Watching the Food Network is usually one of my favorite things to do at night, so I was shocked to discover one of their chefs wasn’t the professional he claimed to be. Recently you may have been disappointed to hear that Robert Irvine, TV chef and host of ‘Dinner: Impossible’, was fired from his show after being caught in a lie.
Lying on your resume is one of the easiest ways to destroy your credibility, especially when information is so readily available to employers with an Internet connection, which is just about everybody!
Chef Irvine declared, among other falsehoods, that he was knighted by the Queen of England, owned a castle in Scotland, and cooked for several U.S. presidents (read the article that sparked the controversy here).
Second on the list of ways you can destroy your credibility is to dodge the issue once it comes to light. Look, we all make mistakes, so if you’re caught in even a half truth at work or in your personal life, come clean. Completely. Just let it all out and seek forgiveness, you’ll always come out ahead in the long run.
Recently one of my former managers was caught lying to his employer regarding another job he was interviewing for. He made the critical error of announcing his intentions to make more money at another position to several colleagues, and management caught wind. Can you relate to this? We’ve all been caught in a little white lie now and again, when it comes to work and your relationships, don’t lose credibility. My former manager has certainly tarnished his and will have to work hard to earn it back.
Credibility is the combination of trustworthiness and expertise according to the definition posted on Wikipedia. Work on your expertise, which comes with time and experience, and never forget that your trustworthiness takes a lifetime to achieve and about 5 seconds to destroy.
What issues do you face with credibility? Writing the perfect, yet honest, resume? Let us at First College, Now What? know what you’re thinking.
Best,
Joe
