Right. Last thing I want is to be busted in a lie. I want to keep things honest, and am looking for a way to do so without shooting myself in the foot. I think there’s been some good advice here.
Why is it necessary to go down to the level of months in a resume?
If, for example, the last gig was 2 years and the prior one 4, then what’s wrong with:
**2011-present Acme Widgets
2009-2011 Top Notch Widgets
2005-2009 Joe’s Widget Factory**
The longer history is right there for the interviewer to see, so the single short (could be 9 months) job is not so shocking.
The “why are you leaving” question can be answered in many noncomittal ways. Professional contract work often comes in small chunks like that, so if there is some way you can honestly say that your work there is done, it probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.
I agree with those who say not to lie, and to simply answer the question and move on without drawing any attention to the subject. No mention of the personalities.
I think people with shorter histories might try to get cute and put something like “2007-2008 Joe Bob’s Co” when they started in November and left in February. I don’t have the longest work history in the world, as I’m a bit younger than my user name would suggest (2005 grad), but after that I’d say my record is pretty solid. I hope?
Ding Ding Ding. I used almost this exact answer when interviewing with my new company, It must have worked, since I’m now in my second week here! It let’s you be a fine upstanding citizen of high moral standards while implying that your current company does not have those same lofty standards. " I’m not saying, I’m just saying’", so to speak.
Let’s you focus on your positives instead of coming across as griping about your former boss. They wil know what you are saying, but they should also se the professionalism you are exhibiting by answering this way.
God, my boss at my former company was psycho-bitch from hell. She would f with you in so many ways. Our inside joke was that our department was “The Land of Misfit Toys”
One of the best days of my life was when I gave her my two weeks notice on the day she returned from a 90 day medical leave. God that felt good. Is that wrong??? 
Honestly, “they were evil where I worked, and I decided not to be surrounded by evil” would go over just fine in MANY interviews. Its a judgement call when you are sitting there, but if you have a personal rapport going, I’d use something really similar to that.
This is especially true if their behavior crosses into unethical - or if they are expecting you to be unethical.
Speaking of honesty and integrity, my boss did ask me to lie once and pretend I was from another company in order to get some information she wanted. Seriouslyl, what kind of place is this!!! We don’t even get casual Fridays. :mad:
Edit:
Nnnnope!
I once worked at a horrible little company for about a month. It was in a pretty big office building, which we shared with many other, larger companies, including IKON. We were right next door to a large hotel. My supervisor asked me to book a room for a coworker and LIE and say I was from IKON to get their corporate rate. I refused. Lots of things hinky at that job. Luckily, since I left so quickly, I just act like it didn’t happen on my resume.
Good luck on your job search!
If one doesn’t list a job, how can the employment history be found out??
hh
Your credit report lists employment, but it is always woefully out of date. I checked my cred reports last week, and two of the three still list a job I left 12 years ago as my current employer
Get out there and tell everyone that you’re looking (well, maybe not your boss). Make sure they know your skills and what type of job you’re looking for.
In one of my rounds of job-hunting research I came across a book that recommended making up business cards that were printed on both sides: contact info and objective on one side; skills and experience on the other. Then you can hand them out to people you know so that they have something handy if they come across someone with a lead.
AIR you don’t have a big network where you are, so you could do an e-mail version if you don’t mind moving again. Otherwise, I’d take advantage of the Doper network and any other contacts you’ve made that won’t create issues with the current employer (not that you care, but it would be really cool if someone could hand you a job so you could go in one day and give whatever notice you deem appropriate and be outta there).
And, yeah, don’t lie. Even if they don’t find out immediately you’ll forget and it might slip out at an inopportune moment and - if you’re like me - you’ll just feel icky for having lied.
I like the “not a good fit” and “subtle refocus on something positive” strategy.
Good luck!
I could have written this post word for word. After just over a year of employment I’ve not received a single bonus and my year anniversary passed by without an annual review or mention of a pay raise. I’ve earned my degree but that doesn’t seem to matter. When I ask about a pay raise my manager says that he hasn’t received a pay raise himself in years. Is that supposed to magically make me feel better? He probably out-earns me by at least double my salary.
I’ve been there a year and am contemplating making a move. I like the work, the pay sucks.
I liked the “not a good fit” and then the innocent off-hand remark, “the last three people before me were there less than three months apiece,” or some such info.
And stop RIGHT THERE. DO NOT say another word.
You don’t need to find out the hard way that the Evil Bitch-Whore from Hell is the sister-in-law of the HR rep interviewing you.
Chances are though, the HR rep will burst out laughing and say, “Is that bitch still working there? We’ve hired the last three people she fired. Best workers we’ve got!”
People have a tendency to give out TMI. Edit yourself very carefully!
~VOW
Oh yeah. The person I replaced quit due to insuppressible stabbiness. They told me this. The company is truly hell.
So I actually just finished my resume, and I like. I can’t get too excited, though, with full knowledge of how truly terrible this jobs economy is, but I feel somewhat better about it not necessarily being the end of the world that I’m ready to quit so soon.
Thanks again all,
Sam
Except won’t a background check show that you were a W-2, not a 1099? Different companies have different levels of scrutiny. One insurance company I worked for called me back when they couldn’t find a former employer I had listed (it merged a few times and no longer exists as an American company). Other companies barely seemed to bother.
Most temp jobs are W2 nowadays.
No, don’t say* anything* bad about the previous job. Just say how much better the new job will be when you get it. In other words, praise the company you are interviewing for- don’t dis the company you are hoping to leave.
Do not lie. Do not lie. I know you know this, but do not lie.
“Not a good fit” and “They are having difficulty retaining employees” are both fine. If the interview is chatty, you might be able to say more. Use your judgment.
This isn’t a job search death sentence.
My fiancee was in a similar situation last year. She was laid off due to budget restrictions from a job she loved last March, then found a new job in a somewhat related field starting in August. She hated the job so much she was in tears almost every day, either before or after work. It started affecting her emotionally, and she realized it was not sustainable when I said I’d like to have “happy E” back. She had originally planned to tough it out till at least this May but by November it had become obvious that was not going to happen and she’d have to resign. Luckily she found another job in December and was able to give notice. She started this January and we are both much happier for it. So from my experience I’d say it’s sometimes just not worth it to stay at a job if the situation is bad enough. It will start affecting you outside of work in terms of quality of life and maybe even health.
When you take a job, you go on file with various agencies, etc., and HR types have access to such info.
I work in gov’t contracting, IT-ish project work, and it’s really not a big deal to have a mulligan or two on your resume. Honesty is the best policy, but you can tell the truth without giving away the store.
I once handled a situation sort of like this by asking " well, if I worked for you would you require me to lie to customers or vendors?"
Gaps in unemployment look far worse than a short term job. I wouldn’t worry at all about explanations beyond “I’m looking for something more stable than the last company.” If asked to explain say that you don’t think they will survive in this economy.