Your career and convictions

Lying can put a strain on everything right from the word go. You will be nipping and tucking every misshaped statement to cover the non-existent excuses until it becomes a farce, matched only by the French classics of the late 19th century. Hark! I hear you shout. What is he going on about?

I am referring to the fine line that many people play around when it comes to disclosing personal information about themselves. You may be in a good job with good prospects but at the back of your mind lies a doubt. Before applying for your current position you had a run in with a drunken lout outside a pub one night. It wasn't your fault but you got into a fight and he ended up in hospital leaving you with a charge of GBH. Your life before and since has been a picture of perfection as you ride up the corporate ladder. Success is so good that you don't mention the conviction when you are asked.

A persons past invariably affects that persons future. A failed education can restrict a persons ability to move on when potential employers are looking for good GCSE's as opposed to bad trips on LSD. Civil actions and criminal records can restrict people in getting the job that they want.

Its Monday morning and back to work after another non-eventful weekend. You meet the same faces with the added excitement of meeting possibly new ones. Cup of coffee to start the day and you have your banter ready for the go. But your mate, who normally gets in before you, isn't at his desk. The steam from the hot coffee and the skewed chair tells you he is about. But where? You think nothing more and carry on with your chores for the day. A few minutes tick by and a shadow draws over your desk from the other side, where your missing colleague normally sits. But he is missing no more. He is accompanied, not by the sexy PA but by the security man from downstairs, about to escort him out of the building.

This scene has been played out in many offices around the world. Obvious ways of losing your job includes, head butting the boss for no good reason, being drunk and abusive towards colleagues, discriminating against colleagues, and basically breaking the terms of your contract.