My friends at Gawker today published correspondence from a guy who sounds a little braggy.



After you read the correspondence, spend some time at his website.  Here's a taste:

I used my 98th percentile score on the SAT & ACT to acquire a Mensa membership then combined that with my 97th percentile G.P.A. to go on to a five star collegiate program.

I was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin - the oldest university in the nation.  I was social chairman of my fraternity, published the humor magazine and took classes at the Wharton School of Business (perennially ranked #1 in the world).

I have worked & consulted for several Fortune 500 companies, including Time Warner, USA Today, GTE, Sprint, Pitney Bowes & Limited Brands.  I have saved 2 of these companies almost $1 million dollars combined.  I was the financial analyst during the $680 million dollar initial public offering of Intimate Brands (includes Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works) and also created a $22 million budget from scratch for them.

My take on all this:  I don't have a problem with anyone laying out their credentials on a website.  My problem is the excessive pride taken in unremarkable credentials.  First, the designation "Ivy League" should be limited to Princeton, Harvard, Yale and MIT.  Second, unless you scored 1600 (or 2400 under today's rules) on the SAT and graduated valedictorian, you really shouldn't be making any references to SAT scores or GPA.  Even then, you shouldn't be making reference to SAT scores or high school GPA unless it's on a college admission application.  Third, saying you saved two companies "almost $1 million combined" makes me think you quit working for them and allowed them to save the year's salary they would have paid before realizing you needed to be fired.

Previously: Histrionic Personality Disorder Part I, Part II.