I was working as a contractor for this company for about 5 months. Company offered me a Permanent position and I accepted it. When I fill up backgound check form I mentioned DUI but I was afraid to mention details about it. As a result of background check they came to know that I had 2 DUI’s and a probation violation that was in my record 2 yrs ago.

I was sent home from the work, and I was told that if this information is incorrect I could dispute the background check report. Company will give me 3 days to do so. I don’t know what should I do. All the information on the background check report are correct. I believe the reason they send me home was because I did not mention all the details on the background check application. Could this be the reason?

What should I do to convince them that I did not try to hide anything. I was trying to be as truthful as I could. My manager said he could give me 5 to 7 days instead of 3 days. Should I dispute the background check report and request re backgound check and fill all the details or if I could do that at all. I am a very honest and hard working employee and my managers and Directors were proud of my work. I am not sure If i could be able to get the Job back.

Yes, your lack of details is undoubtedly the reason you are being terminated, or rather not brought on board.

If I were your manager, there is probably nothing you could say to get me to take you back. Why? It’s not because of the DUI (although 2 DUIs and a probation violation scream “IRRESPONSIBLE!” which makes your desirability as an employee quite low). It’ because of the dishonesty.

You were afraid to mention the details, but it is the details that got you in trouble. Notice that they didn’t care that you had the DUI. (And it’s illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of a conviction unless the conviction is related to the job.) What they did care about was that you didn’t tell the truth.

Yes, there is a possibility you wouldn’t have gotten the original contract work if you’d said, “two DUIs and a probation violation”, but you wouldn’t be where you are now if you had been honest.

Your best bet–explain to your manager that it is all correct, that you put the original DUI on the application, but left off details. Apologize profusely. If you truly are a good worker, he may give you another chance.

And just to everyone else, please, please, please be honest on your applications. I know other people lie. Other people get caught, too.

The post Another DUI Problem appeared first on Improve Your HR.

I have a question, I applied to a Fortune 500 company with over 50,000 employees. They did a very extensive background check on me and haven’t let me know anything as of yet. My start date was due to be July 16th. There was one issue and that was with my degree. Now, my resume was not updated for some time (over a year) which is totally my fault. I had an old projected graduation date of 2006 on there and I never noticed. I looked over the resume before I sent it out, but I had just glanced at the education/qualifications part. I was more focused on overlooking my responsibilities and duties in my current job.

To make a long story short I ended up getting an offer. And at my interview when asked of my education I said I had not completed my degree and I was about 8 classes shy (which reflects in my transcripts from college that I personally sent to the HR department) and also I had to complete an official online application with the company. In that application there was a choice: Not yet received Diploma, HS Diploma, Some College etc etc. I checked the option “Some College” however, when I uploaded my resume it put “Associates Degree + 13 years”. I received an email from one of the people conducting the background check asking me to verify my degree

(this is a transcript from his exact email:

I have just about finalized your background
verification…the only item that we were not able to verify is your
associate’s degree. If you have a moment, can you fax over a copy of
your degree to the number listed below? That is the last item pending at
this point…Thanks in advance!” )

and I had wrote him: “
I have not completed all of my coursework for my associates degree. I am currently (exactly) half way through. I have 2 semesters to go. When completing my official application with (COMPANY) I had indicated that I completed Some College Coursework. Also, when asked in my interview if I had my degree I had told my interviewer that I did not have it yet and that particular part of my resume had not been updated. I was looking back at the official application I had submitted to (COMPANY) via the online source and I did notice that while uploading my CVV/Resume the computer automatically put “Associates Degree + 13 Years” which is not the case. I did not catch it at the time as I had already answered “Some College” when asked about my Education. I apologize for any and all confusion. I hope that clears everything up.”

My question is this: Since they now think I’ve falsified my degree, is there any way to redeem myself with the company? I have a good source that works at the location I applied to who let me know that it doesn’t look too good for me, however they were reviewing my file and there is a small chance I could still get in. (that was as a friend, not an official word from the company) Also, in my interview I was overly prepared with a 30 + page portfolio showcasing all the various skills and work I’ve put in over the years, which I whole heartedly feel gave me a very large advantage in obtaining the offer and possible position. I am young, adaptable and very knowledgeable in the field in which I applied for. (I am not trying to sound cocky, as I could always stand to learn more and more)

Well, you provided a nice explanation, but unfortunately mistakes like this can cost you. I don’t want to be unnecessarily harsh, but PLEASE PROOF READ YOUR RESUME BEFORE SUBMITTING. (No snarky comments about typos in my blog. This is a blog. It is anonymous and I am lazy.)

For you, it wasn’t just a matter of not proofreading, but not updating. Even though you made a mistake (and didn’t try deceive), it still came back around and bit you in the behind.

Personally, I’d probably recognize it as a mistake, especially if your resume said, “projected” or “anticipated” about the degree. If it just said, “AA Degree, June 2006” I’d be less inclined to believe you.

Let us know if you got the job or not.

The post Oops, I Did it Again! appeared first on Improve Your HR.

Why, oh, why did you state on your resume that you had a degree when you didn’t? What good can possibly come of that?

Honestly, I think you’ve probably blown your chance at this job–most everyone does background checks and verifying degrees is pretty standard. By all means, call and confess and offer to finish, but I doubt it will do any good.

Sorry to be so pessimistic, it’s just that having a big lie like that on your resume isn’t accidental, so now I can’t trust anything you’ve said.

With that much experience in pharmaceutical sales finding a new job shouldn’t be difficult. Most require a degree, but I bet a lot of companies would be willing to waive that requirement since you have so much experience.

And if you can go back to school and finish the degree, do that.

And update your resume and put that you attended school not that you graduated. You don’t have to worry about things when you stick to the truth.

The post Oops! I Lied appeared first on Improve Your HR.

I teach the adult Sunday School class at church. Yesterday we had a bunch of visitors from two states away who were up in our neck of the woods for a Boy Scout camp out. The Scout leaders were in my class.

After Sunday School was done, one of these visitors came up and said, “you remind me so much of a Sunday School Teacher I had 20 years ago. I forget her name, but her husband was [my father’s name]. So, it turns out that my mother was his Sunday School teacher 20 years ago, and I looked and acted enough like her that he felt compelled to tell me.

He had no idea who I was–not only was I a child back then, I now have a different last name and I go by my full first name rather than the nickname I used back then, and I was raised in the West and now live in the East. My point? It’s a small world. You will run into people who know you or your relatives. You can’t expect to keep things secret. As soon as you say, “I was making $120,000 a year at my previous job,” your former boss will waltz down the hallway and see you.

So don’t lie. You never know who that person in the back row is. I certainly didn’t recognize him. It’s a good thing I didn’t say or do anything that would embarrass my mother.

I hope.

The post Why You Shouldn’t Lie appeared first on Improve Your HR.

Poehlman pleaded guilty to lying on a federal grant application and admitted to fabricating more than a decade’s worth of scientific data on obesity, menopause and aging, much of it while conducting clinical research as a tenured faculty member at the University of Vermont. He presented fraudulent data in lectures and in published papers, and he used this data to obtain millions of dollars in federal grants from the National Institutes of Health — a crime subject to as many as five years in federal prison.

One of his lab techs turned him in, rightfully so. Fascinating article.

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