Should I bring up resume discrepancy
I need some advice. I have an interview for a GREAT position coming up soon. However, I noticed a typo in the copy of my resume I submitted electronically. Instead of an ending date of April 2006, I typed May 2006. My starting month was May as well, and it was an honest mistake. My gut is telling me I can't let this pass, but I wanted the advice of some who were more experienced. Should I simply hope it isn't caught, or go with my gut and bring it up, explaining that I made an honest mistake and wouldn't want to be untruthful. I would appreciate any and all advice. I really would like to get this job and hope that an issue like this would not preclude me from being hired. Thanks! Don't be the one to bring this up. If the interviewer asks, then fine, let them know that it was closer to the end of April. I kind of doubt that the interviewer will even think too much about it because it is possible to end a job on, for example, Friday May 4, 2006 and begin another on Monday May 7, 2006. Which would mean that your end date and begin date are both the same and it isn't a discrepancy. The problem I find with applications and electronic resumes is that they don't provide space for the entire date to be entered. Only for the month and year. So if you have a scenario such as the one above, you either have to wait until the interview to explain or you can write a brief summary in the box entitled "Please explain any discrepancies in employment history". I can see some interviewers being major persnickety and holding it against you, but to, those are the employers who would make your life a living he!! if you were to work there. I just don't see a few days ( or even a few weeks) difference as a big deal and wouldn't even mention it when I interview someone. Now if, it were a few months or even a year, then I would ask.
THanks so much! However, I still wonder if I should give my corrected version that says April, or stick with the one that says May. I started the job that ended in April 2006 in May 2003, but did not begin my next job until June 2006. In any case, I do appreciate your advice IMMENSELY! thanks Carey You know what? I think I am confused. What I am seeing in my mind's eye is this: _______________________________________________________________________________ Job History June 2006 - ? Superman and Sultan May 2003 - May 2006 Wonder Woman Incorporated _______________________________________________________________________________ But you are actually stating here that you stopped working for WW Inc in April 2006. Even if that is the case. I don't see that the start/end dates are a big deal. It still is only a matter of a month or two. Like I stated before, it were several months discrepancy you probably would have had some 'splainin to do. You got the interview based on the information you provided so the interviewer probably doesn't think it is a big deal. Bring an extra copy of your resume and if it makes you feel better, give it to the interviewer with your apologies. I still don't think you should mention it unless she brings it up first, but you should do what you feel is the most comfortable for you. By the way, I went on three interviews I didn't bring an extra copy of my resume and it turned out I should have. One was because the interviewer grabbed a folder off her desk that was actually someone elses resume and decided that she didn't want to go back up the four floors to her office. One because the woman had flown in from a different state and was relying on her laptop which turned out to be a bad idea because the conference room the hotel allowed us to use wasn't, for some reason, compatable with her connection. And the third one was because I wasn't even in the running for the job. They already had someone else in mind but needed to fullfill a quota of candidates. Funny ending to that story. When I realized this fact, early on - like 1/2 a minute after I sat down on the other side of the conference table, I remembered that I did have a copy of my resume folded in quarters at the bottom of my pocketbook. It is a copy I keep with me so that before the interview I can match pertinent facts to the what I think the company will be looking for in the interview questions. I had it for so long that it was torn and had little grease splotches from various lunches I ate while perusing it. I offered that copy to the interviewer and laughed when he said "Uh, no thank you". I thanked him for wasting my time and left. So, get into a habit of bringing a folder with your resume to give them if their is an emergency.
Thanks so much. You are seeing exactly what I was trying to explain. It sounds like great advice, and I likely will not bring it up unless she brings it up first. Thanks! | |
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