Job offer but I’ve f****d up the references

[newdays55]

Hi ladies,

I’ll start off by saying I know I’ve messed up. I’m an idiot and shouldn’t have lied.

I applied and interviewed for a job 3 weeks ago. It’s an admin role in the health care sector (not a carer and I won’t have any contact with patients)

I had to complete an employment history form before the interview and I wasn’t completely truthful. I left off certain jobs because I was only there a short period and I thought it looked awful, and other jobs I extended the dates slightly. My last 2 jobs are correct though.

Anyway, I was unexpectedly offered the job on Friday, which I accepted.

I’m panicking now though in case they find out that I’ve lied. The woman who interviewed me said that they occasionally request references covering the last 10 years of employment (or for any jobs related to care, which I did previously). However they normally only request references from the last 3 employers. I will also have to complete a DBS check which is fine.

I’m shitting myself now. The onboarding process can take 4-6 weeks and I’m worried about handing my notice in or turning down other job offers in case they find out and retract the offer.

Should I just ride it out and hope for the best?

It’s incredibly important in education and healthcare to know where someone has been and why they left roles. If you don’t understand why, I can’t really help you.

Just cross the bridge if it arises. If it does, say sorry but their form did something confusing and you weren't 100% sure what it submitted. Assuming it was an online form?

I think being honest and trustworthy would be important character traits within a healthcare setting, even if not patient-facing.

This probably isn’t the job for you.

I wouldn’t worry to be honest if you were only there a couple of weeks!

And to those saying it’s not that bad, it is. It’s fraud.

It’s never a good plan to lie, you know this now for going forward.

It sounds as though it’s the issue with the dates - if you truly have put the wrong months then that’s explainable as a memory lapse however I am wondering from what you’ve written if you’ve been somewhat more creative?

There's nothing wrong with that.

God don't email them and tell them you lied.

Sit back and see what happens. If you've had a few jobs exact dates from several years ago will be a bit hazy. I don't remember the difference between March and May 6 years ago.

Really short ones are standard to leave off. And easily forgotten about. It was simply a short term trial, wasn't a good fit, left on good terms.

Chances are it will go through without any question or fuss.

OP what dates did you say? On my job applications I've always just been vague... Job Title, 2022-24, rather than give specific month dates. Did you provide incorrect month start and end dates? If so you could just email them and say you got the month muddled as it was a while ago - I don't think being a month or so out is a big deal, nor a massive lie, as you could have just muddled the dates if it's more than 10 years ago

Unless they've emailed her a copy saying are these correct, her emailing them now after telling her they will do checks would be a BIG red flag.

Leaving and addressing if it comes up - "oh was it March I finished rather than May? So sorry, it was 6 years ago!" Is much more believable as a memory lapse.

Honestly don't worry, if they flag it just say, oh sorry I must have remembered wrong. If it's just a couple of weeks. I always just say the month Jan 2010 - December 2012 for example not 14./01/2010 - 01 Dec 2013

For god’s sake don’t send an email saying you lied! Just wait and see what happens.

It’s not unusual for people to leave out short term jobs, even on an employment history form. And nobody would expect you to remember exact dates for every job since you left school. I’d bet my house it’ll all be fine.

I don't think it's going to be an issue. Do they expect you to hand notice in before checks, or can you hold off? If they have any queries just say ' l am happy to clarify any details and will check my records.' Then say 'that's not quite right, these are the correct dates'. Don't apologise beyond saying I am sorry for the discrepancy which was in error' or give any detail they don't ask for.
Don't wish to besmirch Rachel Reeves, but Google her CV discrepancy issues if you want to get some reassurance that you are not the only one!

Certain jobs do indeed need every job you have done listed ( usually security related) no exceptions no matter how short the duration, if it’s found out beforehand no job offer, if found out once in post grounds for instant dismissal.
If it’s a job like that then OP will not get the job even if she comes clean about irregularities in the dates.

Meh. I wouldn't stress. They won't care that you missed out short term jobs or didn't accurately remember dates from years ago.
They will just check you weren't sacked and were generally a reasonable person.

If it comes up, act all vague: 'I couldn't exactly remember when I left x/started at y, but I knew I was not out of work for any length of time, so I just put the dates together, does it make a difference?' Act flabbergasted and apologise saying it really hadn't occured to you that the dates were so important and that you thought what you did in those jobs were what really mattered. They will probably let it drop and keep an eye on your admin during the probatory period.

Don't panic. I think it will be fine and on the off chance they find out, just explain it away by saying you didn't think the short term jobs were even relevant, so much so you don't even list them on your CV and if dates of most recent jobs are questioned, just apologise and say you must have got the dates slightly wrong. As long as your most recent history is correct and your references check out, I think it will be fine. I highly doubt they will even question it.

The advice on mumsnet is often to leave off short term jobs.

Not when directly asked for a 10 year work history listing every job and explaining any gaps, they don’t.

OP, unless this job is for MI5, I think you are massively over thinking this.

I assume this isn’t a job with some kind of enhanced security requirements?

If not, I doubt they’d waste their time and money tracking you down to the day for the past 10 years. If your most recent references are fine and you’re only talking a month or 2 out for the later ones then I’m not sure thats a big deal. I’d keep my mouth shut and wait and see what they say. I definitely wouldn’t email them and say I’d lied!

Just let it play out. You might be ok. If you ring and tell them you’ll have negated the offer anyway.

And don’t do it again!

I think you'll be fine. Having experience of recruiting for carers , a lot of places just have to tick boxes in case of audits.

This, of don't bother at all. I always put guesstimate, a month here or there is normal usually.

I do this sort of thing for my job, I honestly believe people get the wrong dates without meaning too all the time, if you were only a at a job a few weeks I wouldn't worry too much - just say you got muddled up.

They probably wont go to HMRC themselves they will ask you to download you're employment history via your government gateway site and send them as part of the onboarding process.

In future though unless its obviously a safeguarding issue, employers need to account for your time rather than being worried about how long you worked at each place so just tell the truth, Ive never seen it to be an issue before.