As college seniors hurtle into the job hunt, little fibs on the résumé--for example, claiming a degree when they're three credits shy of graduation--seem harmless enough. So new grads ought to read this memo now: those 20-year-old falsehoods on cream-colored, 32-lb. premium paper have poleaxed so many high-profile executives that you wonder who in the business world hasn't got the message. A résumé listing two fictitious degrees led to the resignation of David Edmondson, CEO of RadioShack, in February. Untruthful curricula vitae have also hobbled the careers of executives at Bausch & Lomb, Veritas Software and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The...