Earlier tonight I happened to be scrolling through my Comcast digital cable menu and stumbled upon the final few innings of the Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers baseball game. Being a lifelong Orioles fan, I decided to check out the game since it was only 4-3 Texas at the time. Before I go any further the Baltimore Orioles are a once-proud organization that is mired in the midst of its 9th consecutive losing season and they are generally considered one of the most poorly run organizations in all of American sports. I share this opinion. After Texas had pulled out to a 9-3 lead going into the 8th inning, a local commercial for the Orioles came on. The commercial features high energy music pumping in the background of a montage of great plays and futily attempts to depict the team as an exciting entertainment product, despite the fact that everyone watching that commercial who would be a potential customer is well aware that the commercial is complete and total BS. It insults the intelligence of the people who can still stomach watching the team make their annual run at 4th place in a 5-team division. It sucks and it makes the team and the fans that support it look foolish.

What’s the point, you ask? Well, I was thinking about the poor marketing of my home team and how it relates to job seekers that are compelled to inflate their resume and/or exaggerate their qualifications because they feel that’s what their potential employers want to hear. Believe me, that’s not what they want to hear. Presenting yourself in the best light possible is perfectly understandable and employers expect that when reviewing a resume and interviewing an applicant. But a foundation of honesty and truth should always underly any information that is presented. There is no need to expound on your XML expertise, when in fact you are truly only an expert in HTML. If .NET is your game, there’s no need to exxaggerate your limited Java experience. Basically, play to your existing strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses when they are readily apparent. Obvious, perhaps, but I’ve just given you an example of how that simple premise can be overlooked in a hopeless attempt to create interest.

If the Orioles marketed themselves that way, they might actually have more than 5,000 people show up at their home games on a regular basis.

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