A fake job reference can be just a few clicks away

In economics, signaling theory says that we send out signals to convince people we have certain traits. For example, a college degree is a signal to employers that you might be smarter and more hard working than the average person.

But sometimes people try to fake the signal. Click here to read the article by L.M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle. Here is an excerpt:

"Did I ever mention that I used to be the CEO of a fast-food operation based in San Francisco? And before that I boosted burger sales 100 percent in just one year when I was vice president of a growing but small fast-food chain on the East Coast?

None of it's true, but it would be really easy to fabricate that story by hiring a company that will design fake websites of my "companies," provide folks to verify my credentials and write dazzling letters I could show potential employers about my amazing on-the-job successes.

I know there are plenty of examples of people embellishing their resumes by adding degrees they never received or job titles they never had. But fabricating companies, supervisors, co-workers - essentially creating a whole new work history - takes the fakery to a whole different level.

At CareerExcuse the motto is, "You fake it, we make it!"

Among the services it advertises is "Eliminate Gaps in Resume." The company's "blue collar plan" will establish a five-page company website along with a "professionally located street address," local phone number, corporate voicemail greeting and one live reference provider acting as "your supervisor."

That basic plan, which is designed for those who don't make more than $20 an hour, costs $100 followed by a $25 monthly subscription.

Optional upgrades include a reference letter from your supervisor for $50, a real company office that will receive mail monthly for $150 and registering the company in your state for $150.

A more expanded white-collar version that includes more live references, including "co-workers," and more elaborate website design is $195, followed by a $50 monthly subscription fee."

There is much more to this interesting article.