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Original poster

Husband lied on CV - offered job but they want a reference!

260 replies

PeanutyButtery · 25/03/2021 21:34

DH lost his job last February and he's finally been offered a job back in his field. He's been working in a supermarket for the last six months.

He left the supermarket job off his CV because it's not relevant and instead put that he's been working as a consultant for an organisation (prestigious well-known company that's relevant to the new role) from last March until now. Problem is that he won a tender to provide that organisation with services, signed a contract and everything but they never actually sent him any work.

HR called this week to say that they are offering him the job and does he accept. He said yes and then they asked for references. He gave two people from his previous employer but HR replied asking specifically for a reference from X organisation as it's his "current employer".

He replied to say that since that consultancy has ended, HR can contact the company he is working for right now (which is a freelance client he has actually been working for). But he did put the email address for a contact person at X organisation.

I'm so worried they are going to contact X organisation who will say sorry but this guy never worked for us, and that they'll rescind the offer (it's only an oral offer anyway). DH doesn't seem so worried. He was convinced they wouldn't contact references, but actually his previous employer and freelance client have both said they've already been contacted.

Is there anything he can do to fix this situation? It's been two days and nothing... they contacted the references immediately who both replied that same day

OP posts:
TomHardyAndMe · 25/03/2021 21:36

Fess up? Declare undying remorse?

ScarfaceCwaw · 25/03/2021 21:38

Well, no, there's not really anything he can do to counter or cover up the fact he's told a whopping lie. And they'd be idiots not to rescind the offer if when they catch him out. So I would have a high expectation that that one is going to fall through.

Disfordarkchocolate · 25/03/2021 21:43

Well that was daft. He needs to be honest now and see what happens. I'm surprised this wasn't covered in his interview. There is nothing wrong with working in a supermarket, it was going to show up when he provided his P45/6 surely?

Good luck.

YouAintKingDingALing · 25/03/2021 21:44

Be honest and tell them the truth.

tribpot · 25/03/2021 21:50

The previous firm was not his employer, it was a client. So he could get lucky and the firm say they don't provide references for sub-contractors.

It seems like an incredibly dumb idea to say he'd been working for this firm when he's been working at a supermarket. He could have said he was furloughed, surely? (Actually the sensible thing would have been to tell the truth about what he'd been doing - no shame in doing supermarket work to put food on the table).

memberofthewedding · 25/03/2021 21:50

Shoe me the person who does not tell a lie or two on their CV or at least garnish the truth!

I run a company and have given a reference to a relative who did a few small jobs for me but made it sound like a full time job to cover up a gap on his CV. Ive also written references for myself in the past. Its so much easier now with email.

I dont know how DH is going to fix this. Lets just hope he is lucky.

Iworry2021 · 25/03/2021 21:52

Sorry, but I think this job is a goner

Empressofthemundane · 25/03/2021 21:52

He may as well brazen it out. They already have a couple of good references, if the one seems odd or they don’t get a response, they may just ignore it.

Screwcorona · 25/03/2021 21:53

At this point I'd actually do nothing and see what happens. The company most likely will not reply at all.
The potential new employer might still be happy with the references.

Or they will pull the offer

And admitting it will also likely end up in the offer being pulled.

Wait it out

queenofthenorthwest · 25/03/2021 21:55

I thought that on a reference you can literally only put, I would/would not employ this person?

If this is true I'd brazen it out

Gemma2019 · 25/03/2021 21:56

Do absolutely nothing apart from wait!

If they come back to him pushing for this reference just say he can't get a reference from the company as he wasn't an employee and they do not provide references for self employed consultants.

Original poster
PeanutyButtery · 25/03/2021 22:01

Yes, there's nothing wrong with working at a supermarket and he should have put that in the first place.

I told him never to put it on his CV but he didn't listen to me... I said "you can't put that because it's lying, what if they ask you about it in the interview, how are you going to talk about it" and he just didn't see it as lying because he won the tender, went though a medical exam for them and signed the contract. And now he says to me "why didn't you tell me not to put them", argh!!!

It didn't come up in the interview because he talked about other roles and didn't mention this organisation at all.

What's the best way to be honest at this stage when he already gave the contact details of the company?

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 25/03/2021 22:03

@queenofthenorthwest

I thought that on a reference you can literally only put, I would/would not employ this person?

If this is true I'd brazen it out

No of course that’s not true? Have you never been asked foe references for a role? They need to tell the truth, whatever that may be.
Original poster
PeanutyButtery · 25/03/2021 22:04

@Gemma2019 This is brilliant: If they come back to him pushing for this reference just say he can't get a reference from the company as he wasn't an employee and they do not provide references for self employed consultants.

Why didn't we think of that!

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 25/03/2021 22:04

He might hit lucky and they don’t respond to the ref request. But I think he’s going to be found out, I’m sorry,

Binjob118 · 25/03/2021 22:04

Could he contact the previous company and explain the situation and try and find out what they would say if asked for a reference? He could argue semantics in terms of 'contracted' but not actually employed?

TakeYourFinalPosition · 25/03/2021 22:06

@queenofthenorthwest No; that’s not true. You can say anything, as long as it’s factual. Some employers stick to a very minimal reference for legal reasons, but that’s usually the amount of time employed, in what position.

It’s a bit of a weird internet myth that references have to be positive or can only be limited, but there’s no basis for it, in England at least.

OP, I can’t really offer any advice. Logic says they’ll have contacted all the references at the same time, and the fact he was a bit shady about the reference from the most recent employer might mean they hang on a bit longer for a reply.., hopefully they’ll decide two is enough, or that they don’t provide references for consultants.

Worst case he’ll have burned bridges with both the company he applied to and the one that’s been asked for a reference. Not great, but not the end of the world Flowers

CuteOrangeElephant · 25/03/2021 22:06

My husband used to work in referencing and it would happen quite often that he uncovered a discrepancy like that and the company would still employ that person!

TomHardyAndMe · 25/03/2021 22:08

@queenofthenorthwest

I thought that on a reference you can literally only put, I would/would not employ this person?

If this is true I'd brazen it out

Why do you think that?!
Original poster
PeanutyButtery · 25/03/2021 22:08

Yes I guess all we can do is wait it out and hope for the best at this stage.

DH talked to one of his referees yesterday who said he was sent an email asking for position, dates of employment, reason for leaving and if they think he's a suitable candidate

OP posts:
memberofthewedding · 25/03/2021 22:09

Just wanted to add that there is nothing wrong with working in a supermarket! You learn a lot of transferable skills.

Many years ago my first job interview was the civil service. I was a working class kid hoping to raise myself. I had a part time job in a chip shop while I was at school and mentioned it on my application form because I wanted to show I could turn my hand to anything. My parents thought it was a big mistake putting it on the form.

One of the interviewers asked me what I had learned from it about the world of work, and I told her. She agreed with me that shop work is hard and that it showed flexibility.

I got the civil service job.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 25/03/2021 22:12

@PeanutyButtery I think anything else would make it seem even more suspect at this stage; and it’s probably better to wait and see.

I hope he gets good news soon 🤞

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 25/03/2021 22:14

@gemma2919 I don't think they will ask him to provide the reference, they will contact the company directly.

ScarfaceCwaw · 25/03/2021 22:14

"Arguing the toss" that he actually was employed by this company is a hiding to nothing. He got through the hoops required to make it onto their books as a supplier, that's all. He hasn't worked for them, and they are not going to reference him as if he has.

ScarfaceCwaw · 25/03/2021 22:17

Oh yes, and you can say absolutely anything you want in a reference, so long as you can substantiate it, because you can get sued if you impair someone's future employment prospects falsely. For that reason, many large organisations have a policy of giving factual references with dates of employment and usually whether the person would be eligible for re-employment, i.e. whether they left in good standing. They can also report on sick time taken and other factual matters without any issues. But no organisation is going to give him a reference as though he did work for them when he didn't.