I Lied About My 12th Grade Marks to Get a Job Offer—What Should I Do Now?

Hello, currently I am pursuing my MBA in marketing in the last semester. I have completed a BE in Mechanical Engineering and also have work experience in an automobile ancillary firm for 19 months. I have been placed in an MNC while pursuing my MBA. Their criteria were 60% throughout, and I have 58% in 12th, which I lied about on my resume stating I have 60%, and I got selected. I have to join the company within a week's time. What do I do now? Are my 12th standard marks still important, considering I have successfully completed BE with distinction, first-class in MBA till now, and work experience of 19 months?

Please suggest a course of action.

Please inform the MNC firm about this. If they conduct background verification in the future, your employment might face some problems.

Regards,
Ashish

Yeah, I was also thinking of doing the same. However, I am concerned about the consequences of doing that. Does my HSC percentage really matter now?

If you have lied about it, it certainly matters. "Once a liar, always a liar," is the perception the company will have. If you do not admit and apologize at this stage, the company may think that you are a pathological liar when they catch you.

By apologizing now, you stand a chance to clear what could become a nagging future worry. There is also, as others have said, a danger of being rejected later.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan

You can write an apology email to the HR of the company and also remember to state that you were eagerly waiting to work with this firm. Hope they will consider your candidature. Wish you luck!

Consequences of Lying on Your Resume

You have undone your chances by telling lies. Multinationals have a process of verification even after joining, and you can assume that you will get caught eventually. Never tell lies on paper at least! Good luck to you.

While concurring with the other members, let me put the options you have very clearly and succinctly.

Option #1: Forget about what you did and go ahead and join this MNC. The best-case scenario would be that you will never get caught, and all's rosy for your career. The worst-case scenario would be: You will get caught during the Background Verification and be thrown out — IF and WHEN it is done [meaning you will be working with a sword over your head all the time].

Option #2: Admit what you did... maybe saying it was due to some friend's lousy suggestion... to the HR of the MNC. The best-case scenario: The MNC would admire your action and still go ahead with the offer, and you can join after completing your MBA. The worst-case scenario: The MNC would withdraw the offer, and you will have to look out for a new job — with a company where percentage is not very critical and, more importantly, you don't have to keep looking back all through your career.

I don't think you have any other option.

Now the choice is yours — since it's YOUR life and career.

And in case you intend to go for the second option, I suggest FIRST informing the HR verbally and offering to give it in writing IF needed. Going directly for a written letter/mail MAY NOT be to your advantage.

All the best.

Regards,
ST

Personally, talk to HR and give them an apology letter if they ask. You could also mention that you were so impressed by the name and fame of the MNC that you made this error. Ask them to overlook this slip on your side.

I agree with the comments that have been made here regarding dishonesty and the need to rectify that problem. However, can someone help me out here?

Relevance of 12th Standard Marks

If my Google search is correct, then this is the final year of secondary school in India. The OP has gone on to higher study at university with apparently excellent results. Surely that trumps anything done as a child at school?

Why would any employer be interested in something done at secondary school? Why would you waste time even putting that on a resume? As I have pointed out many times here on CiteHR, successful employees are chosen based on their ability to DO THE JOB, not on vague and useless measures such as secondary school results. That defies logic!

I was an abject failure at mathematics in school. I got 24% in my final exam. Yet, I have completed 47 years of successful employment using mathematics in various aspects of all my jobs.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Aussiejohn. There are late developers and also many family circumstances that can cause people to not do well in their Secondary School or Pre-University Course exams but excel in their degrees and post-degree courses. I also know of people who did not gain First-Class degrees but have gone on to become successful managers in large organizations; also, those who got first-class degrees have not been very successful in their chosen fields at work.

The Main Question: Falsifying Records

The main question here is one of falsifying the record by telling a lie. That's not a good start for any aspirant to a job. I stand to be corrected.

You have proven yourself without a doubt by passing an Engineering Degree with distinction. If you had lied and failed, that would have been worse. You made a mistake but more than made up for it by successfully completing an incredibly difficult degree.

I do not know why a company would be interested in your last year of school marks. They have no relevance once you have a degree. This is a moral dilemma. I have no answer, but common sense should prevail here.

"Why would any employer be interested in something done at secondary school?"

An employer would like to hire employees who are completely truthful in their CV. If a person can lie about their grades, then their trustworthiness is questionable. Employers scrutinize what is written in CVs very carefully. Therefore, potential applicants must be accurate and honest in their applications/CVs.