the needs of stakeholders), and

Respect for the environment.

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What the organization says

Applicants will want to thoroughly research potential target organizations to find indicators of the company’s character in its mission statement, its website statements, and its explanations of events (discussed more below). Research results will inform decisions such as whether an employment relationship is appealing, what further information to request from the company and other sources, and how to present applicant information.

Many organizations provide information of specific interest to applicants at their website, including open jobs, available benefits, and application and interview procedures. For profit-seeking companies, an excellent detailed source of information is its annual report, which is often downloadable through the company’s website or at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR site (Electronic Data-Gathering Analysis and Retrieval). An annual report will have been audited by CPAs and further scrutinized by the SEC and provides results of company operations and well as discussion of recent events and future plans. Table 5 below lists some of the information that applicants can find in a company’s annual report.

Table 5: What one can determine about a company by reading the annual report

Information Typical location within the annual report

Whether company was profitable Income Statement bottom line: Net Income

Company’s resources and debts Balance Sheet: assets and liabilities

Sources and uses of cash of the company

Statement of Cash Flows

Details of profits, resources, debts Footnotes to financial statements

Explanation of events and effects Management Discussion and Analysis

Plans for changes in products, services Management Discussion and Analysis

Results of formal audit by CPAs Audit Report

Risks the company faces Management Discussion and Analysis

Locations of manufacturing, sales Footnotes to the financial statements

Subsidiary companies Footnotes or as a separate exhibit filed in EDGAR

What others say about the organization

Applicants are advised to do internet searches for news about the company, enabling them to uncover the good (a high ranking on a relevant scale), the bad (a class action suit by former employees), and the ugly (regulatory findings against the company in areas of concern to the applicant).

Such research may be assisted by ranking entities such as Ethisphere, which annually publishes The World’s Most Ethical Company Awards, searchable by industry or company name. Although “company” terminology is used throughout Ethisphere’s

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site and documentation, the award competition is actually open to three kinds of organizations: (1) public company, (2) private company, and (3) education/research institution/not-for-profit/other. Organizations are nominated by themselves or by others, complete a lengthy online questionnaire, and are encouraged to provide Ethisphere with supporting documentation. The awards are based on Ethisphere’s Ethical Quotient or EQTM score, a value developed using proprietary algorithms applied to questionnaire responses, as well as further research. Table 6 below lists categories of questions and their category weight in determining the final EQ.

Table 6: (Ethical Quotient) EQTM

Score for Ethisphere’s The World’s Most Ethical Company Awards

Weighted score derived from company self-reporting, external indicators, and further Ethisphere research (including interviews) with weights as follows (explanations derived from Ethisphere’s Methodology available with more details at www.Ethisphere.com):

Ethics and Compliance Program (25%)… Program structure, responsibility and resources (program oversight and the tone at the top; presence and quality of written standards; training and communication; due care; detection, monitoring and auditing; enforcement and discipline);

Reputation, Leadership and Innovation (20%);

Governance (10%)…from EQ questionnaire and governance rating agencies, and “governance criteria is modified as needed and as is appropriate when reviewing private companies, partnerships, educational institutions and non-profits.”

Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility (25%) …considers sustainability, citizenship and social responsibility (such areas as environmental stewardship, community involvement, corporate philanthropy, workplace impact and well-being and supply chain engagement and oversight) with…”some standards that are universally applicable, and others that vary based on company demographics.”

Culture of Ethics (20%)…“This category looks at the culture of ethics at the organization concerning widely accepted or unaccepted norms as it pertains to ethical conduct. Starting with adoption of a values-based culture and building on those core guidelines by having the workforce buy into the culture and not only know it, but live it.”

Ethisphere can only be a starting point for research, however, as it discloses neither organizational EQ scores, nor does it provide any information about the particular company aspects that resulted in the awards. Also, the companies (145 in 2011, three of them not-for-profits in Healthcare) are not ranked; they are simply presented as award winners. [Note, however, that Item six of Part III (Reputation, Innovation and Leadership) of Ethisphere’s questionnaire lists other relevant organizational awards. [17]]

A wealth of information is available about an individual company's respect for various stakeholders by simply searching “How (company name) treats employees (or customers or community).” Similarly, much has been written about how companies should treat those same stakeholders. Of particular value is CNN Money’s Fortune

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rankings in their World’s Most Admired pages of the best and worst companies in a variety of areas. For each company listed, survey scores are disclosed, as well as discussion supporting that company’s inclusion. Results are also presented by location (states, countries and regions) and industry. Table 7 below provides a snapshot of the survey which produced these rankings. Table 7: Fortune survey methodology, results at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/

Who designed survey?

Hay Group in consultation with Fortune magazine

What companies were initially included?

1,400 companies: the Fortune 1000 (U.S.) + non-U.S. from Fortune’s Global 500 (revenue >$10 billion) + top foreign companies operating in U.S.

What was sample first narrowed to?

698 companies from 32 countries: 10 largest of each U.S. industry + 15 largest for each international industry

How was sample narrowed to industry lists?

58 industry lists: Companies in each industry in the top half when scored by 3,855 executives, directors and analysts on 9 criteria “from Investment to social responsibility”

How was sample narrowed to final survey list?

Companies in top 20% in their industry this year + top 25% of winners of last year’s most admired

How were 50 World’s Most Admired chosen?

Same 3,855 individuals voted for 10 most admired overall (each survey participant could select from among all industries)

Company score Apple ranked No. 1 with high score of 8.42.

Nine criteria areas for which best and worst were chosen

Innovation, people management, asset use, social responsibility, management quality, financial soundness, long-term investment, product quality, global competitiveness

Also, the Global Reporting Initiative, whose mission is to make sustainability

reporting standard practice for organizations around the world, pioneered its Sustainability Reporting Framework and provides access to the Sustainability Reports of many companies at http://database.globalreporting.org/. For a substantial list of other company rankings available online, consult The Library of Congress Business References Services at http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/company/rankings.html#online. A selection of resources for comparative rankings of organizations by their respect for people, quality and the environment are provided in Table 8 below.

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Table 8: Resources for company rankings of interest

Respect for employees

Employees: 2012 100 Best Companies to Work for: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/full_list/

Respect for customers

Customers: MSN Money’s 2010 Hall of Fame: http://money.msn.com/investing/10-companies-that-treat-you-right-2010.aspx

Respect for community and environment

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship CSR Index (Corporate Social Responsibility Index): http://www.bcccc.net/pdf/CSRIReport2011.pdf

Fortune Global 500 ranking according to how well they conform to socially responsible business practices: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/

Fortune 2006, 2007 and 2008 Most ‘Accountable’ Companies: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2008/accountability/index.html

Dow Jones Sustainability Index: http://www.sustainability-indexes.com/dow-jones-sustainability-indexes/index.jsp

Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens: http://www.thecro.com/files/100Best2011_List_revised.pdf

Third party rankings such as those described above can provide needed balance

to how companies attempt to portray themselves in their own communications. For a detailed discussion of company efforts to appear more environmentally responsible than they actually are, read “Student Guide to Greenwashing”, a 2011 B<Quest article by the same authors, at http://www.westga.edu/~bquest/2011/pedagogy11.htm.

Applicants looking to work with proactively ethical organizations involved in sustainability and social responsibility should consider joining Net Impact. “Net Impact is a community of more than 30,000 change makers who are using our jobs to tackle the world’s toughest problems. We put our business skills to work for good throughout every sector, showing the world that it’s possible to make a net impact that benefits not just the bottom line, but people and planet too.” In addition to career resources such as a job board, Net Impact’s “Corporate Careers That Make a Difference” is available for download at:http://vintage.netimpact.org/associations/4342/files/CorporateCareers ThatMakeaDifference_v2.pdf. Find more information about membership and the annual conference at www.netimpact.org. Membership categories and annual costs for individuals inside the U.S. are undergrad $10, graduate student $35, faculty/ administration $50, professional $65 (outside the U.S. $10, $20, $45, $50). Lifetime membership is currently $400.

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CRAFTING THE ETHICAL RESUME

The truth, and nothing but the truth, but perhaps not necessarily the whole truth: Applicants who are committed to telling only the truth still must decide how much

of that truth to tell. The AMA norms and values are instructive when applied to this question. The ethical value of respect requires that the applicant actively assess the needs and interests of the target organization. The value of fairness requires balancing the interests of the applicant and the organization while seeking to protect private information of both parties. Marketers are encouraged to incorporate these values in their actions.

The self-marketer needs to actively ascertain organizational interests to the extent possible and consider how much of the applicant’s private information is germane to the job in question. Many applicants may comfortably provide requested information, but some have information about themselves that they would prefer to safeguard. How can the ethical applicant, without lying, answer requests for information while maximizing their own privacy? One may be artfully truthful (discussed below) and then be prepared to provide further disclosure in the context of an interview.

Degrees of value

The ethical value of respect requires an assumption that the target employer is in a better position than applicants to judge the educational requirements for a job. Fairness requires providing requested information to assist the organization in its objective of determining whether you might be a suitable employee. Rather than succumbing to the temptation to claim a false degree, find a clear way to communicate the value of your knowledge. Have a different degree than the one requested as well as some experience relevant to the advertised job? Have relevant knowledge but no degree? Make a case in your cover letter and in the resume for being considered for the job. In the absence of clearly qualified applicants, you may be considered. In the presence of clearly qualified applicants, it is likely better for the company to consider the more qualified before considering the less qualified. And you may thereby be spared getting a job under false pretenses that turns out to be a nightmare in the absence of the requested education.

Work, work, work

Could a past job have been more appropriately titled? Nothing but the truth is needed to communicate this information. In listing job titles, one might ethically add information to the official job title to better describe that job (“Administrative Assistant [actually functioned as office manager]”), as jobs often retain obsolete titles after their duties have morphed into significantly different jobs.

One might also group similar jobs to emphasize jobs relevant to the target job (present separately “Relevant job experience” and “Other experience”). Or one might pick and choose and do so openly under the heading “Representative employment” or

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“Select jobs.” Consider, however, that although one might ethically leave out a job if irrelevant to the target job, employers are looking for evidence of work ethic, among other attributes. So think carefully before omitting having, for example, run a relative’s party business during their long-term illness. It might not be relevant to the target job you are seeking, but it may well indicate to the target employer that the applicant is hard working, flexible, and willing to help those in need. On the other hand, omitting a two month stint as a pole dancer is probably a safe choice unless applying for similar work.

Applicants with significant job history may be justified in only listing employment within the last ten to fifteen years. After all, target employers are hiring the people we have become and not the people we were long ago. Additionally, most kinds of work have changed substantially within the last twenty years; so having done a less technological version of a job two decades ago is not necessarily relevant to one’s ability to do the more technologically oriented version of that job today.

Listing job titles helps target employers efficiently check claims. However, rather than listing duties of those jobs, applicants have the opportunity instead to emphasize accomplishments by the applicant which were useful for the organization. This supports being able to credibly claim the ability to produce comparable accomplishments for the target organization.

Between paychecks

Were you not employed for a number of months? Do NOT succumb to temptation to report that period as one of self-employment, unless you were indeed actively involved in a for-profit business that you owned and managed. Not having a boss is in no way the same as being one’s own boss. But how can one emphasize what one did do rather than what one did not do?

For each job, one might specify dates by calendar years, declining to be specific as to month ("2007-2010"). List job titles without calendar dates (plant manager, five years) or without any time references at all. One might only include jobs relevant to the target job. ("Relevant employment history") or jobs since one began working in the field of the target job ("Recent employment"). The guiding principle here is to provide a heading which truthfully describes the subset of jobs that is being presented.

For any past periods of non-employment, whether disclosed initially or not on resumes and applications, consider possible descriptions of that time which might effectively communicate any job-relevant productivity (“Took advantage of time between jobs to learn new software” or “2011: volunteer in industry association.”) With this in mind, present or future periods of non-employment can be actively structured so that the applicant has relevant appealing activities to report at later dates. One might improve one’s employability through thoughtfully chosen activities between jobs: self-study, a formal class, volunteer work, earning a certification. In addition to the benefit of the chosen activity is communicating such traits as thoughtful self-direction, motivation in the absence of supervision, intellectual curiosity, and the use of time to good

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advantage. Quality employers value self-starting, motivated, curious, and creative employees.

Take it off

As for what not to include, some sources strongly suggest that resumes should contain neither hobbies [18] (unless clearly relevant to the target job) nor lists of references (unless specifically requested), and not even the timeworn but unnecessary phrase “References available upon request” [19a, b]. Also, avoid even the appearance of exaggeration, bragging or claiming any more than objective observers might assert. For instance, don’t claim “Saved department thousands” when the truth was that your actions resulted in an organizational savings of $1,011. Also, be prepared to explain how any quantified claim was calculated and try to avoid any specific quantifiable claim that is not confirmable, as it might suggest exaggeration.

It takes a village

An explicit AMA value involves acknowledging the contributions of others. Disclosing this attitude on the resume or application can be as straightforward as including in your list of accomplishments at a particular job phrases such as “as an integral part of a highly functional team, accomplished X and Y” or “worked effectively with other contributing team members to produce X and Y.” Communicating this important information is even easier in an interview. Clearly stating the contributions of others to successes in which you were involved communicates several points about your character to your potential employer. An applicant who is willing to distinguish the contribution of others from the applicant’s own contributions is perceived to be telling the truth, as liars would tend to claim others’ work. An applicant who appreciates the work of others tends to work well with others and clearly understands the importance of team work. Perhaps more important than the communication that one can work with teams is the impression that one’s attitude about teamwork would tend to facilitate a team’s productivity.

Table 9 below deals with the issue of the truth versus various tempting falsehoods.

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Table 9: Truth versus temptation

The truth The tempting claim

The rationalization

The ethical path

Education: Having done some or similar work on a degree

Claiming an educational degree

Virtually true, as most of work done

Specify work done, reason for cessation, related plans

Employment in a less impressive title

Employment in a fictional job title

The claimed title more descriptive of work actually done

List actual title, reasonable alternative title, and explain work accomplished

Member of team responsible for project

Responsible for project output

Worked hard on project

Explain nature of contribution of self and others

Influenced people Supervised people

Influence as strong as with direct reports

Explain nature of influence and consequences

Assisted boss in accomplishing X and Y (boss’s duties)

Responsible for X and Y

Often did the work or helped the boss do it

Explain having had opportunity to do work and outcomes

Volunteer work Employment Work is work State nature, accomplishments

Demonstrate respect by valuing the target company’s time

Respect the limited time of hiring managers by providing a two-stage resume, with the first section being a summary of essential points followed by a section providing details. This gives the reviewer the ability to determine more easily whether you are offering what the organization is looking for. This is the written version of the oft-recommended elevator pitch in which one artfully communicates a big picture in the time it takes to ride an elevator. Do keep the total pages to a minimum, two pages at most (one sheet double-sided). Even applicants with a lifetime of experience should be able to distill that experience into a brief organized document which enables the reviewer to determine whether or not an interview is desirable. This approach is facilitated by listing most recent experience first, so a reviewer does not have to slog through old information to get to the most likely to be relevant.

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Likewise, it can be helpful for the applicant to develop summary answers to all predictable interview questions, with details provided only after there is an indication that the interviewer wants more information. This demonstrates an organized mind in sharp contrast to an applicant who launches into excruciating detail when asked a straightforward question. Of course, this approach to saving the reviewer’s time is based on significant time investment on the part of the applicant who must develop a list of potential questions, craft truthful clear answers to those questions in such a way that the answer will be adequate on its own, but is also appropriate for further requested elaboration. And the applicant should remember that an interest in further details can be as subtle as the reviewer calmly waiting for more.

Demonstrate respect by valuing the target company’s character

Having decided to apply to a researched company, one can communicate values one has in common with the company by thoughtfully using some of the company’s language in describing one’s own values, ambitions, experiences, and skills. This should be done delicately, of course, to avoid having one’s sincere attempts to communicate misinterpreted as mockery and mechanical imitation.

AUDITING YOUR RESUME: CHECK YOUR FACTS AND CHECK YOUR REFERENCES

Even well-intentioned applicants can inadvertently misstate their background. Without due diligence research, one can easily list an incorrect date or job title. Organizations request information that few of us have memorized. Some of us no longer have easy access to our own records, as they are inconveniently stored elsewhere or have been destroyed. Records about you can be unintentionally inaccurate. Reporting organizations may have suffered data loss through computer mishap and natural disaster. In addition to carefully proofreading what one is claiming, facts can be checked by calling the organizations with the official data. Call the human resources department of former employers and ask for verification of dates and position titles, as well as for how the organization documented your reason for departure. Call your former schools to be sure you are listing the correct GPA, name of major, awards, etc. You may well need to provide verification of identity by personally visiting the organization or faxing proof of identity to the HR representative. This time investment could well pay off if it avoids a resume which triggers a red flag for a potential employer because it does not agree with data they collect about you.

It also makes great sense to check your own references before potential employers do so. First, communicate with your intended references and confirm that they are still interested in serving in this capacity, particularly if they have been listed as a reference for a while. Ask clearly as to their availability: “I imagine you might be very busy; would you prefer that I request someone else to be my reference (this time)?” This enables lukewarm references to gracefully decline the honor. It is in your interest to avoid those who would condemn you with faint praise (or worse). Even if the reference

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enthusiastically commits to continuing, this call may serve as a reminder of your traits and an opportunity to provide additional information. If your resume has changed significantly since it was last provided to your references, explain briefly about the change and send your reference an updated version. A reference can be assisted in answering questions from a potential employer when that reference is able to look at exactly how you are representing yourself.

You may also want to consider hiring a professional resume checking service, which can provide a written report of responses to their interviews with your references. You can also arrange for a background check to identify the data that the employer can find about you. For instance, Allison & Taylor charges from $70 to $99 for the reference check and $99 for a written report detailing what can be found about you on all the inquiry areas listed in Table 10 below [20].

Table 10: Allison & Taylor inquiry areas in background checks

Aircraft Ownership Other SSNs Associated

Aliases Phone Numbers from Address

Arrests Possible Assets

Bankruptcies Possible Relatives

Civil Judgments Professional Licenses

Corporate Affiliations Property Ownership by Address

Corporate Records Real Property Ownership

Criminal Records SEC Shareholders

DEA Licenses Sex Offenders

Death Index SSN Verifier

Fictitious Business Names Tax Liens

Firearms Licenses UCC Records

Licenses Warrants

Neighbors Watercraft Ownership

Other Names Associated with SSN

Unemployed applicants with some free time available may also wish to invest some of that time in learning more about the area of human resources and the various constraints on the scope and content of the information about applicants that they can check and that they can legally use to decide whether to pursue an interview. This may help shape applicants’ preparation for any interview offered. [Although the HR Certification Institute has a code of ethics [21], it does not specifically address potential employees as stakeholders to be explicitly considered in HR decisions.] For instance, EmployeeScreenIQ’s online publication, The Verifier, is “intended as an educational tool and information resource for human resource professionals or anyone interested in keeping abreast of recent employment background screening industry developments.” [22] Interview preparation can then be tailored by knowing what guides the people interviewing you.

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CONCLUSION

In looking for work and in building careers, applicants are attempting to market themselves as service providers after years spent developing the ability to provide those services. For recent students, the time investment consists of years of schooling with various levels of exposure to outside reading, technology, internships, summer jobs, volunteer work, and hobbies. Veterans of the workplace will also have significant years spent in related and unrelated employment.

Marketing oneself, particularly in today’s economy, is challenge enough. Doing so ethically increases that challenge, but it also increases the likelihood of well-founded pride in one’s choices and in the organizations with which one associates, as well as providing some protection from various unpleasant consequences of unethical choices. The reader may weigh the time investment and benefits of the tools and practices discussed here and elsewhere to determine a personal path to ethical employment that satisfies one’s own values. And who, at the end of a self-directed life, would not prefer to have made the world a better place, one self-directed choice at a time?

This article considered how the marketing of oneself could be guided by the American Marketing Association’s Statement of Ethics and its recommendations to market with honesty, accountability, fairness, respect, and transparency, in order to satisfy the obligations to stakeholders in the economy. For those wanting to encourage their own thinking along these lines, several practice activities are provided below. Of course, available resources as well as the needs of employers continuously evolve. Motivated individuals can creatively keep pace with the needs of the marketplace while still being ethical. Stay current. Stay thoughtful. Practice makes perfect.

PRACTICE ACTIVITIES:

Crafting a custom path: Choosing from among the practices suggested in this

article, design a thoughtful personalized path to ethical employment, one in keeping

with your values and current time constraints.

o Selecting from any suggestions from any source, identify additional practices

you would include in a current approach to ethical employment.

o Selecting from among practices discussed in this article or elsewhere, identify

those which you would consider adding to your future personalized path if

more time were available.

The employer-applicant dynamic: Assume that you own and manage a small

company.

o Consider general traits, experiences, and skills that you would want in an

employee, regardless of position.

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o How would you rank these attributes (listing first the attributes that you would

desire most)?

o For which of these attributes might be it be inappropriate for the employer or

uncomfortable for the applicant (or both) for the employer to request

evidence?

o How could those attributes be unethically assessed or determined?

o How could those attributes be ethically assessed or determined?

The applicant-employer dynamic: Assume that you want to work for a specific

company.

o Consider particulars (other than salary and benefits) that you would want to

be true of the company.

o How would you rank these attributes (listing first the attributes that you would

desire most)?

o For which of these attributes might be it be inappropriate for the applicant or

uncomfortable for the employer (or both) for the applicant to request

evidence?

o How could those attributes be unethically assessed or determined?

o How could those attributes be ethically assessed or determined?

Little brother: Would you support the idea of a central database of certain

employment-related data about employers and employees which could be accessed

by any organization and any individual? If so, how would such a database be best

funded? How would it best be overseen to ensure that only appropriate data is

recorded and accessed?

Persons vs. Organizations:

o Do you feel that individuals owe the same ethical values of truth, fairness, and

respect to organizations that they do to individuals?

o What is the nature of any difference and how might that difference justify

different treatment?

Ethisphere’s questionnaire: Consider the questions in Ethisphere’s EQ

questionnaire at http://ethisphere.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2012-WME-

Questionnaire-BLANK.pdf. .

o Critique the questions as to their

Phrasing and

Appropriateness for consideration in the World’s Most Ethical

Company Awards.

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o What additional questions would you like to have included on this

questionnaire?

o Ethisphere’s white paper “Best Practices, Leading Trends & Expectations of

the World’s Most Ethical Companies” includes a graph (Figure 13) which

shows the World’s Most Ethical Companies moving with but outperforming

the Standard & Poor’s index [available at

http://m1.ethisphere.com/resources/wme-best-practices-whitepaper-

2011.pdf].

What reasons can you suggest for this phenomenon?

Would you expect ethical employees to be more productive

employees?

Letting applicant bygones be bygones: Consider certain experiences (such as

arrests, convictions, terminations for cause, bankruptcy) that employers might wish

to avoid in new hires.

o For any of these, is there some reasonable “statute of limitations” past which

an individual might be forgiven for that action or trait?

o Are there any that could be compensated for by some specific action by the

applicant?

Letting organizational bygones be bygones: Consider certain experiences (such

as scandal, regulatory infractions, bankruptcy) that many applicants would prefer to

avoid in target organizations.

o For any of these, is there some reasonable “statute of limitations” past which

a company might be forgiven for that action or trait?

o Are there any that could be compensated for by some specific action by the

company?

ENDNOTES

(All these websites were available in the summer 2012.)

[1] Fedup February 22, 2007 in response to post by Norma entitled “Lying on your

resume”, The Monster Blog, August 29, 2005,

http://monster.typepad.com/monsterblog/2005/08/lying_on_your_r.html.

[2] The butterfly effect concept is that the slightest variation in an initial condition or event can produce vastly larger changes in resulting conditions.

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[3] Michael Corleone to Sonny Corleone, in 1972 film The Godfather, based on Mario

Puzo’s 1969 book of the same name, published by G. P. Putnam’s Son.

[4]Yu, Xi and Julie M. Zauzmer. “Following Alleged Probation Violation, Adam Wheeler

Returned to Jail”. The Harvard Crimson, November 9, 2011

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/11/9/adam-wheeler-harvard-returned-to-jail/

[5] “Short tenure: O'Leary out at Notre Dame after one week”. Sports Illustrated, December 14, 2011, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2001/12/14/oleary_notredame/. [6] Lewin, Tamar. “Dean at MIT Resigns, Ending a 28-year Lie” The New York Times, April 27, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/us/27mit.html . [7] Fonda, Daren and Rita Healy. “How Reliable Is Brown's Resume? Time,

September 08, 2005,

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1103003,00.html

[8] “RadioShack CEO's resume raises questions”. MSNBC, copyrighted 2012 AP, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11354888/ns/business-us_business/t/radioshack-ceos-resume-raises-questions/#.UAGWNEcuupA. [10] Bombardieri, Marcella. “Ex-MIT dean never cited actual degree”. The Boston Globe, May 2, 2007 http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/05/02/ex_mit_dean_never _cited_actual_degree/?page=full [9] Sullivan, Brian K. and Matthew Keenan. “MIT Dean of Admissions Resigns, Citing False Resume”. Bloomberg April 26, 2007, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aaYOq9JkjWKk&refer=us [11] Patel, Vimal. “A&M official out after false claims on degree, service”. Bryan-

College Station Eagle, http://www.statesman.com/news/local/a-m-official-out-after-false-

claims-on-756724.html

[12] Gross, Daniel. “School Lies: Why do so many executives lie about their education?” Slate, October 22, 2002, http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2002/10/school_lies.html [13] “Short tenure: O’Leary out at Notre Dame after one week”. SportsIllustrated.com, December 14, 2001, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2001/12/14/oleary_notredame/

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[14] Auerbach, Jon G. “IBM's Lotus Chief Gets Lots of Mileage Out of a Dubious Marine

Corps Past”. Wall Street Journal, April 29, 1999,

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB925274057828698316.html

[15] “Adam Wheeler’s Resume”, The New Republic, May 18, 2010, http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/75025/adam-wheelers-resume [16] Toughsledding blog post, http://toughsledding.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/what-defines-the-ethical-organization/ [17] Ethics Quotient Survey 2012, Ethisphere, http://ethisphere.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2012-WME-Questionnaire-BLANK.pdf [18] Job Applications, Technical Writing Module, Virginia Tech University webpages, wiz.cath.vt.edu/tw/technicalwriting/jobapp/resume/contents.htm [19a] Marilyn Moats Kennedy. “Update resume properly, before necessary.” Marketing News, January 15, 2007,http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/MarketingNews/Pages/2007/41/1/MN011507_Kennedy_Update.aspx [19b] “25 Things You Should Never Include on a Resume”. HR World, n.d. http://www.hrworld.com/features/25-things-not-to-put-on-resume-121807/ [20] Allison & Taylor. https://www.allisontaylor.com/background_check_order.asp [21] Human Resources Certification Institute Code of Ethics. http://www.hrci.org/codeofethics/ [22] The Verifier, the Quarterly Publication of EmployeeScreenIQ. http://www.employeescreen.com/theverifier/

Note: Graphic by Carole E. Scott