Oh-so-serious Yale student Aleksey Vayner has become a celebrity of sorts (well, not the sort he was hoping to be) when his preposterously funny 11-page CV and accompanying video he submitted to UBS was posted on YouTube. His purported achievements have been exposed as fabrications.
In case you haven't seen the video, here it is:
If that's not bad, enough check out his MySpace page where he claims to be the second best martial arts fighter in the world and meeting personalities like the "Dali Llamma" (sic).
Sure, this guy is a complete tosser. But how much of his philosophy of success is modelled on what we see in the business world?
It's a point explored in the Financial Times:
"Mr Vayner should serve as a warning to employers. They should be careful what they wish for. He is the logical consequence of an ever more far-fetched recruitment process.
"For their part, companies make increasingly inflated claims of what they are looking for. Even fairly mundane jobs require candidates with unrivalled interpersonal skills and outstanding track records in delivering results. Many application forms require people to dream up the situations in which they showed exceptional leadership skills, which are further invitations to take boasting to the limit.
"The result is that everyone is trying to stand out and trying to second-guess what they think is wanted."
I would take it one step further. Vayner's omnipotence is modelled on the all-conquering, all-powerful CEOs who brook no opposition and who live in their own weird universe. Like Jeff Skilling.
It's not that far removed from the Alpha Male boss. The kind who has to win at all costs, even if it means bending the rules.
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