Charles Austin Miller

Correction: People fake their credentials to get jobs all the time. A background check not being thorough isn't a plot hole, it happens in the real world quite a bit. At the time the movie was made it wasn't unheard of for people to be hired on the spot without a background check. If he submitted a writing sample, or did some freelance work and submitted that for consideration he could very well have been hired right then and there without anyone checking his background. People in Smallville would probably wonder where Clark has been but that isn't a mistake either. People leave their home towns for better opportunities every day.

BaconIsMyBFF

Correction: Clark could have easily secured a newspaper job as a "stringer" (a part-time reporter and contributing writer) without extensive background checks or academic vetting, based simply on a few writing samples and his willingness to churn out quantities of filler material for about $7.00 per printed inch. Editor-in-Chief Perry White would have initially assigned Clark an in-office typing test and perhaps a couple of dull little human-interest stories, just to gauge Clark's writing and turnaround time. Perry White was impressed with Clark's overly-respectful demeanor, his writing style and his sheer speed. White even mentions these facts to Lois Lane: "Clark Kent may seem like just a mild-mannered reporter; but, listen, not only does he know how to treat his editor-in-chief with the proper respect, not only does he have a snappy, punchy prose style, but he is, in my forty years in this business, the fastest typist I've ever seen." Clark would have rapidly proven his worth as a full-time reporter with his detailed coverage of Superman. Also, Clark/Superman seems to possess some sort of hypnotic ability (as seen in the sequel, when he wipes Lois Lane's memory) ; so there's the possibility that Clark employed a few mind tricks to charm his way into the job.

Charles Austin Miller