Issue with background-check on previous employment start-date

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I am a recent graduate and I was given an entry level IT job offer by a large corporation not too long ago. They required a recent computer science graduate for the position, I met the requirement and passed their interviews. However on the work-experience section of my resume I mistakenly kept a start date of January 2010 instead of August 2010 for a previous job I had because I got the job while I was on college break and it didn't quickly occur to me that I got the job in the summer holiday, not the winter holiday of that year. This company that just gave me the job offer told me that they usually do background checks and now MY WORRY is that if they contact my previous employment place and they find out that my start date for a previous job on my resume was actually August 2010 not January 2010, the company may not give me the job position anymore?

Please anyone here with suggestions or advice regarding this? Should I tell them about the issue on my resume with the employment start-date before the background check begins? thanks for your responses, I appreciate!

manpreet 2 years ago

Yes. Tell them.

This is a pretty simple clerical error - you didn't do this maliciously. It was an honest mistake. Write to your contact (probably an HR representative or recruiter) and mention that you made an error. Send them an updated resume and ask if they need you to fill out any other paperwork.

Chances are good that this won't be a problem. In a long work history, a difference of 8 months is not a big deal. In a new grad, it may be a slightly bigger deal -IF- the change in date makes for a dramatic difference in months/years worked total.

Even so - honesty is better here.

It's a pretty typical process to check previous jobs for start date and end date. It's generally the easiest factual check. If you don't correct it, you risk looking like a liar, if you do correct it, your worst case is looking like an honest guy who should have proofed his resume better.

Addition - I'll second the two comments so far - take the extra effort to make sure that the resume is error free before you resend, and that in the future you have the accurate resume on hand. Get a double check from a friend or peer whenever you're updating it - both for clarity and basic editing, as well as a double check on accuracy. It gets harder as time goes by to keep track of what year and month you change jobs or roles, so it's never a bad idea to keep an up to date resume on hand at all times, even when you're not in the market.