Can you leave a past employer off of your resume if you only served the probationary period?

Answer 1

You're under no obligation to list all your previous employers on your resume. In fact, it's generally a good idea to only list jobs that you think help make you more qualified for the position you're applying for... Just be prepared to explain any gaps in your resume during an interview or in a cover letter.

The potential risk in leaving some of your job history off your resume is that the employer will notice the "hole" in the timeline and it will look suspicious. They might wonder what you were doing during this period.

Be careful about leaving anything out for the most recent ten year period. For the past two assignments give year and month of beginning and end of assignment. Beyond 10 years or so, you can be very broad. But, don't quibble or equivocate or downright lie. It may be considered grounds for termination. For higher level assignments, always assume that a full check of all credentials and references will be done. Otherwise the recruiting firm really hasn't serviced the client properly. Any negatives (and most of us have at least one glitch in our careers) can be handled verbally (best) or in the cover letter. Be careful. It makes a very bad impression indeed if it emerges that you are trying to hide something. Don't make the mistake of assuming that a potential employer is stupid and won't spot a gap in your record.

Answer 2

That really depends on the situation. If it was a horrible experience and you don't want to face the idea of talking about your work there in an interview I can see not wanting to put it on your resume at all. But you have to realise that a blank spot on your resume can look bad too.

You can go ahead and put the job on your resume but not include the employers contact information for a reference. It's up to you who you include as a reference and as long as you have 2-3 other people to be references, you don't have to provide someone you know will give you a bad reference.

It is better to do this than to implicitly lie and try to convince them you weren't working at all during this period. Most interviews these days revolve around your skills and problem-solving abilities and don't discuss your resume and past experience as much. If asked why you left that job, have an answer ready. Something like, "I wasn't being challenged enough." or "It was not an ideal fit with my abilities." are pretty safe answers.

That said, if the job only lasted a month or two, leaving it off is understandable and won't raise many eyebrows.

Answer 3

How long were you working for them?

Was it 'fired' because of a corporate restructuring/downsizing or did you do something wrong that caused the dismissal?

Depending on the answer could mean different things.

If it was a very short term job approx. 6 months, you may not need to put it on your resume if its 1+ yrs, you probably do, but then you need to be prepared to answer the question "why did you leave your last employer"

Answer 4

Personally, I think it can lead to your resume getting cluttered, so I'd leave it off and include it in your references instead. I've moved a couple times, so I do include the city and state just to keep it in perspective:

Example:

Starbucks Coffee Company, Austin, TX 2007-2010

Position: Barista, Assistant Manager

Duties: Customer Service, Employee Management

or

Mrs. Betty Jones, Business Owner Los Angeles, CA 2005-2007

Position: Personal Assistant

Duties: Scheduling, Inventory, Document-processing, Workshop Presentations

Answer 5

You can in the sense that it's not illegal. An employment gap on your resume is going to look odd to prospective employers, though.

Generally speaking, you're likely to be better off listing it and being prepared to explain it. Do not use this as an opportunity to "bash" your former employer, since that's also a red flag to prospective employers.

Answer 6

Yes, with a resume, you are allowed to pick and choose which employer(s) you want to include or exclude. Which one(s) to leave out, if any, is a matter of opinion and best judgment. So you might decide to leave job C out in one case but include it in another.

Answer 7

Yes, Its your choice how you want to present yourself in the best light. Many times employee's leave a company when the expectations presented by the company did not match yours.

Answer 8

usually go back about three to five years or longer if previous jobs are relevant to experience needed at the position applying for