Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree • Hacker News Board

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#11

Post by loverobots » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:11 PM UTC

gkoberger wrote: post #2

I'm curious as to why they made this document public. If I owned almost 6% of Yahoo!, I wouldn't do anything that would publicly make Yahoo! look even worse. I would discretely contact the company and have it dealt with quietly. Additionally, why bother lying? I doubt Mr. Thompson got the job due to his 20 year old CS degree at a tiny liberal arts college.

They might want Y! to sell chunks of it (Alibaba stake) just so the hedge fund sells their 6% out while the YHOO share price presumably jumps.

But lying about the degree, and that's easily verifiable, just doesn't look good for him.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#12

Post by fusiongyro » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:12 PM UTC

klbarry wrote: post #9

This opinion is from someone who's been in charge of hiring a few times and will likely do so again: If you can actually do the job described, I don't give a damn about your credentials. I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials, if they had been working well for a while.

That isn't the problem. The problem is, if they lied about this, what else are they lying about?

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#13

Post by loverobots » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:12 PM UTC

zeteo wrote: post #10

"Might have"? Sounds like his college was only offering one CS class at the time... much less a degree.

Looks like he lied but then I had no time to check everything out, hence the "might have"

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#14

Post by gkoberger » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:13 PM UTC

klbarry wrote: post #9

This opinion is from someone who's been in charge of hiring a few times and will likely do so again: If you can actually do the job described, I don't give a damn about your credentials. I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials, if they had been working well for a while.

I was with you right up until the last sentence. I have no problem with people being hired if they're skilled yet don't have a degree. However, lying about it shows a lack of integrity. I wouldn't want that person working for me.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#15

Post by davidu » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:13 PM UTC

klbarry wrote: post #9

This opinion is from someone who's been in charge of hiring a few times and will likely do so again: If you can actually do the job described, I don't give a damn about your credentials. I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials, if they had been working well for a while.

An employee who fabricates credentials is fabricating other things as well. Your statement is saying that you are making a conscious decision to continue employing a person who misleads and misrepresents.

You might be okay with that, but there are enough people with character and integrity out there that I am not okay with it.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#16

Post by fear91 » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:13 PM UTC

Jobs didn't need a college degree to be a good CEO.

In my opinion, college degree is not neccessary to be a competent CEO. Leaders are praised for different qualities than those which can be simply taught in a school.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#17

Post by dpark » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:14 PM UTC

klbarry wrote: post #9

This opinion is from someone who's been in charge of hiring a few times and will likely do so again: If you can actually do the job described, I don't give a damn about your credentials. I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials, if they had been working well for a while.

> I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials

What company do you work for? I'd like to steer clear of it in the future.

It's one thing to say "I don't care about credentials". It's another thing entirely to say "I don't care about dishonesty".

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#18

Post by mtkd » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:14 PM UTC

klbarry wrote: post #9

This opinion is from someone who's been in charge of hiring a few times and will likely do so again: If you can actually do the job described, I don't give a damn about your credentials. I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials, if they had been working well for a while.

If a CEO has fabricated experience they have questionable integrity - and their ability to lead is impaired.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#19

Post by BlackJack » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:15 PM UTC

klbarry wrote: post #9

This opinion is from someone who's been in charge of hiring a few times and will likely do so again: If you can actually do the job described, I don't give a damn about your credentials. I would not fire an employee who I found out fabricated credentials, if they had been working well for a while.

It's a matter of confidence. I wouldn't hire the best coder in the world if that person is a liar. If I know you fabricated this, I'll begin to think about what else you lied about. Even if you're clean otherwise, the doubt is there.

And in this case, the lie is pointless. Nobody cares if Thompson has a CS degree, so why lie about it? It's a poor reflection of character imo, and I wouldn't work for someone I don't trust.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#20

Post by Alex3917 » Thu, May 03, 2012, 8:15 PM UTC

fear91 wrote: post #16

Jobs didn't need a college degree to be a good CEO. In my opinion, college degree is not neccessary to be a competent CEO. Leaders are praised for different qualities than those which can be simply taught in a school.

"Jobs didn't need a college degree to be a good CEO."

Jobs didn't lie about having a degree either.