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When You’ve Got Something to Hide

January 18, 2012, 1:05 pm

By Allison M. Vaillancourt

You drank too much one night in college and have a felony conviction to show for it. While going through a nasty divorce, you focused more on keeping your wife than on keeping your job. A new dean came on board and decided that you weren’t a good match for her vision of the future.

Question: Which of these should be revealed during your next employment interview?

Answer: None of them, but if the subject comes up, be prepared with an articulate response.

There are a lot of talented people who have made some unfortunate choices or found themselves out of work through no fault of their own, and many of them struggle with how to manage their reputations during the employment process. Some hold their breath and hope that the past won’t catch up with them. Others are tempted to skirt the truth when asked why they left a job or if they have past criminal convictions. Bad idea.

There is no escaping the past, but there are ways to manage it.

The most important piece of advice is not to lie. Ever. During my career I have seen dozens of cases in which an excellent candidate was disqualified not because of a past criminal conviction, but because the candidate failed to reveal it when asked. Likewise, I’ve seen promising finalists go up in flames when the real reasons for a departure were uncovered during a reference check or press-reports review. The past is almost always revealed, so playing offense is essential.

There are some who suggest that negative information be revealed as late in the process as possible and advise applicants to say, “I will discuss it during the interview,” when asked about types of convictions or reasons for leaving. While every case is different, owning up to what happened early in the process gives you an opportunity to spin your own story: “Here’s what happened. Here’s what I learned from it. Here’s what I’ve accomplished since then.” If an application is required, comments such as “DUI while in college”; “Charged with criminal trespassing when dealing with my neighbor over his barking dog”; or “Dean installed new leadership team” can put events into context.

Have you ever had to manage something uncomfortable from your past? How did you do it?

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  • ArthurGuinness

    The Obama administration would do well to keep hands off our education system. Can we afford any more meddling?

  • blesstayo

    What happened to “don’t ask don’t tell”? Should you be discussing your candid opinions on mismanagement and incompetent issues that forced you out of leadership position when you go out for another interview? Won’t the new prospective employers see you as a trouble maker?

    Be ye as wise as the serpent on a job interview?

  • wolf359

    I think the point of the article is that sometimes one must tell.  Applications often ask about DUI or felony convictions, for example. The author is saying that such an incident should be addressed and contextualized (in the best light possible) early in the hiring process. And the same goes for dirt that a candidate might expect his/her former supervisors and colleagues to reveal.

    BTW: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is no longer the policy of the US military.

  • 11182967

    Allison’s comments are a nice complement to this morning’s article on the JuicyCampus guy.  I’m not sure there ever was a time when there were secure secrets, but if so that time is certainly past.  It may be that when the current generation of young people for whom public revelation on social media is routine come of age they will take a more generous view of youthful indiscretions than we do–or perhaps when no one aspires to be discreet there will no longer be indiscretions.  In the meantime, however, it is clearly best to be candid.  Nothing affirms that an act is an impropriety so much as the perpetrator’s efforts to keep it secret–it’s the (attempt at) coverup that does people in.  There are few stresses greater than the fear of being found out.  In that regard, while one should probably not volunteer information about past minor criminal actions, it is wise to be (cautiously) pre-emptive about workplace issues which could well appear in recommendations, official or unofficial.  We’ve all had those issues, and nearly everyone understands.  If someone in a potential supervisory position does not understand, you don’t want to be working for that person anyway.    

  • 7738373863

    “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is trumped by CORI in the case of a felony, and by one’s c.v. in the case of losing/leaving a prior position.  I think thee examples and the advice in Vaillancourt’s blog are spot on.

  • yellow1

    The college where I work has an electronic application process that asks about things like felony convictions. We trust people are honest during that process, but anyone hired must have a criminal background check completed. If/When something comes up there that was not answered on the application, the applicant is thrown out because s/he lied on his/her application.

  • temporaryname

    I was involved in a search that failed because the candidate we liked didn’t list a felony conviction on her background check form. She was offered the position, but the offer was withdrawn by the university when the background check found that she had omitted pertinent information, and by then it was too late to get our second choice candidate. (If she had listed it the background check would have been more stringent, but it was the sort of offense that wouldn’t have prevented her from ultimately being offered the position.)

    And it didn’t just affect her–the department never got that line back.

  • pusspuss

    When it came up in my phone interview, I told the committee to ask my references about my situation and let my references explain so that it came from a more  objective source.  Then I addressed the situation directly during the in-person interview.  I was hired.

  • jrodenbeck

    Delighted to observe that Professor Bellos’ reading habits parallel my own. I am 75. retired, and live in France. I subscribe to the New Yorker. the  NYRB. the Economist and the IHT. (Our edition of the latter is printed in France a few miles from here. Since the news tends to arouse contempt or fury, I always turn first to the bandes dessinées.) I dropped TLS after it refused twice to allow my rejoinders to extraordinarily ignorant attacks on my own pieces.  We have three local daily newspapers, of which I usually read one, and on Sundays I buy a copy of the Weekend FT. We occasionally buy  Le Monde or Libé. I have no time to read professional journals and not much for literature. 

  • sportss

    500 million in endowment

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