Law School Applicants: Thinking About Lying on Your Resume? Don't.

Today's Wall Street Journal (4/27/07) reports the sad story of MIT Admissions Dean Marilee Jones. In 1979, she submitted her resume for a junior position in Admissions at MIT. She falsely claimed on it that she had bachelor's and master's degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a degree from Albany Medical College. MIT did not check. She was hired. Over the years, she rose to become a greatly admired admissions dean, for one of the world's most respected universities.

Then...in 2007, 28 years later, someone anonymously tipped MIT off. She hadn't earned the degrees. MIT investigated, and found out the truth. Today, for all the world to see in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, she was fired.

Do not, do not, do not lie on your resume. If you have false information on it, change it. Today. Such lies can surface later in a way that can destroy a professional career. No lie is worth the initial advantage it might gain for you.

If you have an issue of concern on this matter, and you are considering a future application to law school, let's discuss it. Feel free to contact me at BradDobeck@aol.com. For more information about my work for law school applicants, please see my website www.PrelawAdvisor.com .