Ask HRLite: The job I have requires a college degree. I lied when I applied for the job and said I had a college degree when I did not. What should I do now?
HR Lite’s Reply: You have placed yourself in a tough situation. As is often the case, it would have been better to be honest in the beginning. There is a risk in this situation that if the information comes out you may be fired. You lack one of the minimum qualifications for the job you hold. You might want to talk to a lawyer or in a confidential manner to someone in human resources.
However, our feeling is that if you wrote to us you are honestly bothered by this situation and feeling guilty about it. If you let this go, it will just continue to bother you and will start to affect your work performance. So, you need to come clean and confess, even if you do risk consequences, including the possible loss of your job. Before you do though, come up with a plan. By a plan we mean a way to remediate your current situation. For example, if you are missing one course, is there a way you could go to a night class and complete your degree? Can you take distance courses to finish up? Talk to your boss, or human resources, and see if there is an acceptable compromise or plan by which you can meet the requirements.
