In 2005, John J. Falcetta, a former vice president with AIG’s life insurance division, allegedly conspired with 3 other individuals to falsely invoice his employer for search work that was never authorized that resulted in fees over 1 million dollars. In return, Falcetta received over 40% of the fees as kick backs from the three firms funneled into a shell corporation he had set up. Last December,this scam finally caught up to him and Falcetta was arrested by federal authorities at his Nantucket home on charges of mail fraud.
Situations like this get me angry, there is no other word for it! As recruiters we have conduct business with the utmost regarded for ethical integrity. When I first started in recruiting ( many moons ago), I remember working with an executive recruiter who gave me some advice that I still hold onto to this day. He told me " as a recruiter, all we have is our reputation" We went on to discuss how the decisions we make with follow us our entire careers and that taking short cuts will always come back to "bite" you in the end. I found this advice to be not only great but timely. In 1999-2001 were crazy times in technology ( IT and Engineering) business and as a corporate recruiter who dealt with agencies, I can tell you that the path from my office to the General Counselors office was worn due to the unethical offers headhunters would offer me to get our business. I think I heard and was offered every kickback scheme imaginable if I hired candidates from their company; vacations, large gift cards, gift baskets and cash were some of the items that were presented to me. As "tempting" these were, and I say tempting in my most sarcastic voice I have, I kept on thinking of the advice I received and this kept me focused.
Remember, there are no short cuts in life and if you want to be successful, hard work and strong ethics will get you anywhere you want to go.
1 comments:
This post also reminds me of a quote that I think was attributed to Lincoln that goes something like: "There is not a man alive with a memory good enough to be a successful liar."
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