A Case of Mistaken Identity

I just got a new phone.  But when I put the old numbers into the contacts I mistakenly used my son’s old number.  Forging ahead, into new territory (I admit I had never texted before!)  I decided to let my son know I had joined everyone else on the planet, and I was texting now!

(BTW: This is literally, my first ever texting conversation.  So I started the conversation with: “I love you!”  What could possibly go wrong with that; a Mom reaching out to her son, with expressions of love?

Plenty, as it turns out, here is the rest of the conversation:

Me:  “Whoops”
Jason: “:”  (Is this some new abbreviation?)
Me: “?”
Jason:  “Who are u texting I love you to?????  (Note the five question marks; indicating massive confusion.)
Me: “Not U! This is an old number that was in my phone, ok?”

It seemed to me that this would clear up the whole mess.  But sometimes, emotions get stirred up, and that really doesn’t help communications I have noticed.

Jason: “WT* Eva!
Me:  Not Eva.  (At this point, I was really feeling sorry for Eva, she is gonna have some ‘splainin’ to do!)
Jason:  Who are you and who r u takin’ to? If u don’t know don’t waste my time.  (I removed a few of the words he used to make his point)  I ended the conversation there.

But, it got me thinking. With my background in HR I was reminded immediately of the need for background screening, to insure that person is who they say they are. This may seem obvious to many of you.  Keep in mind, though, only last month this scandal at Yahoo erupted:  Yahoo CEO's false bio.

And here’s a look at other former CEOs and leaders who resigned after being caught up in résumé scandals (video), all of which could have been prevented with better background checking:     

Word to the wise: as the caterpillar said to Alice: “Who R U?”

Post written by HRmarketer staff member, Dawn Passaro.  Dawn has over 15 years experience as a human resources professional specializing in small to midsize high tech companies. Dawn's postings on this site are her own and don't necessarily represent the opinions of HRmarketer or other staff members.