Katie Zacharia and the real problem with workers embellishing their credentials

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The credibility concern

When questions began swirling about new (and now former) White House press secretary Katie Zacharia's legal credentials, a colleague asked the obvious question: Why should anyone care?

She was hired to be President Donald Trump's spokesperson, not his lawyer. Does it really matter if she overstated her qualifications?

It does.

She was let go on Friday, five days after starting the job. That's half the time Anthony Scaramucci infamously lasted as White House communications director during Trump's first term.

Zacharia was widely panned for her performance during her first (and final) press briefing on Monday, as well as for misrepresenting herself as a lawyer.

In workplaces, it turns out, bending the truth about one's background is not only problematic, but more common than you might think. And it can carry real consequences. BI's Sarah Needleman spoke with recruiters and found research suggesting that résumé inflation is very much a thing.

A recent survey found 37% of respondents had included inaccurate information on a résumé, according to Novorésumé, an online résumé-building service. Nearly 7% said they claimed a degree, certification, or credential they didn't actually have.

The trouble, of course, is that a small embellishment can raise much bigger questions.

Brian Fink, a managing partner at tech recruiting firm The ReWork Group, told Sarah he rescinded an offer to someone after a background check couldn't verify certain information on the candidate's résumé and LinkedIn profile.

"If you're willing to lie about your education," Fink said, "what else are you willing to lie about?"

Corporate America is full of cautionary tales. Over the years, executives at Samsonite, Walmart, and Yahoo, among others, misrepresented their backgrounds and ultimately lost their jobs as a result.

Credentials matter. They are a promise of basic trust. Once that trust is called into question, it's really hard to win it back.