[Swatee]

Hi I am a licensed CPA with 6-7 years of experience and recently got a job offer for a Senior Accountant.The offer is contingent on a successful background check.I lied on my resume about my recent work history because I got terminated from the my most recent job and didn’t want to show that on the resume (lasted 6 months).It was a termination at will and they didn’t give any reason.So I said on my resume that I still work for my previous company where I worked only for an year but I showed that I worked there for 1.7 years.Background check guys asked for a W-2 and I told them clearly that I had another job that I excluded.After knowing this will my company disqualify me from the job offer?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I do not know what to say regarding your situation. I wish you still get the job.

There was a discussion on a forum regarding W2 form request, and the guy said:

“OP, this just happened to me. It's not necessarily the requirement of the company you are going to work for, it's the third party background checker's requirement. That is how they do their due diligence before submitting a report to the company.

If you can't find the W2s, like me, just go back and tell them that you do not keep old W2s and have made every effort to find them to no avail. I told them this and they noted it in their report. I still passed the background check and the company that hired me didn't ask for further documentation.”

Best of luck to you!

[CoachEmUp]

Your info is a little confusing. You were there 6 months but you told them 1.7 years? That would be a difference of 1 year and not 6 months as you stated.

A background check won't probably pick anything up on your previous employer… but if you produce a W-2 w 6 months pay instead of a year, they can connect the dots that you were either making half of what you claimed or you got fired. Either way it's a really bad look to do what you did. Maybe you lied to make it easier to get an interview, but now that you have an offer you're in worse trouble.

Regardless I think coming clean to this potential employer is a no go. They won't hire you. If you have to hand over a W-2 then it is also a no go. I would politely tell them you decline to hand over a W-2… it seems like an odd request.

[Starved_Wolf]

I'm thinking you should come clean about what really happened.
People get terminated from their jobs all the time, but lying about it and covering it up is what makes everything worse.

[MIsconnie]

Background checks are done by third party companies who verify employment which includes length of employment. Your best bet is to come clean. If they retract the offer update your resume with correct information, having that on your resume does not mean you cannot get hired.

[Ian]

I think your only viable ethical option is to tell them you're no longer interested in the position and to learn the lesson in the future not to exaggerate on quantifiable facts. If you tell them the truth or turn over your W-2, I would be surprised if they go through with the hiring.

Depending on the size of your area and the industry the position was in this is the type of thing that will follow you for a long time. In my area and industry everyone knows everyone else and stories like yours stay attached to people.

[Missy]

Excluding a job from a resume particularly if it doesn't add marketable value to your skill set is no big deal. Saying you're still employed somewhere you haven't worked at in six months can disqualify from jobs as it's a minimum requirement for most new hires to verify title and dates worked at a previous position.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[YouCanDoIt]

You might be able to get into the job now, but there is no guarantee that you won't be terminated later once the truth surfaces in one way or another. I would not take the risk and decline. An example, a lady who was in a manager position at a bank, lied on her resume about having a masters from another country. I don't know how this particular bank found out, but when they did, she was fired. How do you suppose her co-workers or team remember her.

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[Pete]

“Coming clean” is probably not your best course of action. If you do this the'll almost certainly not hire you, plus you'll tarnish your name. A better option would probably be to use the “i'm not interested in this position any longer.”

Still better yet, you can try to tell the employer that you're not comfortable providing said documentation; it would be like a future employer asking for your tax return. While not illegal, such an action is unethical. An employer can now discriminate based upon your age, claiming some other reason. Further, an employer will use prior pay history for free statistical analysis (how much do other employers pay for xyz?) or cutting your pay for the future positions (if his former employer only pays xyz, we don't need to pay the extra 15k that we were considering paying). Taking this course of action will probably also result in your disqualification from the position (since they'll likely provide it to someone willing to show the documentation), but at least your name won't be tarnished. Further, there's still, albeit a slim chance, they'll hire you without the W2.

If you refuse to provide a W2, make sure you have a strong reference because they will ask this person to verify your employment and work prowess. Usually, this is how they verify employment, not through tax documents.

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[Author]

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