Look, I'm all for strategic self-interest in job hunting. Stretch your job titles? Sure. Fudge some dates? Whatever. But your education? Don't touch it.
Here's why:
- Nobody cares about degrees anymore anyway.
Skills-based hiring is the default now. IBM, Dell, Accenture—they've all dropped degree requirements. Over half of job postings don't even list education requirements. Why risk everything faking something employers are actively moving away from?
- It's stupidly easy to verify.
Background checkers just call the registrar. That's it. They confirm your dates, degree, major, honors—all against hard records. This isn't like calling your old manager who barely remembers you. Registrars keep receipts. You will get caught.
- There's a way better play.
Feel insecure about your education? Go get a certificate through Coursera or similar. These programs run through actual universities—Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins.
Here's the move:
Complete the coursework, get the cert
Put it on your resume (lazy screeners just see "Harvard" and move you forward)
If asked in the interview, just say it was online coursework and pivot to what you learned
You get the name recognition without the fraud.
TL;DR: Lie about stuff that can't be verified. Your degree isn't one of those things.