In my HR career I have seen numerous candidates (and discovered a few who made it to be employees before being discovered), who “stretched” the education, skills or experience detailed on their resume. Some were easy to spy, like the person who said they graduated from the University of Indiana instead of Indiana University, but others weren’t uncovered until the reference and background checking stage. I am surprised at how many companies don’t take this exercise seriously. A great deal of information and red flags on the candidate can be learned through this process.
But as recently disclosed in the news, it’s not just companies like ours that must ferret out these imposters, so too must television networks. After rising to culinary stardom with his own Food Network series, Robert Irvine, the star of "Dinner: Impossible", has acknowledged fabricating some of the more fantastic parts of his resume. His fabrications included having cooked for Britain's Royal Family and various U.S. presidents! Now in my mind, I can’t imagine how he thought wasn’t going to get caught in that lie, but apparently no one checked his references.
Following these revelations, the network announced it would not renew Irvine's contract, though it would air the remaining episodes of the current season.
Irvine issued a written statement saying, "I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences in the White House and the Royal Family. I am truly sorry for misleading people and misstating the facts." The Food Network said it might revisit its decision at the end of this season, but for now would begin searching for a new host for the series, which challenged Irvine to cook under arduous conditions.
For the rest of us it is a reminder just how important those reference and background checks are!
