Should I lie?

I've been unemployed since August 2008. Almost 3 years. I've lost out on so many job offers lately because of it. Had an interview last Thursday, I knew the person, knew the company, even did contract work for them few times, BUT as soon as I mentioned I haven't worked in a few years I got pushed off the list.

This morning I applied for a very good job, my dream job at that. I had every qualification except the BS degree but I put in the resume/CV that I was 90% done and would be graduating within a few months. Got a call back right away. About 10 minutes into the call "Oh sorry but due to not working since 2008 there is stronger candidates than you. Have a nice day."

It wasn't like it really was fault, I had 5 back surgeries that kept pushing back getting back to work. But I can't/won't tell people that, that's worse than saying I haven't worked in 3 years. When asked what I have done for the last 3 years I just say working on school and doing my best to find employment in the current economy.

Should I just change my dates and say I have worked? Change the date from August 08 to say August 10? Normally I'd have a bunch of contract/pt jobs I could group under my business name but this time I don't, I have nothing.

Any ideas?

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Comments

LoMo

I wouldn't lie, it could come back to bite you.

nhan.ng

they can check and find out if you been paying tax or not for work....so dont even try

I talked to a few recruiters and they all said that if you're unemployed for more than 6 months.....you're consider unemploy-able. Suck but that's what most of the companies are going by. I think you can start all over by doing contract gigs here and there, and slowly crawl back up.

crrussell3

Never lie. If they check on your employment history and find that the dates don't add up, they can fire you on the spot.

Devilsbane

LoMo wrote: »

I wouldn't lie, it could come back to bite you.

Agreed. A friend of mine recently had his offer letter taken back because he misread a question on the resume and said no instead of yes. When they found out, the job was gone.

What is wrong with the truth? It isn't exactly a good thing to have needed back surgery, but it is a good excuse.

crrussell3 wrote: »

Never lie. If they check on your employment history and find that the dates don't add up, they can fire you on the spot.

+1 Pretty easy to track down a 3 year discrepancy. If it were like 8 months you can usually mask this by listing years. (worked here in 2009 and here from 2010-2011).

themagicone

Ah. I know it's a bad idea. Just was frustrated. I found this job and it was like it was made just for me. I've been trying to find work, it isn't easy right now. The divide between who has and who doesn't increases everyday. If I don't find anything in the next 30 days I'm on the street so hopefully something comes up.

physicskid

To assist with themagicone, I'm wishing to throw it out there.

I personally don't see any faults from my standpoint, what if themagicone considers to apply for any available job? An entry level position such as sales. I suggest this as a way to help themagicone build up some working time, say six months.

If I was recruiter, probably my concern would be about adherence and punctuality alongside skills and experience.

Thoughts?

cyberguypr

Have to agree with everyone. The truth will always surface.

Hypntick

Not sure of your reasons for not mentioning the back surgery. If I were in the position, i'd bite the bullet and tell them exactly why. I think it would be easier to do that instead of lying.

tbgree00

Don't lie. Don't have anything like that hanging over your head. It's frustrating and hard but you don't want to set yourself up for a bigger disaster. If you're down to the last 30 days before disaster then it's time to start going to Burger Doodle and Best Buy to see if they have anything. They may be willing to throw you a bone. You can do it for 6 months, build up a good reputation and then a recruiter may be more willing to help.

Look around and see if there are any smaller local PC repair shops or consultants. They may be more willing to give you a break if they can afford another body.

Devilsbane

tbgree00 wrote: »

If you're down to the last 30 days before disaster then it's time to start going to Burger Doodle and Best Buy to see if they have anything. They may be willing to throw you a bone. You can do it for 6 months, build up a good reputation and then a recruiter may be more willing to help.

Sometimes a step back is the only way to continue forward. It might suck, but it's all part of the road.

RobertKaucher

tbgree00 wrote: »

Don't lie. Don't have anything like that hanging over your head. It's frustrating and hard but you don't want to set yourself up for a bigger disaster. If you're down to the last 30 days before disaster then it's time to start going to Burger Doodle and Best Buy to see if they have anything. They may be willing to throw you a bone. You can do it for 6 months, build up a good reputation and then a recruiter may be more willing to help.

Look around and see if there are any smaller local PC repair shops or consultants. They may be more willing to give you a break if they can afford another body.

If your local Best Buy has a good Geek Squad group you would likely really enjoy it and learn a lot to boot. The one I used to work at was a crew of really serious techs working fulltime and the parttime guys were all software engineers, server admins, or highlevel helpdesk who were working for the extra cash/discount.

themagicone

I'm banned from working at Best Buy. Something about calling a manager a bad word about 10 years ago when I worked in the install department. As for the local burger shop I'd do that but I can't stand that much with my back.

Reason I don't bring up my back is most employers see it as a liability risk. They see it as "Oh he had 6 back surgeries, if we hire him were on the hook if he get hurts or needs more surgeries." It's bad enough dealing with the not working in 3 years bit and the "We only want be people with experience, even though there is no job to get experience with." I've been told by 3-4 employers they wouldn't hire me due to my back so I shut up about it. And because I'm not considered disabled (yet) they are free to do that.

Thanks for the advice. I was just really frustrated today.

BoneSpur

Can you get disability? If not, get a lawyer that will get it for you.

Devilsbane

themagicone wrote: »

I've been told by 3-4 employers they wouldn't hire me due to my back so I shut up about it. And because I'm not considered disabled (yet) they are free to do that.

You can't site the Americans with disabilities act, but this is still discrimination. If an employer is dumb enough to tell you out loud that they aren't hiring you because of such and such then you can fight them on it.

What about going with saying it was for some medical issues and then not disclosing fully. Reassure them that all is well now. For all they know it could have been some type of cancer that you had chemo for and are good now.

Are you married? Do you have kids? You might be able to pull something like the wife was making more than I was so I stayed home to raise our children. Not exactly a pro but at least it shouldn't be seen as a con. You can then go into what you were doing (school, certs, ect) while looking after the kids.

themagicone wrote: »

I'm banned from working at Best Buy. Something about calling a manager a bad word about 10 years ago when I worked in the install department. As for the local burger shop I'd do that but I can't stand that much with my back.

Never hurts to try. If you have a strong enough skillset then you might be able to get the interview and explain your case. What about other local repair shops?

themagicone

BoneSpur wrote: »

Can you get disability? If not, get a lawyer that will get it for you.

Well I applied, and do have a lawyer. BUT currently there is a back log of anywhere from 6 to 24+ months for a hearing. That is after they accept the appeal. I'm into month 4 waiting on that decision. Then I'll get a court date but it'll probably be in late 2012 or 2013. I'm not terminal so I get lowest priority.

sheckler

I would definitely lie if the alternative is becoming homeless and starving. Set up a domain with a fake company name and point a google voice number to a friends phone to be your reference. Or say you ran your own repair/consultant company. You have to do whatever to survive.

Forsaken_GA

It's up to you.

In most companies, if they find out you lied on your application/resume, it creates an immediate breach of trust, and depending on the position or the values of the company, that can create an immediate loss of employment. Cause and effect. If I find out that a candidate lied to me during an interview, my recommendation on them is always 'not hire'.

shodown

Offer your services on CL. Hopefully someone will bite. Another tip is that my wife runs a web site, we have both used it to fill in gaps for jobs. They may not be the same thing we are looking for, but they have always worked for adding experience.

Devilsbane

sheckler wrote: »

I would definitely lie if the alternative is becoming homeless and starving. Set up a domain with a fake company name and point a google voice number to a friends phone to be your reference. Or say you ran your own repair/consultant company. You have to do whatever to survive.

Stretching the truth any lying are different. If a candidate told me (and I'm in no place to hire, so keep this in consideration) that he worked for a company and made up BS stats about it and I found out (which isn't too difficult with the web at my fingertips) then he'd probably be gone in a second.

The repair/consult company however is less tracable. I'm sure in the past 3 years you probably have done an odd job or two here and there. Stretching this into a little side gig thing is much better than going through the labor of creating a fake company just to be found out.

I agree with the do what you need to do to survive. But a job isn't going to be any good if you get found out and only collect a single paycheck and damage your reputation. It just isn't worth it.

onesaint

It's interesting to hear that leaving work to return to school gets such a bad rap (unemployable). I know it will be a bit late, but I wonder if after you finish WGU, if you will be more marketable with a degree.

If you're down to the last 30 days, going after a job you want is an unaffordable luxury. I might start looking through your local paper and craig's list for anything that might get you by for the next while. God's speed.

Michael.J.Palmer

Never consider lying, even if you think it'll come down to that.

I'm with everyone else, you'll probably just need to accept any contract work that comes your way and try to use that as a way to build some work history.

I also think you'll find the job hunt a little easier once you do get that degree. It's the college student mentality, some employers will see that you have been in school during that span and might not even ask and consider you a recent college grad like any other recent college grad applicant.

instant000

I'm hoping that it'll be a little better for you once you complete the degree.

You might want to place the graduation date pretty early up in the resume, even before the work experience, so potential employers can see that you're a recent graduate.

It would probably help if you could get some gig or something going on the side.

I like shodown's suggestion about the website.

CChN

As a general rule of thumb: lie, ****, steal. Do it well enough and you'll eventually be called "Executive Vice President, Corporate Networks"

scgamer_99

thats a tricky question... look at it this way, have you just been sitting around for 3 years? or have you been doing small jobs here and there? you can always say that you were self employed while you were studying for college. don't flat out lie by saying i was employed by so and so for the past 3 years, streach and bend the truth to fit you circumstances. I have been self employed for the past 3 years while I finished my degree so that i could be better focused on my school work.

hiddenknight821

I just had my interview with a consulting firm last week. They asked about my employment history and asked why I left those jobs. I told them about my entire employment history beside the odd jobs I had before I went to college. Those jobs didn't send me W2 forms or anything like that because I was working under the table. So I never bother bringing it up until my interviewer specifically asked if I had any other jobs before my first real job. I hesitated at first, but then decided to tell her about one of my employers that I used to work for but trying not to give in too much details. Then when she started to inquire more about my employers, I told her politely that I do not wish to disclose any more information about the job I had since she could potentially put my former employers at risk for tax evasion. I only earned a couple of hundred bucks from that job in the summer time, which isn't really a lot. She said I should tell her everything which I disagreed. So instead of lying, I refused to tell her about my ENTIRE employment history, because I find my previous jobs to be irrelevant since there are no documentation that said I worked for them. If I used to work for BK or McDonalds, then that's a different story. I would have reported those jobs. No one has the right to know what job I had that wasn't documented elsewhere. I'm sure a high school senior who works at a strip club would not want to disclose her job either.

Priston

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

I just had my interview with a consulting firm last week. They asked about my employment history and asked why I left those jobs. I told them about my entire employment history beside the odd jobs I had before I went to college. Those jobs didn't send me W2 forms or anything like that because I was working under the table. So I never bother bringing it up until my interviewer specifically asked if I had any other jobs before my first real job. I hesitated at first, but then decided to tell her about one of my employers that I used to work for but trying not to give in too much details. Then when she started to inquire more about my employers, I told her politely that I do not wish to disclose any more information about the job I had since she could potentially put my former employers at risk for tax evasion. I only earned a couple of hundred bucks from that job in the summer time, which isn't really a lot. She said I should tell her everything which I disagreed. So instead of lying, I refused to tell her about my ENTIRE employment history, because I find my previous jobs to be irrelevant since there are no documentation that said I worked for them. If I used to work for BK or McDonalds, then that's a different story. I would have reported those jobs. No one has the right to know what job I had that wasn't documented elsewhere. I'm sure a high school senior who works at a strip club would not want to disclose her job either.

I'm not 100% sure on this, some states might differ, but I did some work for my dad's company and I think if your doing contract work for a company and that company pays you less than $600 during the year, then that company doesn't have to put you on file.

themagicone

Well the only job I've ever had that has required complete job history is trucking. If you've ever been a truck driver you know what I mean. They require a complete 10 year history. Any gaps need to be explained, written and signed. Did work for a contract? A signed letter from the employer is required. The DOT/FMCSA requires that ever single day be accounted for. Not sure why, but it is.

I'm 27, almost 28. I've been working since I've been 14. If I have to account for everything that would be almost 20-30+ employers, if you want to talk contracts/under table employment add another 10-15. I went through a period of a new job every few months. You may call that crazy but I never went down in pay. I started making $5.25/hour at 15, to where I was getting $25/hour avg at my last job. Now I'm back to hoping someone will at least pay me 10-12.

hiddenknight821

Priston wrote: »

I'm not 100% sure on this, some states might differ, but I did some work for my dad's company and I think if your doing contract work for a company and that company pays you less than $600 during the year, then that company doesn't have to put you on file.

Even if that's true, I still should not be require to disclose everything since all I did was physically cleaning up some mess and slacking around, trying to kill time doing some bunch of pointless stuff that's nowhere close to my career. She said it would be important to her, but I don't see why. I find it humiliating to bring it up since I can't remember half of the stuff I did. I would hate to put down the descriptions of my responsibilities since I can't really put it in words professionally.

Psoasman

I would be honest and tell them about the back surgeries. They aren't your fault. Tell them you've recovered and can do the job.

Psoasman

Priston wrote: »

I'm not 100% sure on this, some states might differ, but I did some work for my dad's company and I think if your doing contract work for a company and that company pays you less than $600 during the year, then that company doesn't have to put you on file.

I think its the 1099 form if you make more than $600/year. I used to do some contract work and always got a form 1099 if I made more than $600