Employment History question

mountainofdebt

Need some advice as to the best way to approach the employment history part of application forms.

Back in 2008 I started work for a company and hated it from day 1 so much so that I left after a few months - as far as they were concerned I was leaving with nothing to go to whereas in reality I had another position lined up.

However after only a few months I was dismissed from this position for gross misconduct -which was universally recognised as not for a gross misconduct offence but the manager wanting to prove a point.

Since then I've had a number of short term contracts but when applying for jobs would you put down the real last full-time job - and if so how would you explain the dismissal ? - or would you put down the previous full time role which would be easier to explain?

McKneff

However after only a few months I was dismissed from this position for gross misconduct -which was universally recognised as not for a gross misconduct offence but the manager wanting to prove a point.


Want to elaborate, you cant get sacked for a manager proving a point.
You cant expect help if you dont give all the facts. tbh

mountainofdebt

My 'offence' was not to bank some cheques that had been received by the office. They weren't concealed, they were kept where all cheques had been previously kept prior to banking, in drawers that were locked every night, the key to which the manager had access to.

The situation with the manager was that there had been issues with the previous staff which ended up with them taking the Company to an ET which did affect the relationship with the new staff - to the point where we were frightened to make a decision with out the manager's agreement, even though we were all intelligent people who could have made the decisions under any other circumstances.

Although I appealed the decision the size of the Company meant it was always going to be a paper exercise.

placido

There are two main issues here. Moving from job to job in short periods of time and leaving one job under rather unhappy circumstances.

If we deal with the second part first. There obviously would not be much point in applying for a job in a bank, or the police service, and telling them the truth about your dismissal for alleged gross misconduct. On the other hand if you did not tell them and got the job and they later found out, things could get very sticky indeed, especially with the PS.

I think it would be best to avoid jobs that involve finance for a couple of years until the Gross Misconduct thingy becomes buried in the past.

With regard to not staying in jobs for very long. This obviously puts employers off because they think that you will join them and then get bored and be off in a week or two.

This used to be a problem for me when I was young and I usually got around it by creative accounting, extending the amount of time spent at various employments to make me look like a long-stayer. Trouble arises of course if the employer takes up references and then the creative accounting is exposed.

A friend of mine used to get around this by searching around for factories that were closed down and boarded up, and putting their addresses down as places of former employment.

I eventually settled down and got long term employment and I am sure you will to. This is usually just an unhappy phase you go through.

Some people will get excited and judgemental and say that creative accounting and stuff is fraud or suchlike. But I would simply remind them of some cutting words from "Old Ollie" (Cromwell);

"It matters not one whit how a man is elected to office; what matters is the calibre of the man".

Good Luck.

m_13

If you apply for any job that involves access to government data - local council etc - then the likelihood is that you will need to be Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checked.

Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) (formally Basic Check) and Enhanced Baseline Standard (EBS) (formerly Enhanced Basic Check or Basic Check +): These are not formal security clearances; they are a package of pre-employment checks that represent good recruitment and employment practice. A BPSS or EBS aims to provide an appropriate level of assurance as to the trustworthiness, integrity, and probable reliability of prospective employees and should be applied to:

• All successful applicants for employment in the public sector and Armed Forces (both permanent and temporary)
• All private sector employees working on government contracts (e.g. contractors and consultants), who require access to, or knowledge of, government assets protectively marked up to and including CONFIDENTIAL.

BPSS and EBS are normally conducted by the recruitment authorities or companies to the agreed standard, and because they underpin the national security vetting process it is vital that they are carried out properly and thoroughly and before any further vetting is completed

Part of the BPSS process is verifying the employment history given on the form and a dim view is taken of those who fail to disclose or provide misinformation.

I'd be very careful about giving any false information on an job application form, particularly one where you sign a declaration to say that the information is true.

mountainofdebt

Thanks guys for your thoughts.

Just to clarify the sort term contracts have been more temporary positions so I guess I could 'clump' those together in a CV listing the duties that I have done.

However just to muddy the waters even further (or perhaps it will make them clearer,lol!) is that since June 2008 I have held down a part time evening job - however it has nothing to do with what I am used to doing during the day - lets say for argument is working in a pub.

Would it be better then to put this employment down as well and if so where - in present employment ot in the bit where you list previous employment or would you leave it off?

muckle_dunt

I too am in the same situation - I was dismissed from a high street store for giving an unwanted money off voucher to another customer (this practice happens all the time) - but the store was new and the manager was out for the scalp of an ex store manager(me) - in my previous job this behaviour would have been encouraged.

However I have moved on and I have found a temping job withing a government agency and I wish to apply for the permanent role - I have not mentioned to my temp agency about my previous position and dismissal - and I seemed to have passed the security clearance but like yourself I don't know whether I should mention on my applicaton form my previous job and allow the interviewers to make up their own mind around my dismissal

What should I do