Honesty the best policy?

Is omitting a bad reference on you resume a bad idea?
How far back do you have to go?
Is is better to just leave out things that are questionable rather than have to explain them.
or is honesty the best policy?

It is not necessarily bad. I guess what matters is how long you were employed there and how will you explain the gap during an interview if it comes up? I would just go ahead and include the reference and be honest about it. But if the issue specifically comes up, then remember to not badmouth your employer. Be tactful.

Honesty is the ethical approach,unfortunately not all employers appreciate it when your honest. Sometimes they hold the past against you even if youre kind enough to tell them the truth. The choice is yours.

This is a crapshoot at best, from an employer and recruiter point of view.
Personal references are, in my opinion, are a waste of time. Very few people will list a potential negative reference, and typicly "coach" their references on things to say.
If you are talking about previous employers, be very careful. If you doctor or fudge your employment dates to eliminate a compnay... It can catch you up, and cost you the job if the background check does not match up with you information.
If you had a "bad employer", list it and be ready to discuss why you left, without being negative

Thank you for your comments!

Youre welcome Audrey :)

ryan said: Is omitting a bad reference on you resume a bad idea?
How far back do you have to go?
Is is better to just leave out things that are questionable rather than have to explain them.
or is honesty the best policy?

I believe honesty is the best policy. An employer might not always see eye to eye with your previous decisions or actions but they will always respect your honesty. Personally, I go back 15 years when detailing my work record.

If you had a "bad employer", list it and be ready to discuss why you left, without being negative

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How do you do that? I just lost a job at a place where the guy hires and fires Office Managers on any kind of whim. I had no idea that it was coming. He just walked up to me at 4:45 p.m. and said that it wasn't working out but had nothing to do with my skill or work performance.

He also owed me monies that I had advanced for office supplies and vendor services because he frequently had "non-sufficient funds" and people froze his accounts for non-payment.

A resume is a MARKETING Tool -- not a confession. Do whatever you can to market yourself. Why would you give out a name of someone who would badmouth you? Give other names. If the application insists on giving the name of your supervisor who may badmouth you (they could be sued) let them know in ADVANCE that your supervisor was very bitter that you left and you are not confident she or he will provide a good reference. Protect yourself. If you had a bad job for a short while, you are under NO obligation to list it. Do employers tell you their dirty laundry?! Only tell what can be verified!!!

Why in the world would you ADVANCE an employer money for supplies?! How stupid! Contact the labor board but I doubt they can do anything about people's stupidity. Sorry but you deserve what you got for that one!

It has been said that the same way man cannot operate in a world of falsehood, he cannot operate in a world of truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Let's face one thing in this world of employment where loyalty is pretty much dead. There are 2 ways to lie, commission and omission. Furthermore, even if you want to be 100% honest, some people will doubt you anyway, especially those employers who believe that 30% of any resume has some kind of falsification, anything from outright lies to highlights, embellishings, slantings, etc.

If you really want guidance on this subject, get yourself the book "When do I Start?" by Richard Olsen. There's a fantastic chapter there on honesty, and why it's a terrible policy to use in job hunting and careers.

Additionally, realize that if you want to progress into higher levels of management, part of your ability to get there will depend on how well you know what to say and what not to say to clients, subordinates, and higher up's. As stated earlier, some may call that lying by omission.

If you're American, take a look how other cultures in this age of globalization treat the subject of lying, and why we in the Western world make too big a deal, when truth, justice and the American Way is definitely not practiced by employers. (Yes, I'm referring to those who say "we promote from within" only to issue Press Releases declaring how they poached some white knight from a competitor.) Honesty, like loyalty, is dead, though you can never state that, hence this honesty paradox.

Good luck!

Tom in Littleton, Colorado said: Why in the world would you ADVANCE an employer money for supplies?! How stupid! Contact the labor board but I doubt they can do anything about people's stupidity. Sorry but you deserve what you got for that one!

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First, read my post. I said he "owed" me monies -not that he "owes." Differences in tenses. He paid the money he owed me on that day. The man is not insane.

I have more than 26 years experience in the legal field and have done presentations on Labor Law. I had my final paycheck, accumulated vacation and sick time, as well as the monies I had advanced before I walked out of the door on my last day.

I advanced monies because if you miss court deadlines - the client is "screwed." The lawyer can be sued for malpractice or reported to the State Bar but that simply delays the client's matter - and especially in this case since many of his clients were limited English speakers.

Thanks for your comment on my intelligence. But please don't make speculations you are incapable of making, especially if you are incapable of determining the difference between past and present tenses.

"Owed" = past tense. "Owes" = present tense.

With whom do they contact to do a backround check ?? Is it a
state office ?? Can we get a copy of it ??? Any advise here would be greatly appreciated !!

Your "story" was not clear at all as to what you were talking about. Lighten up!

Tom Littleton in Littleton, Colorado said: Your "story" was not clear at all as to what you were talking about. Lighten up!

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I realize I didn't go into great detail and this is not a "strictly" legal forum. Most legal folks would know why I had advanced monies.

Oh well, spilled milk now. I am actually on a temp to hire at a very nice firm and go back to the corporate legal department of a healthcare corporation for a 2nd interview on Friday, so I'm moving on.

I don't think lieing on your resume is a good idea. You might get away with it once, but all companies verify your resume after they hire you, so you will get caught. The best thing to do is to get your resume verified before you go to your interview. There is a company called Pledgex that does this. They have a website called www.Pledgex.com . It helped me prove that I don't lie on my resume, and I think that my recruiter was pleased to see that I actually to that extra step of getting my resume verified by Pledgex before coming in.

ryan in Austin, Texas said: Is omitting a bad reference on you resume a bad idea?
How far back do you have to go?
Is is better to just leave out things that are questionable rather than have to explain them.
or is honesty the best policy?

If they are asking you for references, put down someone who will give you a good reference. If they ask if they can call your past manager, you could say "No" and explain that the person is known for bashing ALL past employees and unfortunately you can't trust what they'll say about you.

If there is no way a future employer can find out about say, a short term job, then leave it off. A resume is not a confession!!! It's a marketing tool to present you in your BEST LIGHT!. Just don't say or do anything that could come back to haunt you.

gilda in Citrus Heights, California said: With whom do they contact to do a backround check ?? Is it a
state office ?? Can we get a copy of it ??? Any advise here would be greatly appreciated !!

Depends what kind of 'background check.' Ask them. Say "Sure. What do you do in a background check?" Normally you have to sign something and it explains what they will be checking specifically.

They can check your credit report (and if you've listed ALL YOUR employers when applying for credit, they will know for sure who you worked for so if you try to eliminate someone who is listed on your credit report, forget it!

Then there's the criminal check -- that's pretty obvious. They can call your references -- names you've given them. \

You can always have reference checking services do one on you and present it to you so you KNOW what they'll find out! There are services like this on line for about $40.00. Eliminating surprises is the key -- not putting down your dirty laundry is the key to get a good job!

ryan in Austin, Texas said: Is omitting a bad reference on you resume a bad idea?
How far back do you have to go?
Is is better to just leave out things that are questionable rather than have to explain them.
or is honesty the best policy?

Omitting a bad reference is always a good idea.
No news is good news.
If someone asks then reply. Giving too much information is not always good.
Remember honesty is the best policy!
For more tips you could visit: www.monster-resume.com

(1) Is omitting a bad reference on you resume a bad idea?

That depends on the time period your are talking about, time gaps look bad and put up red flags, anything over 3 months I would mention it in as general a way as possible without necessarily putting the company name down unless it was requested.

(2) How far back do you have to go?

In general I go back 10 – 15 years depending on how many positions are involved and whether the positions enhance or detract from the presentation. There is no set rule that I follow.

(3) Is it better to just leave out things that are questionable rather than have to explain them, or is honesty the best policy?

Again, you do not want gaps in your resume and you don’t want to leave anything out that will come up in a background check. What ever you actually state in your resume needs to be factual, lies always come out, but a resume is not a confessional. Always be prepared to be completely upfront if asked a question, evasion or lying is a bad policy.

If asked about a bad reference answer in a straight forward manner but with tact.

Eric James in Glendale, California said: I don't think lieing on your resume is a good idea. You might get away with it once, but all companies verify your resume after they hire you, so you will get caught. The best thing to do is to get your resume verified before you go to your interview. There is a company called Pledgex that does this. They have a website called www.Pledgex.com . It helped me prove that I don't lie on my resume, and I think that my recruiter was pleased to see that I actually to that extra step of getting my resume verified by Pledgex before coming in.

If you do not put down an employer, there is no way another employer can find out UNLESS they personally know someone at that company. Background checks do not give out employment information AS FAR AS I KNOW. Anyone know any different???

Marianne in Littleton, Colorado said: If you do not put down an employer, there is no way another employer can find out UNLESS they personally know someone at that company. Background checks do not give out employment information AS FAR AS I KNOW. Anyone know any different???

You can't FALSIFY DATES, but you can completely OMIT employers unless there is some way they could find out. Comments anyone?????

ryan in Austin, Texas said: Is omitting a bad reference on you resume a bad idea?
How far back do you have to go?
Is is better to just leave out things that are questionable rather than have to explain them.
or is honesty the best policy?

So in my situation I worked at a job from 09/2007-11/2007 and had to leave without giving a two week notice because of a family illness that kept me leaving on the weekends driving 4 hours one way(i worked every weekend) and now that I am applying for human service jobs again I am wondering if I should put the experience as I worked in a treatment center for girls and this is the only experience I have had in human servies aside from child care. Should I put down the reference or omit it as I have had no experience at all?

Thanks

blogMeTender in Santa Clara, California said: It has been said that the same way man cannot operate in a world of falsehood, he cannot operate in a world of truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Let's face one thing in this world of employment where loyalty is pretty much dead. There are 2 ways to lie, commission and omission. Furthermore, even if you want to be 100% honest, some people will doubt you anyway, especially those employers who believe that 30% of any resume has some kind of falsification, anything from outright lies to highlights, embellishings, slantings, etc.

If you really want guidance on this subject, get yourself the book "When do I Start?" by Richard Olsen. There's a fantastic chapter there on honesty, and why it's a terrible policy to use in job hunting and careers.

Additionally, realize that if you want to progress into higher levels of management, part of your ability to get there will depend on how well you know what to say and what not to say to clients, subordinates, and higher up's. As stated earlier, some may call that lying by omission.

If you're American, take a look how other cultures in this age of globalization treat the subject of lying, and why we in the Western world make too big a deal, when truth, justice and the American Way is definitely not practiced by employers. (Yes, I'm referring to those who say "we promote from within" only to issue Press Releases declaring how they poached some white knight from a competitor.) Honesty, like loyalty, is dead, though you can never state that, hence this honesty paradox.

Good luck!

I like what you said.

When I first started going out on interviews, I was totally HONEST with my answers. I actually had nothing bad to hide-like getting fired from a past position. However, I felt this approach was not working. Today, it seems that employers want the typical standard cookie cutter answer, so this is what I give now. I give them what they want.

[They can check your credit report (and if you've listed ALL YOUR employers when applying for credit, they will know for sure who you worked for so if you try to eliminate someone who is listed on your credit report, forget it!

VERY TRUE!

Marianne in Littleton, Colorado said: You can't FALSIFY DATES, but you can completely OMIT employers unless there is some way they could find out. Comments anyone?????

Read the previous comment by me. Credit checks will unveil omitted employers if you put them down while working there to get a loan or other form of financing.

Dean Suraci in Cornwall, New York said: Read the previous comment by me. Credit checks will unveil omitted employers if you put them down while working there to get a loan or other form of financing.

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Not all employers run credit checks. You can also list bad experiences as "temporary" assignments.