There are certain ethics required when applying for a new job. Truthfulness is undoubtedly the most important; the crux of a good application. Wholesale lies, mistruths and exaggerations are utterly discouraged. It has probably crossed every prospective candidate’s mind that a little embellishment might help their application shine a little brighter when the recruiter peruses hundreds of CV’s for an oversubscribed position.

But even the most high-profile figures are not immune from such temptation.

Controversy is swirling in the media world after activist investor Daniel Loeb of hedge fund Third Point accused Yahoo chief executive Scott Thompson of adding a bogus bachelor’s computer science degree to his CV.


Yahoo attempted to pacify the situation as news giants Reuters and the Associated Press were passed on to a revealing internal memo from Thompson himself.

“I want you to know how deeply I regret how this issue has affected the company and all of you,” it read.

“We have all been working very hard to move the company forward and this has had the opposite effect. For that, I take full responsibility, and I want to apologise to you.”

Rather than abating the situation, the embarrassed Thompson was further dragged into the mire as the memo seemed to all-but-confirm Loeb’s allegations and begins the calls for his resignation.

According to reports Third Point (which owns 5.8% of Yahoo shares) has issued a legal demand to review how much the Yahoo board knew about Thompson's qualifications before it hired him as chief executive in January.

So the message to candidates young and old applying for new positions in digital media is ALWAYS BE TRUTHFUL!

Harriet Sanders, Senior Recruitment Consultant at Chrysalis offers this advice to applicants who possibly doubt their skills and perhaps tempted to overdo their achievements.
“As a recruiter, I will always encourage my candidates to be proud, confident and aggressive with their specific skill-set; we want to catch the company’s eye and fast. Rather than use pretense, confidently relate your key skills to tie in with your practical working experiences – employers love examples where you show that you can do the job.

“A good recruiter will help you bring the best out of your achievements and create a strong CV – and at Chrysalis we can match your digital media talents with an attractive application and find you a great position.”




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