Job interview and omission on form

creme egg

Hi all.

Hoping I can get a bit of advice. I have done something that you should never do.
I have left something off on a job application.
I was with a company for 14 months and got a better job offer with a semi state body.
When I moved to the new job, I hated it. Not a nice working environment, It was supposed to be flexible working but it was not. I was there late every evening. Not getting home until 7.30/8 There was no good reason for this, just the culture there. I could not do this as I had commitments at home. So after 4 months I had had enough.
My previous employer said if it did not work out I could go back to them, which I did. I have now been there 30 months in total.

I applied for another job close to home. This is with a government body. I can't tell you what the difference would mean to me. Instead of a three hour commute every day. It would b 30 minutes.

I had to fill out an application form for this job and decided to leave off the 4 months I was with the other employer. It looks like I had continuous employment with the other employer for 30 months. (In reality it's 14 months with current employer, 4 months with other place, and now 14 months with current employer)

Will they find out? Should I come clean in the interview and tell them about the 4 months. How should I explain? I was just going to say the working hours did not suit.

Just to add, I've been working for 15+ years and never did anything like this before. Always stayed with a job for 2+ years.

Please help! I'm a bag of nerves.

TIA.
Creme egg.

Lux23

Did they ask you directly if you had worked for a public sector body? Because if they did that isn't omission, it is a lie. If not then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

creme egg

Lux23 wrote: »

Did they ask you directly if you had worked for a public sector body? Because if they did that isn't omission, it is a lie. If not then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

No. They did not ask directly about prior employment with a public body.
Ok. Good to hear! Thanks.

livedadream

dont panic about it, your fine...
if it comes up say you left it off your application as it was so short and you went back to your original role.
it is HUGE that your old employee asked you to come back, is speaks very highly of you as a person and worker.

less stress more success mate! good luck!

creme egg

livedadream wrote: »

dont panic about it, your fine...
if it comes up say you left it off your application as it was so short and you went back to your original role.
it is HUGE that your old employee asked you to come back, is speaks very highly of you as a person and worker.

less stress more success mate! good luck!

Thank you Livedadream!!
I'm overthinking it...i think 😂

livedadream

creme egg wrote: »

livedadream wrote: »

dont panic about it, your fine...
if it comes up say you left it off your application as it was so short and you went back to your original role.
it is HUGE that your old employee asked you to come back, is speaks very highly of you as a person and worker.

less stress more success mate! good luck!

Thank you Livedadream!!  
I'm overthinking it...i think 😂

everyone does.... your human, go figure.
Best of luck

creme egg

livedadream wrote: »

dont panic about it, your fine...
if it comes up say you left it off your application as it was so short and you went back to your original role.
it is HUGE that your old employee asked you to come back, is speaks very highly of you as a person and worker.

less stress more success mate! good luck!

Thank you Livedadream!!
I'm overthinking it...i think 😂

Jim2007

So your resume shows that you worked continously for your current employer? If so then it is not an omission, it is a blatant lie!

And the worst part is that if you want to keep the pretense up, you're going to have to ask your current employer to lie for you in a reference letter if you are successful. This never turns out well.

davo10

Jim2007 wrote: »

So your resume shows that you worked continously for your current employer? If so then it is not an omission, it is a blatant lie!

And the worst part is that if you want to keep the pretense up, you're going to have to ask your current employer to lie for you in a reference letter if you are successful. This never turns out well.

Over reacting a little?

Op don't sweat it, makes absolutely no difference. Your boss thought enough of you to take you back, the job change based on travel is completely understandable.

Jim2007

davo10 wrote: »

Over reacting a little?

Op don't sweat it, makes absolutely no difference. Your boss thought enough of you to take you back, the job change based on travel is completely understandable.

Nope, it is what it is. And nothing changes people's impression of you as much asking them to lie for you. People tend to want to keep their good name and reputation, so the OP should expect a reference that may disclose two service periods.

seamus

Jim2007 wrote: »

so the OP should expect a reference that may disclose two service periods.

And?
Prepare a simple explanation if it comes up. "I took a few months off to take care of my mother/grandmother who was recovering from an operation", "I decided to take a short career break and think about my options".

You put it down as continuous employment because you forgot about the break, in your mind you've worked continuously for that company since XX date.

It's not a big deal.

creme egg

Jim2007 wrote: »

So your resume shows that you worked continously for your current employer? If so then it is not an omission, it is a blatant lie!

And the worst part is that if you want to keep the pretense up, you're going to have to ask your current employer to lie for you in a reference letter if you are successful. This never turns out well.

Thanks for your input Jim2007
Just to clarify. I will not be needing a reference letter from my current employer so I would not expect them to lie for me. I would never put someone in a position where they had to think about doing that for me.