Man, I think I truly fu**ed up this time. I need you guys opinions. This is turning out to be the worst weekend I can remember. I don't eat. I don't sleep. I don't smile. NOTHING. My kids don't know whats going on. Its bothering me THAT much. Let me start... I worked at an Ivy League college for a few years now. Its a great atmosphere. Its a great place to be if you want an education. Its a great job. AND I have a HUGE office with a great view of the park (if you into that sort of thing). But they are not paying well. Its practically two percent raises across the board. I did get a Xmas bonus. Enough to keep me. In addition, I took a 30k paycut to take this job just so that I can leave the corporate world for a second to catch my breath and think about what I am going to do in life now that I am 30 something. The university promised me that if my job performance was up to par and beyond, that within TWO years, they would get me back the 30k I lost and give me a promotion to make up for the lost time and money. I agreed. The review came in on August the 14th and it absolutely rocked! The final verdict was "performance exceeded expectations". Then, the proverbial crap hit the wall. They told me that they couldn't afford to bump me up to the promise they made because if they do it for me, the whole university would have to be bumped also. It would not be fair. If I get it. Everyone else has to get it was their opinion. I told them that the agreement was this and this and this. They didn't budge. So, after talking about it with my family, I resigned on the 23rd of August effective immediately. I felt betrayed and used. I didn't want to be there anymore. Then, I saw a posting for a VP position at a start up company that has been around for 5 years now. I replied to the posting and EIGHT interviews later, I was offered the job. That was this past Thursday. I would start this Monday. Not only that, I DOUBLED my salary with the option of getting substantial stock options in 12 months when they plan to go public. This was a dream situation. The company is raking in the money. Their idea is EXTREMELY original. They need me to handle the finances and to consult on the technology side of the company. I have BOTH backgrounds!! They have been profitable from day one and have literally doubled in sized every year. Now, they are looking for an infusion of 50 milllion dollars (they have investors already) to take the company world wide. Its a BIG deal. On Friday, they called me to pull the offer. Why? Because I never told them I had left the other job or why I did. They ran the background check and saw everything was in order...except the fact that I had already left my previous job when I in fact stated on my resume I was still there and I never indicated I had left. In reality, I was following the advice of a Robert Half recruiter who said for contintinuitys sake, don't explain unless they ask why you left. In fact, leave your resume as you are still there for the next couple of months and then change it. So, the owner told me that he really doesn't care if I would of explained to him what happened. He would of made the offer anyway. The part that bother him is that I made it seem like I was there when I wasn't and even though that deep down he understands why I did it and that the advice I got turned out to be bad, he has to run it by the investors to see what they say. Thats when he told me to hold off on coming in on Monday. I truly feel like crap! I knew that I should say something. But I didn't. Now, I haven't eaten or slept since Friday morning and I just keep thinking that I pissed away the best job ever!!!. On top of that, I need to start working soon with Christmas coming. These two girls eat like horses and won't stop! So, what do you guys think? Am I dead? Is he going to call me on Monday to say its ok or did I just piss away the job of a lifetime?
I think you'll be fine. And if they do in fact turn you down, just tell them that you only stated you were still working at the university because that's the advice you got somewhere. Then if that doesn't work, BEG!
offer to take a lower salary with more of your comp based on incentives related to company performance.
Never came up on the interview. But the resume has PRESENT instead of an end date. Fu*kin' recruiter! Still my fault, though. I knew better.
The advice that Robert Half should have given you was, "Include the date as XXXX-2007, but do not give an explanation for 'reason for leaving'." I've used this same strategy for 100s of clients and it's never been a problem. But you do need to use 2007 because you can't use Present as the final item on that date. If a Robert Half recruiter told you to do this, he's an idiot and he should know better- this is a common question that comes up in our industry. It's the same with those who have completed college coursework but did not complete the degree. You want to include a mention of this, particulary if your resume is sent to a Fortune 500 where they scan and "parse" your resume (look for keywords) using resume scanning software like Resumix or Restrac. You want to put something like Bachelor of Science in Finance Program, In Progress; Pending Graduation: 12/07 or 100 Hours Completed Towards BS in Computer Science Degree But you don't want to put Bachelor of Science Degree, 2007 because this implies you received it already. With jobs- put the date 2007 but not the month/year format, just the year. This way, they can't tell from a mere screening what your exact end date is, but you're still being truthful. You have to be truthful with the content of your resume, but you can certainly be vague for strategic reasons (e.g. not including your work history back to the 70s so that you don't "date" yourself prior to an interview situation). I can't tell you how many times I've had clients upset that they didn't get their dream job (just too difficult to pin all your hopes on one position- too many factors can potentially work against you that have nothing to do with your qualifications) and yet went on to secure a great position that they were very happy with. You just need to keep plugging away- if you want an "instant therapy" suggestion, it's one of my favorite words in the job search pursuit- NEXT!! Send your resume out tomorrow to dozens of employers and don't wait for that company to make their decision before you continue your job search. Use these sites as a good source for ads: www.indeed.com www.simplyhired.com They DO NOT hold all the cards- if you woke up tomorrow and decided that you absolutely did not want that job, there's nothing they could do to change your mind (except for a larger financial offer, maybe). It's a 2-way street- if they're having indecisions about you due to something that is a relatively minor issue, do you really want to work for them? Would they always question and wonder about you? I would rather pursue something else. Flood the market with your resume!! Send out 40 tomorrow and the hell with them- start looking elsewhere. They don't deserve you. And best of luck.
If the only problem is that it says present instead of the final date and you did not say in the interview that you are currently working, I don't see any problem. I would stress how much you want to work for them and say that the copy of your resume has not been updated since leaving your other job. It's not like you lied about where you worked or anything.
I'm always inspired this time of year- you know, it's a basketball thing. Heck, his error wasn't even that big of a deal. I had this person call me the other day very upset because they sent in a resume they had written to a company for their ideal job and never got a call back- it was a PR/communications director position. Know what her objective said? OBJECTIVE: Position as Pubic Relations Director. Now THAT'S a gaffe.
Excellent advice- send a letter immediately via email explaining that you apologize about "not updating my resume to indicate that I l had left my previous position. I certainly did not want to be deceptive in this regard and I apologize for any miscommunication on my part." I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you further about this position, as I feel I have the ideal qualifications and experience you seek. Thank you again for your time and consideration. Sincerely, ... Something like that. Or you can just say, "Look, don't make such a big deal about the date issue. So what if I tried to hide my departure from my previous position? If I included this information, would you hold it somewhat against me? Of course you would!! So stop being a pansy about the whole thing and just give me the job- you know I'm the best candidate, so don't fart around and waste time on a non-issue. I'm ready to start producing results for your organization- aren't you? Sincerely, .... The first is better, but wouldn't it be nice to send something like the 2nd?
I think the biggest mistake was leaving your old job effective immediately -- if they contact your boss there the conversation won't be in your favor.
WOW! That made my freakin day! Thanks Dandorotik! This is why I am confused. I signed up for the background check on Monday. Thursday, I got the offer and accepted. Friday, he called me and left me a voicemail. It said this (word for word): Hello Alex, This is Scott. Just getting everything over here for your arrival on Monday. The office is almost cleaned out and should be finished by the time you arrive on Monday. We need you to be here at 10am. We are usually very busy with meetings first thing on Monday and we won't have time to attend to you properly. So, if you can do 10am, lets try and connect then. The reason for my call this morning is that there was a background check discrepancy that came back. It states you resigned from your previous position on August 23rd. Can you give me a call back to clear this up at your earliest convenience? Phone number........ Now, when I called him back and explained to him like you guys read, he gave me that crap about him having to let the investors know and he won't be able to communicate with them until the weekend and he will get back to me on Monday. He indicated TWICE during our conversation that if I would of mentioned to him accurately what happened, the would of not even cared and offered the position anyways. He is just unsure what his "investors" would say about the discrepancy. Two additional notes: 1) I am the only one in the company that has ever gotten a background check. The position is right under his and supposedly, his "investors" requested one for this position. Also, all of my references checked out. We are talking about high level, CEO/CFO references from my other positions where they confirmed everything I said to him and gave me good character references. Nothing on the criminal side, of course. 2) I don't know if I should think that because he is still considering its a good sign for me. He could of just told me no Friday. He didn't. The job is very, very demanding...we are talking alot of midnight oil and weekends to get the company ready for the IPO next year. Can I assume that its going to be hard for him to find someone to accept that type of commitment? I even had to sign a contract stating that I had to commit for 2 years. He really needs someone to take the load off of him so that he can concentrate on expanding the business. So, am I hyperventilating unnecessarily? I can't even watch my college football!!!!! Did I mention I need money ASAP! Christmas is coming!
I agree with the previous mention that you show up on Monday. Either you go to work right then or you explain to him, in further detail, the miscommunication. At least that would show how committed you are and how badly you want the job. Nothing bad can come out of that. I think you'll be alright...good luck.
