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:     

• MGM Mirage chairman and chief executive Terry Lanni was questioned over an MBA he claimed he had received from the University of Southern California. The school, however, said it never awarded the degree to him. 
• George O'Leary resigned as Notre Dame football coach after being hired, admitting he lied about his academic and athletic background. 
• Chief executive of RadioShack David Edmondson resigned following questions about his résumé’s accuracy.
• Marilee Jones, dean of admissions at MIT, resigned after admitting she had fabricated her résumé.
• FEMA director Michael Brown resigned amid allegations that he had padded his résumé.
• U.S. Olympic Committee President Sandra Baldwin resigned after she was accused of having false information on her resume about her academic record.

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.