Man pulls a “Mike Ross” by lying to get senior job—Experts debate risks

A recent Reddit post has ignited a heated online discussion about workplace ethics after a user confessed to exaggerating his resume to secure a high-level job he feels underqualified for.

The post, shared by u/slickrickthasnake on August 21, has garnered over 1,600 comments, with many viewers online sharing that they know of other workers who landed their jobs in the same way.

In the post, the user, who says he is in his early 30s, detailed how he embellished his qualifications and previous job experience to land a vice president of sales position at a mid-sized company. He admitted to “over-accentuating” his career history, leading the company to believe he had more experience than he did. Despite initially feeling confident, he now finds himself overwhelmed by the demands of the role, which he feels unequipped to handle.

“The biggest problem is, I’m stuck between this love triangle as to what they actually want to happen,” the user said. “The end goal changes monthly, and every strategy I propose gets shut down.

He added: “I’m failing on all accounts and don’t have the experience or skills to navigate this s****…I feel like ‘Mike Ross’ in Suits.”

Mike Ross is a fictional character from Suits, a legal drama that aired between 2011 and 2019. Ross, who was played by Patrick J. Adams, had a storyline where he lied on his resume to land a senior legal job.

The user described being caught between two partners with differing visions for the company’s future and a third-party investor focused solely on an IPO or acquisition, despite the company “bleeding money.”

While his actions may be questionable, they are not uncommon. A 2023 ResumeLab survey found that of 1,914 participants, 70 percent of workers have lied on their resumes, with 37 percent admitting that they lie frequently.

Lying on your resume is illegal, Aidan Cramer, the founder and CEO of AIApply, told Newsweek. “While it may be tempting to over-exaggerate certain things on your resume, such as manipulating the odd figure, extending employment dates, or saying you did certain tasks when you didn’t, it could land you in hot water and result in serious consequences.

“False information in a job application is considered to be fraud and is a crime punishable with large fines and even prison sentences. These lies may seem small, but they can be classed as ‘fraud by false representation’, which can carry a jail sentence if caught,” he added.

The user had shared that while he has a “pretty decent career history and education,” he “over-accentuates” the past when applying to jobs. His lies landed him the vice president of sales position after a long interview process that he never expected to get.

“I’m also quite certain they think I’m older than I actually am but never asked,” the user said.

To clarify where he had exaggerated his skillset, the user said that he once took an internship for a vice president of sales position at a much smaller company.

“The owner of that company owned a franchise I worked for part-time, and I was making like $50,000 a year basically as an administration assistant with a snazzy title,” they said. “Because I worked for his original company part-time, it looked like I had been with the company for seven or more years when in reality I had done very little and was making like $15 per hour most of that time.”

Two years ago, the worker leveraged that role to get a regional manager job at a larger company, and from there on continued to inflate his resume for future roles.

“I used my buddy who worked with me as a reference, and got hired making $110,000 per year, plus bonus,” they said. “I did okay there, but it was clear I didn’t have the chops and was still learning. I got laid off in March.

“My boss I was in good with said they’d verify ‘whatever I needed as a reference’.”

‘I’ve Seen Executives Like You’

The post has struck a chord with many Reddit users, leading to a wide range of opinions. A large number of commenters sympathized with the user, offering advice on how to navigate the challenging situation, and sharing that they know of other workers who used the same tactics in the past.

“I’ve seen executives like you everywhere,” one viewer said. “You aren’t the only one.”

“It’s very common,” another added. “Those high level positions have a lot of nepotism, and it shows through that incompetence.”

A third user shared: “Yeah, did they do like zero actual interviewing for an executive level position?”

“Well, for God’s sake don’t make it worse by confessing, and maybe you’ll at least get a severance out of it,” a fourth user said.

“You stumbled your way up the corporate ladder and somehow got footing each time,” another added. “Honestly that’s just impressive.”

Gianpiero Petriglieri is a professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, a business school that is part of the Sorbonne University Alliance in France. Petriglieri told Newsweek that while some might feel employers turn a blind eye to such lies, they can catch up with the job seeker in the long run.

“It is a very bad idea to lie on your resume and throughout the recruitment process,” he said. “I would never advise it.

“It is the kind of action that reveals a dangerous cocktail of too much confidence and too little integrity, the very recipe for poor leadership,” he said. “Now some might look around and say—for popular leadership sometimes, too. Not in my view, and not in the long run.”

Despite the reassurance from viewers on Reddit, Cramer said that lying for a job could put both your current position and future opportunities at serious risk.

“If you’re caught lying early in the process then you’ll most likely be dismissed from the hiring process,” he said. “If you manage to get through the hiring process, lying on your resume could cost you the job in the long run if you’re caught later down the line.

“The company could take legal action against you and you’ll struggle to find employment once a new potential employer finds out.”

The employment entrepreneur says that some fraud prevention systems can keep data on file for years, so someone who had lied once years ago could still be flagged the next time they send a job application.