Is it Ok to Lie On Your Resume if Your Boss Pulls A Madoff?

New York Magazine ran a “Daily Intel” piece on what to do with your resume if you worked for a Bernie Madoff or Marc Dreier.   Apparently, they picked up on an interview that the Wall Street Journal conducted with Kate Wendleton from the Five O’Clock Club on the subject.  According to the post, Kate suggests pure and simply — “Just lie!”

Nice.

Luckily NYMag.com Editors hit the nail on the head by noting that if you lie in your resume and get the interview, you’re basically gonna be screwed. Here’s what I recommend.  Tell it like it is.  Unless you were cooking the books for these guys, chances are you weren’t in the know in terms of what was going on behind the scenes.  In fact, I would even go so far to say, working for one of these guys actually might get you MORE interviews.  The hard truth is, these criminals in disguise were hot and anyone who worked for them were mixing with some of the most successful guys in the business (even if they were unknown crooks at the time).  The public didn’t know what was going on, why should the folks who worked for them have known (who were not in the inner circle, that is)?

Just like we can’t help rubber necking on the highway, maybe some hiring managers can’t help doing the same in the workforce.  Hiring Managers might want to get the inside scoop on what happened when the shit hit the fan. Use this to your benefit and quickly turn the conversation around to focus on your skills and accomplishments. By telling the truth, when you go into that job interview, you won’t have to sweat bullets trying to figure out how to tell the powers that be the reality of your background.  Be proud of what you’ve accomplished and “work it.”  The interview isn’t about the Maddoffs that you blindly worked for.  It’s about you and what you can contribute in your next gig.

Carpe diem…