Meh. Job applications are worse than the Borg.

Drez · November 2011

So, this particular application is asking for 10 years worth of employment history. Which I have, and which includes a ton of shitty jobs I had when I was 21.

I just don't have these dates anymore. And I think at least one of the companies don't even exist anymore.

Is it possible to find this information out via social security office or...something? Is it imperative that I am totally accurate with manager's names, contact numbers, start and end dates? I don't even remember salaries for some of these places.

I should note that none of that early experience relates to the class of jobs I am applying to now...but it is still requiring it.

Deebaser · November 2011

Don't stress, only put relevant grown up jobs on it.

Drez · November 2011

Deebaser wrote:

Don't stress, only put relevant grown up jobs on it.

OK, thanks.

edit: So basically when I turned 23 is when I got into Finance, which was 8 years ago. It would be fine to put only those jobs, yeah?

Deebaser · November 2011

Yes, even though they're saying 10 years, they really don't give a flying fuck about whether you spent a summer as a barista in 2001 or 2002.

bowen · November 2011

I agree with deebaser.

I removed things like burger king and UPS off my resume and "work experience" because they're not relevant. Who cares what I did when I was 18? If they question you, obviously tell them you worked at your typical "kid" jobs. Unless they're trying to get a certain aged person at that position.

Drez · November 2011

Motherfucker. The application won't let me submit with less than 10 years. I fucking loathe this.

edit: No, wait, I was wrong. I was missing some data in one date field, but the error it gave suggested I needed to show 10 years.

Thanks, guys.

Tox · November 2011

However, if it comes up in the interview process (and this probably goes without saying, but whatever) just be honest about it. You didn't really get into the field until (first job you described on the resume), before that you worked odd places here or there, while trying to decide what you wanted to do.

Drez · November 2011

Oh I have nothing to hide in that regard.

This is totally just laziness. I have zero desire to look up employment dates from my Electronics Boutique/TJ Maxx/telemarketing days.

LewieP's Mummy · November 2011

Most jobs I go for I have to provide my employment history from when I started work after graduation - 30 years ago! Some of my dates are a bit fuzzy, but as long as they are vaguely accurate, its not tripped me up so far! Keep a record of them.

bowen · November 2011

Yeah if there's one thing I can pass off to newbies or recent graduates it's keep track of when you worked, where you worked, and how long you worked there. It is such a dick to try and backtrack.

Usagi · November 2011

bowen wrote:

Yeah if there's one thing I can pass off to newbies or recent graduates it's keep track of when you worked, where you worked, and how long you worked there. It is such a dick to try and backtrack.

Yep, also your supervisor at the time and a phone number

Ruckus · November 2011

seconding for Super and contact info, Since highschool I've worked at:
-A Gas station, which has changed hands at least 5 times since I worked there, is under a different flagship brand now (was a Shell, now an Esso)
-A Red Lobster, which no longer exists (building were it was is now an empty lot).
-An Internet Pharmacy, sold off it's entire customer base and was dissolved. <-- First job in career, 2.5 years
-A Large Format Print equipment reseller, which went into protection, was sold off, and dissolved. <-- Second job in career, 3.5 years
-My current employer <--Third job in career, 2 years and counting.

I still maintain contact with at least my Supervisors from jobs in my career, the first one I left on good terms after significantly increases their efficiency and reliability, essentially I worked myself out of a job anyway. The second, we both got terminated at the same time, along with a whole bunch of staff from the same location (basically all the IT and financial staff), we still all meet up a couple times a year for drinks etc. My current supervisor actually works in Toronto, so it's unlikely I'd maintain very much contact were I to ever leave, but this company is pretty much guaranteed to endure in some form and record keeping here is extremely fastidious.

fightinfilipino · November 2011

Deebaser wrote:

Yes, even though they're saying 10 years, they really don't give a flying fuck about whether you spent a summer as a barista in 2001 or 2002.

dammit, Deebaser, i've seen you give this sort of advice before, and it's still wrong.

employers CAN check your past employment by doing very basic social security/credit checks. if an employer sees you've omitted something, they can hold that against you and (likely) not offer you a job on that basis.

also, if an employer is asking specifically for 10 years of employment history, there's usually an important reason for it. for example, US Federal employment does it for security background checks. other employers do it for less stringent things. doesn't mean you should omit things if you're being specifically asked for 10 years of work history.

you CAN contact social security and request your employment history. i've done it. downside is, it takes 6 months for the SSA to get back to you. try other methods. use the free, official credit report check and see if anything comes up. this also gives you great help on listing where you've lived in the past few years. check to see if you have old paystubs from prior employers, or old resumes, or any other old documents. yeah it's a pain in the ass, but it is better than lying.

also, many employment applications do have you sign statements saying that you swear that everything on the form is true (to the best of your knowledge). may or may not be enforceable, but the point is, you don't want to get to the point where someone is trying to enforce something you signed against you.

JohnnyCache · November 2011

The compromise I've always taken is to list jobs more than 5 years old by quarter, IE "Spring of 99-winter of 01"

FF's ideas about pulling your own credit and getting your work history direct from SSA are good things for everyone to do every now and again. Although the basic credit check most employers run doesn't have a chrono. employment history. It will only have disclosed employments at time of application for credit.

Usagi · November 2011

fightinfilipino wrote:

Deebaser wrote:

Yes, even though they're saying 10 years, they really don't give a flying fuck about whether you spent a summer as a barista in 2001 or 2002.

dammit, Deebaser, i've seen you give this sort of advice before, and it's still wrong.

employers CAN check your past employment by doing very basic social security/credit checks. if an employer sees you've omitted something, they can hold that against you and (likely) not offer you a job on that basis.

also, if an employer is asking specifically for 10 years of employment history, there's usually an important reason for it. for example, US Federal employment does it for security background checks. other employers do it for less stringent things. doesn't mean you should omit things if you're being specifically asked for 10 years of work history.

you CAN contact social security and request your employment history. i've done it. downside is, it takes 6 months for the SSA to get back to you. try other methods. use the free, official credit report check and see if anything comes up. this also gives you great help on listing where you've lived in the past few years. check to see if you have old paystubs from prior employers, or old resumes, or any other old documents. yeah it's a pain in the ass, but it is better than lying.

also, many employment applications do have you sign statements saying that you swear that everything on the form is true (to the best of your knowledge). may or may not be enforceable, but the point is, you don't want to get to the point where someone is trying to enforce something you signed against you.

Well, if you're going to talk federal employment, you'll probably also want to have your residential history handy (gotta love that SF-86)

Deebaser · November 2011

fightinfilipino wrote:

Deebaser wrote:

Yes, even though they're saying 10 years, they really don't give a flying fuck about whether you spent a summer as a barista in 2001 or 2002.

dammit, Deebaser, i've seen you give this sort of advice before, and it's still wrong.

employers CAN check your past employment by doing very basic social security/credit checks. if an employer sees you've omitted something, they can hold that against you and (likely) not offer you a job on that basis.

Relax, Chief. Drez is a smart guy and would have mentioned if he was applying to the Foreign Service or the CIA. Yeah for that, it's important. For a random corporate job, most really do not give any amount of fuck. Also, most outsource the background check anyway and the companies providing background checks don't give you an accordian file dossier containing your permanent record.

It's usually about two sheets containing red flags of interest and your credit score.

In summary, don't omit anything from your employment history, but you don't have to go back to when you were working at Auntie Anne's Junior year of high school.

Drez · November 2011

Funny thing about supervisor info is that I think only one of the managers I have worked for in the last decade still works at the same company.

fightinfilipino · November 2011

Deebaser wrote:

Relax, Chief. Drez is a smart guy and would have mentioned if he was applying to the Foreign Service or the CIA. Yeah for that, it's important. For a random corporate job, most really do not give any amount of fuck. Also, most outsource the background check anyway and the companies providing background checks don't give you an accordian file dossier containing your permanent record.

It's usually about two sheets containing red flags of interest and your credit score.

In summary, don't omit anything from your employment history, but you don't have to go back to when you were working at Auntie Anne's Junior year of high school.

if it specifically asks for the last 10 years of employment, don't omit anything out of those 10 years. it's less that HR might not care and more that you don't lie by omission. like i said, a lot of these apps/forms typically have you sign something to the effect of swearing that what you put down is factual to the best of your knowledge.

zepherin · November 2011

Also on a resume you can combine experience together if you do it right. If you worked retail at 5 different places over 4 years you can combo that up. Something like

Sales Associate 2000-2005 Target,Best Buy, Media Play, Walmart
<shit you did>

Or however your resume format allows.

bowen · November 2011

The 10 year thing is a guide, not a fact. "If you've worked in the field for 10 years, please list it" they honestly do not give 10 fucks if you worked at burger king or wally world. They want to see your relevant employment history to see your expertise. They're not giving you top secret clearance.

That's all sorts of crazy. I have never been questioned as to why I didn't list my high school jobs when I applied for degree oriented jobs.

Molybdenum · November 2011

But then again, how do they know to ask questions about it if you didn't tell them?

override367 · November 2011

zepherin wrote:

Also on a resume you can combine experience together if you do it right. If you worked retail at 5 different places over 4 years you can combo that up. Something like

Sales Associate 2000-2005 Target,Best Buy, Media Play, Walmart
<shit you did>

Or however your resume format allows.

I do this too, this is what the first entry of mine looks like

2003-2008 Retail Sales (Wal-Mart, Target, Movie Gallery)

Syphyre · November 2011

Definitely include ten years worth, simply because they are asking for it. Depending on the company, HR departments can be very picky, and if they have to sort through tons of applications and are able to say "welp he didn't write everything down, into the trash pile" they will do it, just to decrease the items on the stack.

However I agree with the method of listing people are stating. Dates aren't necessary. Months or even Quarters are fine for insignificant jobs. Combining employment as long as you list all employers is fine as well.

Just make sure you list it all. It's a PITA, but you're covering yourself.

zepherin · November 2011

for a federal government background check they only wanted 7 years. 10 is a bit much IMHO.

jclast · November 2011

zepherin wrote:

for a federal government background check they only wanted 7 years. 10 is a bit much IMHO.

It depends on the check. I just got done filling out paperwork to include job history, residence, and character reference for the last 10 years.

tofu · December 2011

Drez wrote:

Oh I have nothing to hide in that regard.

This is totally just laziness. I have zero desire to look up employment dates from my Electronics Boutique/TJ Maxx/telemarketing days.

I would include exactly what they ask for, the last thing you want to do on a job application is not follow directions and appear lazy

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Meh. Job applications are worse than the Borg.

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