‘I tell the truth, Bob doesn't get the job’: Credit-stealing coworker Bob rides colleague’s $10M company turnaround success for a decade, then a reference call exposed his lies, costing him his dream job

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Jun 16, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

The Great Credit Appropriation is really a timeless workplace phenomenon. In every office, there's always a Bob, the eternal understudy who manages to stumble into scenes just as the applause starts. These folks have a special talent for repackaging the sweat, spreadsheets, and sleepless nights of others as their own executive summary, skillfully narrating a story in which they're the hero and everyone else is lucky to be a supporting character. Maybe it's a whiff of plausible deniability, maybe it's confidence borrowed from LinkedIn's endless sea of self-congratulation, but somewhere along the line, they become convinced that proximity to effort is the same as actual achievement.

The corporate world is thick with these legacy leeches, drifting from cubicle to conference room, rehearsing tales of transformation while the real architects of success quietly pick up the pieces. They know their audience too: new managers, partner companies, and anyone just far enough removed from the details to swallow the legend whole. 

Occasionally, these myth-makers even get away with it for years, collecting participation trophies and office cake until the storytelling outpaces the skill set. Then, with cosmic precision, reality receives a memo. In our case: A reference call, a simple question, an overdue fact check. And suddenly, the curtain drops and the stolen spotlight flickers out.

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  • He took credit for a key company initiative. Nearly 10 years later it cost him a job.

    "Karma is sometimes real. It isn't always efficient"
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I'll need to be a bit vague. Around 10 years ago I was brought in to revive a failed company. 50 employees were
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  • reduced (before I showed up) to 3 to try to restructure it. It specializes in very custom small batch parts that require high precision.
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "Bob" was an employee I soon hired. Over 2 years I led a complete restructuring. Cut out unnecessary steps. Invested in tech. Eventually we grew to $10M
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  • in revenue and more with a general goal of $100k of profit per employee going to the parent organization. It was successful for years.
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  • Bob was okay. He had a few skills. He wasn't great and to maintain our goals he needed to go. I warned Bob that he had 2
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • months to find a new job. That I would give him a good review for what he was good at but not for what he was bad at. He would
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  • need to maintain a good output of what he was good at or we'd have to let him go right away but
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  • would be flexible for interviews etc. To Bob's credit we saw no decrease in effort (although.... low bar).
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  • He finds a job at a company we partnered with. Didn't use me as a reference. Good for Bob.
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  • Years later I fly out to visit the partner. To my surprise Bob greets me with my main contact "Charlie".
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  • Happy enough to see Bob we shake hands, catch up quickly.
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  • "Charlie" then goes on to say how lucky I was to have had Bob because of all the transformative things he did. Really "got us out
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  • of a mess". Which of course was all the things I did and Bob was not good at.
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  • Charlie added a small "well, aguyonthehill helped".
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  • I was shocked. Angry.
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  • I said nothing other than a "well I'm glad Bob found a good fit."
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  • Years pass. I bump into Bob occasionally. It's performative.
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  • I leave the company, On to my next adventure. The company does okay in my absence. Co id and other events knock the entire
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  • industry around but I left the company in good hands and it does okay. I remain friends with the new general manager that I hired.
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  • Bob loses his job. Surprised he kept it as long as he did. He applies to my former company for a prestigious role.
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  • The GM calls me to ask about Bob. They didn't overlap. Asks about Bob's claims of all the transformative things they did. Is ready to hire them. I tell the truth.
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  • Bob doesn't get the job. Karma is sometimes real. It isn't always efficient.
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management boss workplace-stories hr manager bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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