Claiming degrees you dont have

[51daystoChristmas]

Hi, I have a colleague who is claiming to have degrees she doesnt have. She has two degrees on her email signature that don't match the ones on our company CVs that go out to third parties which is what led me to noticing. So I did a bit of checking and on LinkedIn she has a completely different degree listed, with the university name. So I emailed the university which is in Australia, that information is on public record there, and they confirmed that degree and date. She works on winning business for the company so I think any sort of fraud would be really bad for the company, she's worked here for 10 years though. She has recently been promoted, and is good at her job. I'm in a different team and it makes no difference to me, I was just wondering if I should let anyone know as they've just won a really public facing project. What do you think?

What exactly are you hoping to gain by reporting her op? She's been there for 10 years and you want to get her fired? Do you understand how that will look to your colleagues? I'd be keeping my distance from you

It isn't damaging for you. There may be no fraud involved. She has the qualifications to do the job and for all you know she may have the degree she claims. She might have acquired another degree during the 10 years with the company. She sounds very diligent and ambitious and so that could be plausible. While she would add that to her profile it would not be present on her original application form or details. @Angel191 is correct in her judgement imo.

Why don't you apply your nosiness to your work and get yourself some more qualifications so that you too can be a team leader?

Exactly. There's an appropriate way to deal with concerns and this wasn't it. Don't be surprised if you end up being investigated by HR for harassment.

In my various job applications, I've needed to produce my certificates before starting the job - usually at the same time as my passport for the right to work in UK check. They all get photocopied and attached to my personnel file.
So I'm not sure how she's managed to get away with just adding a couple more degrees to her email signature.
Quite what you can do about it, I'm not sure. It would trouble me too, especially if it could cause reputational damage. Whistleblowing policy perhaps?

CV Fraud is a criminal offence so there is reason to be concerned in terms of your company's reputation. It also lays that employee open to blackmail.

If you are genuinely concerned, the appropriate response is to suggest HR run a check on all employee degrees (and lower qualifications) through Ecctis or QualificationCheck. Then it is fair and will catch out all offenders.

If HR don't want to spend the money, that says all you need to know about how indifferent they are.

People lying on their CVs is very common outside of the professions.

I’m going to be kind and say maybe you already had suspicions about this person’s honesty and integrity and you went looking for information to back up what you felt.

And now you’ve confirmed to yourself she’s a liar and that bothers you for reasons that are obvious. I mean, what’s the point studying for a qualification, just list it on your CV!

If you are absolutely sure she doesn’t have the qualifications she claims to have, I can see why you’re bothered. I’d be wondering what else she lies about and whether she will come unstuck on behalf of the company.

the question of how you handle it is a different matter, as it makes you look slightly unhinged or vexatious in doing the research, even though I don’t think you are.

I know somebody who went around throwing ‘when I was studying law’ to imply she had a law degree - she didn’t, she dropped out after the first year. Her lies and exaggeration were obvious to me but it took a while for her to come unstuck.

I know somebody else who was on my degree at university and lists it on her CV even though she only completed the first year. To be fair, she does list the dates as 1991-92 and as it was a four year languages degree, anyone could see that something doesn’t ring true

Nasty spiteful behaviour. Focus on your own work.

The OP is not being fully honest here and potentially they committed an HR violation themselves. I am a former HR professional and I also used to work in University admissions (undergrad and postgrad) dealing with foreign qualifications from all over the world. Every hire and admission requires document verification - for hires requiring a degree the check would be seeing the original latest and most relevant document (certificate/ transcript etc). If the job requires a postgraduate degree the only certificate required would be the postgrad one. There are 3 ways to check someone's Australian qualifications 1) seeing the original certificates, 2) Using QR code to eQuals platform - QR has to be supplied by the person whose qualifications you are checking, 3) Contacting the University directly - due to data protection regulations, this method requires a signed consent form from the graduate before the university can release any information. I very much doubt OP had that consent, so how exactly did they obtain the information? It is also unclear to me how they were able to see other employees CV - this is serious data privacy protection violation and likely a much bigger problem for the company as CVs are considered highly confidential with strictly limited access only for legitimate business purposes. The only person comitting a potential HR violation is the OP, so yes, I think they should come clean and face the consequences as to not risk the good reputation of the company they care so deeply about. On the way they should also ask themselves what type of discrimination is driving them (age, gender, ethnicity, religion) as the HR will be very interested in understanding this.

Surely the company resumes that go out to third parties are prepared / reviewed by someone in comms, not the individual? And I am sure the company has presented those in the best light to win business…

And to the extent that anyone puts degrees in their email signatures (generally the insecure or immature IME, but occasionally someone who has overcome overwhelming obstacles to get a degree) they are often either too detailed or very top level….

So, perhaps the claims are incorrect or perhaps they are not. Though your actions come across as more those of a school kid rather than in professional in a workplace…

But I’m pretty sure that the company is aware, if not even responsible, for the external facing claims. And as for the ones in the email, well, I have never put any qualifications in my signature but there a few I could put, 2 of them degrees and one an MBA. Few people know about them, and I don’t make a habit of telling people. So I am sure that if someone found a document where an employer listed them they’d be curious, and maybe suspicious too. Wrong, but suspicious :)

Exactly that I was going to say.

Ah, I get it now, I bet you went for the same job and she got.

Isn’t the most obvious explanation is that she ran through AI and it changed/improved her CV and she didn’t proof read. The organisation I worked for last year forced us to join LinkedIn so we could network. We were all time poor and many of us used AI to write the bio. Mine said I am enthusiastic team player which made my colleagues laugh.

Tbh OP I think this is industry specific. I’m part of a profession that has a code of conduct, honestly and integrity are key parts of the code of conduct. If I knew someone was lying or was lying myself about qualifications I could be disciplined by my professional body, fined or potentially struck off for not being honest or upholding the expected professional standards.

So it would be a big deal in my industry. In other industries maybe not so much.

I do also agree with others though, I’m not sure how it would reflect on you within the company to be the person who reveals the potential fraud especially if the person is well liked. Tread carefully.

I have several degrees including a doctorate. I also have professional qualifications from some years ago which I no longer use. I worked in universities for years and was never asked to produce a degree certificate and no one was interested in what I did before I went to uni.

In your position I would keep my mouth shut and my head down if no one in your workplace knows this information. I have things in my own past that I no longer mention. The fact is that people loath snitches. Management may admit that tittle tattles can be useful in directing their attention to things that they ought to know (gross misconduct) but no one really likes or respects a grasser. The information soon gets around that X is a snitch and people keep a wide bearth.

I sniched once in my working career when I learned that a junior member (not even one of my team) was being mobbed (bullied by a group). I passed an anonymous hint to my boss and he investigated. The incident went to the very top of the organization because it was so serious. I have never regretted what I did.

In construction and project management, has an undergraduate degree in architecture and nothing else. These other degrees have appeared on public facing company documentation post hire and over the last few years and relate to a claim to be a qualified architect as well as in post graduate project management.

Because she's feeding back on your obvious jealousy. Literally, if you were secure in your own self-esteem this would not bother you and you would not have gone looking. It does not directly effect you.

This is a massive breach of GDPR. I hope someone pulls you up on your stalking and assessing of what should be private information to you, regardless of whether it is available elsewhere. This is stalking and harassment with potential for bullying.

If she's good at her job and has no effect on you whatsoever - What's the issue here?

That's the problem with making your opinion public - We aren't going to act/respond in a way that's convenient to you. You don't know what this person has, or does not have.

I have 2 degrees - I only use the one which is relevant to my job.

Doesn't LinkedIn show when people have looked up your profile? And I think you can pay to see who's viewed you.

I think this has potential to blow up in your face, particularly emailing the university to check up on your colleague.

If her pay is higher than others due to her false degrees I can see why you would be pissed. Or if her promotions are due to her 'degrees' again id be pissed. If when she applied for her job it stated xyz degree essential again id be pissed on behalf of others who applied. Would the company not have a thorough vetting procedure? Practically what do you think informing HR would achieve? Before you make a decision id honestly have to ask myself a lot of questions especially about what it could do to your own reputation/career.

It’s hardly fraud is it though. It’s not like she’s saying she’s a plastic surgeon while having the qualifications of a cleaner

Unless you have investigated more than you have told us, all you have proved is that she holds the degree mentioned on her LinkedIn profile. You have not proved that she does not have the other degrees. Some people do have multiple degrees. Unless you have checked with the universities that she says awarded these degrees, you are guessing.

I'd share your concern, OP. It is a massively big deal to lie about that. (I'm amazed that so many people or bots on this thread seem to think this is normal and that it's not your business - don't they care whether their doctor has a medical degree, or their car was designed and safety tested by someone with the relevant qualifications?)

I think I might go and change career to a completely different profession if lying is fine.

Yeh go for it if you want to be known as a meddling grass sticking their snout into other people’s business and end up unliked with no mates. Good luck at future Xmas parties and work do’s.

I call bullshit it’s about integrity. It’s jealous busy-bodying.

Unless she’s operating dangerous machinery or operating on heart surgery patients or something is it so terrible if her ’public’ degrees are a bit blurry around the edges.
God I can’t bear people like you.

In some countries it is common for senior people to have, and to show, their relevant qualifications. I had German colleagues who had "Dipl. Ing" or "Dr. Ing" and these show considerable learning and effort. There are EU and International standards to translate qualifications from other countries.

IMO it is very poor practice to claim qualifications you have not earned, and it would reflect very badly on the organisation if it was found out.

100% agree.
The truth will always matter.
The truth must always win.

MYOB

Please come back and update us with what HR say when you go to them and tell them you emailed her university to verify her degrees.