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Background Check. Should I Mention I Was Dismissed From A Previous Job ?
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AlpacaPunch
Posts: 2 Newbie

Hi Guys
I'm applying for a security job and this means a full background check by Experian as in credit history , criminal DBS check and employment history. It's the employment history that has me slightly worried. A year ago I was working in customer service and what happened was I answered a very difficult customer back. She decided to make a complaint to my supervisor and I got called into the office got given a friendly warning warning off the record. However when the manager found out I got called into the office and told I was no longer employed there. A total storm in a tea cup where I never raised my voice or swore or anything unacceptable and it was work place politics more than anything else that led to my dismissal
The thing is should I've been asked by Experian as to the reasons I've left all my jobs over the last five years. Should I be totally honest in saying I was dismissed ? I know it's a black mark against me being dismissed but I'm thinking lying on a disclosure form might actually be seen as a bigger sin and because I was dismissed after two months rather than three it's not like I can say "Well it was a sort mutual parting of the ways after I completed my three month probation period" and I take it Experian are employed to carry out checks that are a bit more intense than merely saying to prospective employers "We've checked this man out and he is who says he is and has no criminal convictions" ? So my question is ....
Should I be totally 100 per cent honest with an Experian background check ?
I'm applying for a security job and this means a full background check by Experian as in credit history , criminal DBS check and employment history. It's the employment history that has me slightly worried. A year ago I was working in customer service and what happened was I answered a very difficult customer back. She decided to make a complaint to my supervisor and I got called into the office got given a friendly warning warning off the record. However when the manager found out I got called into the office and told I was no longer employed there. A total storm in a tea cup where I never raised my voice or swore or anything unacceptable and it was work place politics more than anything else that led to my dismissal
The thing is should I've been asked by Experian as to the reasons I've left all my jobs over the last five years. Should I be totally honest in saying I was dismissed ? I know it's a black mark against me being dismissed but I'm thinking lying on a disclosure form might actually be seen as a bigger sin and because I was dismissed after two months rather than three it's not like I can say "Well it was a sort mutual parting of the ways after I completed my three month probation period" and I take it Experian are employed to carry out checks that are a bit more intense than merely saying to prospective employers "We've checked this man out and he is who says he is and has no criminal convictions" ? So my question is ....
Should I be totally 100 per cent honest with an Experian background check ?
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Comments
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Lying to a question asked for a security job doesn’t seem like a very good idea
Not being 100% honest - the same
I would pre-empt and get your explanation in beforehand to whomever1 -
AlpacaPunch said:Hi Guys
I'm applying for a security job and this means a full background check by Experian as in credit history , criminal DBS check and employment history. It's the employment history that has me slightly worried. A year ago I was working in customer service and what happened was I answered a very difficult customer back. She decided to make a complaint to my supervisor and I got called into the office got given a friendly warning warning off the record. However when the manager found out I got called into the office and told I was no longer employed there. A total storm in a tea cup where I never raised my voice or swore or anything unacceptable and it was work place politics more than anything else that led to my dismissal
The thing is should I've been asked by Experian as to the reasons I've left all my jobs over the last five years. Should I be totally honest in saying I was dismissed ? I know it's a black mark against me being dismissed but I'm thinking lying on a disclosure form might actually be seen as a bigger sin and because I was dismissed after two months rather than three it's not like I can say "Well it was a sort mutual parting of the ways after I completed my three month probation period" and I take it Experian are employed to carry out checks that are a bit more intense than merely saying to prospective employers "We've checked this man out and he is who says he is and has no criminal convictions" ? So my question is ....
Should I be totally 100 per cent honest with an Experian background check ?0 -
AlpacaPunch said:Hi Guys
I'm applying for a security job and this means a full background check by Experian as in credit history , criminal DBS check and employment history. It's the employment history that has me slightly worried. A year ago I was working in customer service and what happened was I answered a very difficult customer back. She decided to make a complaint to my supervisor and I got called into the office got given a friendly warning warning off the record. However when the manager found out I got called into the office and told I was no longer employed there. A total storm in a tea cup where I never raised my voice or swore or anything unacceptable and it was work place politics more than anything else that led to my dismissal
The thing is should I've been asked by Experian as to the reasons I've left all my jobs over the last five years. Should I be totally honest in saying I was dismissed ? I know it's a black mark against me being dismissed but I'm thinking lying on a disclosure form might actually be seen as a bigger sin and because I was dismissed after two months rather than three it's not like I can say "Well it was a sort mutual parting of the ways after I completed my three month probation period" and I take it Experian are employed to carry out checks that are a bit more intense than merely saying to prospective employers "We've checked this man out and he is who says he is and has no criminal convictions" ? So my question is ....
Should I be totally 100 per cent honest with an Experian background check ?Googling on your question might have been both quicker and easier, if you're only after simple facts rather than opinions!0 -
Without a doubt you mention it - the moment they find out - and you've not been up-front - you'll be out the door before even getting in.
If you are pro-active, and say that you were dismissed from a previous role and gave some context, they'd see that you were the kind of person that was up-front and honest with nothing to hide.They might not give you the job as a result - but the other way around of them finding out through their own enquiries would result in them pretty much definitely not giving you the job.
I'd certainly take the chance of telling them and explaining the ins an outs, but keep it factual, and without excess emotion and opinion. Also be frank that you learnt something from the experience.
'I took a call one afternoon, and the customer was argumentative, and although I believe I handled the call well, they then made a complaint, which was investigated by my line manager with a decision to take no further action, and for some reason was then escalated to their line manager who dismissed me. On reflection I could have handled the call differently, and have learnt that in the event of a customer complaining in future, I'd introduce a more senior member of the team to the call at the earliest opportunity to try and smooth the waters'. (for example)3 -
Have to do similar for all my jobs as work in financial services. Personally, I just give a basic response, normally just one word... resignation, redundancy, dismissal etc. I've never gone into the detail of what occurred or why it happened etc as part of the process with Experian or anyone else doing the checks... if its been part of the process to explain its been in the interview.
With less than 2 years service you can be dismissed easily and without repercussions and it isn't necessarily a reflection on you personally... long off my CV these days but was hired by an outsourcing call centre whilst at uni to work with a new client for them who wanted things up and running fast. Came in, did the basic basic training was expecting then to do the system training etc but they told us not to come in the next week and then we all got told we were being let go as they'd lost the contract/ client had pulled out at the last minute.1 -
If you were there for only a couple of months. .why put it on your CV at all? Might be too late for this job but I'd just get rid of that job altogether and replace it with 'did voluntary work for family business' or some such. You can't let an a**e customer destroy your potential job opportunities!
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Iamdebtfree said:If you were there for only a couple of months. .why put it on your CV at all? Might be too late for this job but I'd just get rid of that job altogether and replace it with 'did voluntary work for family business' or some such. You can't let an a**e customer destroy your potential job opportunities!0
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Yeah now that I've given my question some thought - and read the replies - I do think I'll be totally honest. We all know someone who just started a job and within a month start phoning up sick then they get the sack. Not because they;re absent all the time but because they failed to mention they're suffering from a chronic illness that causes them to absent all the time ie they lied in their application
As for Iamdebtfree;s question about why put it on my CV I don't actually put it on my CV when I'm applying for jobs but Experian and the other vetting companies also want a letter of entitlement from the job centre so they can check when I was claiming benefits, Because I wasn't getting enough hours in my customer service job I still got some universal benefits though it was literally a few quid a month. This would flag if someone like Experian went to all the trouble of checking and noticed that I must have been working if I'm getting 20 quid for the month and again "Aw sorry guv I forgot I was working part time for a couple of months last year" doesn't sound like a reasonable excuse. It does say in the application that Experian aren't worried about gaps less than 31 days but two months would be a different matter0 -
Iamdebtfree said:If you were there for only a couple of months. .why put it on your CV at all? Might be too late for this job but I'd just get rid of that job altogether and replace it with 'did voluntary work for family business' or some such. You can't let an a**e customer destroy your potential job opportunities!
You obviously become unstuck very quickly @lamdebtfree when you say you were unemployed for a period of a couple of months but your bank statements reveal a salary coming in from a company you have missed off your CV. Yes its very intrusive but these are the joys of working in certain industries that require this level of background checking to ensure your an appropriate member of staff.0
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