On an employment application, do I have to list a previous job if I don’t want to?
First Answer:
Many applications instruct you to account for your time continuously, so even a short gap left unexplained, in which you actually held a job, constitutes misrepresentation. You are putting your integrity at risk by not revealing a job, which will color a prospective employer’s view of your overall character.
On such an application, it’s better to reveal the job, even if it’s short term. On a résumé, where months of employment are omitted, leaving out a short-term job that doesn’t create a gap in your work history (i.e., you worked from 1996 to February 1999 at one job, started another in March but left it in July, and have worked at your current job ever since, the history is going to read 1996-1999 for the first job and 1999-present for the current job, the five-month gap is not visible) is ok, on the grounds that a résumé is a selective presentation and a five-month job may not contribute significantly enough to your expertise to mention it. If there’s a visible gap, you must explain it even on the résumé.
Most important here, especially if you were let go due to a performance issue, is to develop an oral “exit statement” to explain your departure, because the job and your departure may come up in an interview regardless of what is on your application. For example, if your employer cited poor productivity, be sure to explain any factors that affected your performance, such as a prolonged illness or family emergency, without blaming the employer. If you didn’t get along with your supervisor, explain that “reasonable people differ” in their management philosophy and style. If you were let go after new management was brought in to your company, explain that the new management, as is not unusual, wanted to bring in or build their own team. If you were laid off due to a downsizing or restructuring, make sure to mention any recognition of your value, such as being offered another position that you could not accept due to relocation, or the fact that you survived previous downsizings, or were offered a “stay bonus” to complete a transition or project, or that the layoff was based on seniority or the closing of an entire department: whatever facts you have to support the idea that you were not a weak-performing, dispensable employee. End the statement with your focus on your next job; employers want to know you are not still bitter about a previous job.
Even if you left a job voluntarily, employers wonder why you would do that without having your next job lined up unless you are “damaged goods.” If you left because you were burned out, or wanted to focus on a full-time job search, or take a vacation hiking the Himalayas before your next job, or because the job was a bad fit or you disliked your manager, understand that an unemployed candidate is always a question mark. Employers want to think they are stealing the competition’s prize talent, not someone who didn’t work out elsewhere. The burden is on you to demonstrate you are serious about your work life and use good judgment in choosing and performing jobs.
— Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City.
Second Answer:
There is no hard and fast rule about this but use your common sense. Any job you have held under six months can be considered temporary and not included. Any job you have held over twenty years ago probably isn’t relevant or necessary if you have made a number of job changes. Your first job as a clerk won’t matter that much if you’ve been at a professional level for many years and will reduce the size of your resume to a mangeable level. You will need to account for significant gaps in employment. Any job you have held for some time IS a necessity to include.
— Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column.
Third Answer:
That’s a hard question to answer without knowing the WHY?? behind the question. Most job applications will contain a statement that says that
all the material contained is complete and truthful with a place for you to
sign. Most go on to say if any of this information is false is can be
grounds for termination. Since many companies today run a fairly extensive
background check on their prospective employees, it you choose to leave it
off the application, and the employer chooses to run a background check,
chances are it could keep you from getting hired.
An alternative to leaving it off (particularly if this was an unpleasant experience for both you and your employer) might be to come up with
something to say in the interview that explains the situation to the
prospective employer. Obviously you have not listed that place of
employment as one of your references. It could be something as simple as
“As you will note on my application, I have listed my complete work
history. On my resume I only listed those employers that I thought were
relevant to this position. When I was employed at _________________, the
company changed management and the new management philosophy was not one
that I felt comfortable. Both the employer and I agreed that this was not
a good fit for me and that is when I went to work for _____________.
My best advice is to always be honest in filling out an application and in the things you say during the interview. In today’s job market most people
have had several jobs and not all of them have been good fits.
—Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College