Big problem, startin new job - NEED Advice!

kennyg

Hi All,

OK I need some good advice on this one so please don't hold back or anything - just tell it like it is...

I've just found out in the last few weeks that I was successful in an interview for a job that I went for. I'm working in a pretty crappy job at the moment that's good craic and all but it's not exactly a career thing(although the experience will stand me etc). Problem is I lied on my CV and in the interview and I don't know if I'm gonna get away with it or not, or even if it's in any way possible to. Basically on my CV I stated that I had a Leaving Cert, and a pretty decent one at that (7 subjects with grades and all - adding up to about 350pts)... Problem is I don't have a leaving, at least I completely fu*ked up my leaving and I only attended 4 exams most of which I did pretty awful on. I should have done a hell of a lot better, there's no question about that - I would consider myself to be pretty intelligent. For reasons I won't go into here I messed up and I've had to live with it for a few years now(I'm 21 now). I've always faked my LC results on my CV because I suspect if I didn't and just had my Junior Cert down on my CV I would never even get called for an interview. It's never really been a problem up until now. I've never been asked to produce the actual piece of paper except once and I just said I had lost it and I would need to find out how to get another copy... it was forgotten about thankfully. Basically during the interview the one of the interviewers was asking me what I got in my LC and I rattled off the usual Eng, Maths B1 C3 etc pretty much off by heart as I've memorised my "fake" results for such moments. She then asked me were the results on my CV the correct ones to which I replied yes. No more mention of this until I got the call offering me the job (which is a 12 month contract initially) and informing me that I wouldn't be starting 'til late January. As I was wrapping up the call I was asked in the meatime to get 2 written refs which was fine, bank details - also fine and.... A copy of my LC results! What do I do? I could:

1) Hand in my notice in my current job and go along to my new job and hope it will just be forgotten about or just say I can't find my results and also risk being unemployed for a while if I get seriously caught out and my new employers terminate my contract for not producing the bit of paper.

2) Play it safe and give up the new job and stay in my current job. Btw the salary is much better in the new job which is in a bank head office btw...

If anyone can offer me sound advice on this I will be eternally grateful as I really just do not know what to do. I have no idea how strict in general companies (especially banks) are about these things. I suppose it could be just a HR thing to have on file that could easily be forgotten about.. or am I just clutching at straws here? Any replies from people in "The Know" are welcome especially of you've ever been in even a remotely similar situation before or worked in HR /Banks etc....

This is not supposed to be a moral or do what's right question, I simply want to know what my best course of action would be and how I would go about it.

Thanks for reading and I hope you can help me or offer some much needed advice!

sunbeam

All I can say is that it is never a good idea to hand in your notice until you have a final written job offer as opposed to a provisional spoken (or even written one)-I'd play it safe on that matter at least. Of course I'm assuming that the offer is provisional until they see your refs and certificate....

kennyg

Thanks for the reply btw...

As far as I know the contract for the job will be posted to me to sign and send back before I start the job. The last time I was in a similiar situation I did the interview, accepted the job, signed the contracts and was then asked for LC, bank details etc. Of course this was all done by HR and I think they just forgot about the LC which is what I'm hoping will happen this time. Surely I cannot be sacked a month or two after starting the job simply because I haven't produced a flimsy piece of paper with my LC results on them?

Woden

yeah they could sack you any time they wanted too if you didn't show them the paper, there offer of the job position is dependent on your leaving cert results and if you didn't produce it they could get rid of you no probs. Dispite of that fact far as i remember no one is covered by the unfair dismissals act unless in employment with a company for a year so they can fire your ass any time anyway so it doesnt really matter

sunbeam

Unfortunately, if the LC was a specified requirement for the job, it may be a possibility. Even if not, they may well take a dim view of an employee who lied at interview. Then again, as you say, it may never come up.

I've not worked in banking, but worked (post-degree) in several academic library jobs where the LC was a requirement at the time. One place insisted so much that I (and co-worker doing a masters in library studies, but who already held one in something else) had to write to the Department of Education and purchase copies of our LCs before starting. Then again I worked in several other places where no documentation was ever asked of me....

Sorry I can't be of more help on this one.

sunbeam

kennyg

Ok so they would be within their rights to let me go.... But do you think they will? I worked for another co for a year and although they also requested my LC results at the beginning of my employment - I was never really asked again and it was never really an issue tbh. I mean does anyone here think I can get away with it? It's a 12 month contract btw and I'm not sure that I will even see that out as I'm probably going to be travelling around Asia for 2 months starting somewhere around July of this year. I just want to be able to do this job for at least 7 odd months and get some good experience & hopefully a good reference for my next job....

Woden

yeah i think you could probably get away with it claim you lost it again or that you never actually got the official sheet with it on it, then blame the department of education on it and say you have been waiting for it for ages etc.... if you can't start the job though until you produce the sheet then your ****ed

Big Chief

Originally posted by kennyg
I have no idea how strict in general companies (especially banks)

i work in a bank (head office to) and i dont know about most others but ours is extremely strict, although i wasnt asked for proof of my exams..

your really in a bit of a prediciment there, you can "risk it" in the hope they dont ask you, or you can just continue plodding away with what your doing and continue looking for something better in the mean time.

Personally i dont know what i would do , its a big risk which could have nasty side effects if the truth were to be known, and stuff like this you can never be sure if they are gonna follow up on things (although i do work in a bank thats strict and they would no doubt follow it up, alot of companies are different)

sorry if im not much help

kennyg

Thanks for all the replies so far people - keep them coming!:D

The one thing I think is in my favour is... (and I don't mean to appear in any way arrogant or stuck up coz I'm not) that if you were talking to me, especially in a formal work situation there's no way you would ever think that I had no LC or that I would be lying if I said that the DOE had never sent me a Cert or I had mislaid or lost it. If it does come up I'm thinking of saying that me current employer lost the only copy when I handed it in to them and that I will try and get a new one from the DOE. Of course I have no idea how long this will take! Could take up to 6-7 months!

Also I imagine that if I came clean in any way about this :eek: there is absolutely no way this bank would employ me yes? As I said I know for a fact that I'm more than capable of doing the job (I've worked in a similar job before that some would say is more demanding (that's if anyone considers any type of office or call centre work demanding of course!)...

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

halkar

What's there for you, won't pass you I say take your chances and go for it. I don't know much about banks but if I was you I would take the job. They can sack you if you are find out and if it is a requirement in your contract but after few months I doubt they will as it is only for 12 months and they probably won't try to look for someone else to replace you. Most jobs won't ask you for proof. I do contracts and I have none of those certs, mostly self educated but I never lied about that on my CVs . If you think your leaving cert is crucial for your jobs try getting it by doing courses or something to avoid this happening again. After few years your experience will be more important than your certs but having them there won't hurt

So I say go for it, we all take chances and you might not get this chance again, you might be sorry if you are caught but maybe you will be more sorry if you didn't take the chance and do it
Confusing ?? Yep I think so too

PS. Don't blame anything on me if you are caught

kennyg

[

Originally posted by Mercury_Tilt
In this day and age you cant get them faked?

Faked? Hmmmm.... Sounds interesting. If any wants to PM or something (especially graphic design geniuses & the like )! I'm not short of YoYos by any means!

Halkar, I'm pretty sure that I'll be ok, well sort of anyway! I mean I can't the HR dept of the Co that I'm gonna be working for pestering me nonstop for a piece of paper when I'm sure they have much more important things to be dealing with...

Another good thing... HR are not even in the same building that I'm gonna be working in so at least I might be quite hard to track down if nothing else! On second thoughts what with e-mail and everything maybe not. I suppose it'll be easier to brush off any disclosure attempts by HR through Lotus Notes than in person.

BuffyBot

First off - a bank is pretty dependent on the honesty of it employees. The fact that you've lied is a) a bad start in the relationship with your employer and b) not a good reflection on you.

Also, if you are found out (and these things have a way of finding a way to come out) they will be perfectly within their rights to let you go.

I can't beleive your even considering faking results etc..here's a bit of plain speaking - your lying will potentially take a job from some mug who has been honest. Fair enough, you messed up your LC - but other people didn't and why should they lose out to you? Time to get yourself together, study a lot and apply to resit.

kennyg

Originally posted by BuffyBot

I can't beleive your even considering faking results etc..here's a bit of plain speaking - your lying will potentially take a job from some mug who has been honest. Fair enough, you messed up your LC - but other people didn't and why should they lose out to you? Time to get yourself together, study a lot and apply to resit.

Ok First of all Buffybot may I say to you that you are right in most of what you say above. However, I did say in my original post that I didn't want this to turn into a debate re: the rights and wrongs of the situation - I just want some advice. Tbh I know I should probably resit the LC and I'm sure I will someday and do very well at it but at the moment that's just not feasible for a number of reasons, mainly time and the fact that I need to be earning a fairly decent salary at the moment to cover rent, loans etc. I'm also planning on doing a degree in a few years when I turn 23 & qualify to become a Mature Student. Obviously I won't need an LC for this and when I do eventually get my chosen Degree I wil be hoping that employers are still not putting so much emphasis on an exam such as the LC, which let's face it is just a jumped up memory exercise which has no bearing on one's ability to actually understand or comprehend any given subject....

Dr. Dre

[edit]

PM Dr.Dre and he'll give you a couple of pointers
-gordon

[/edit]

kennyg

Not a bad suggestion Dre but I had already thought of that and the main problem would be finding someone who has got the exact same results that are on my CV and from the same year (2000 incidentally). I'd probably have to take an Ad out in a National Newspaper to find someone suitable!:rolleyes: I'm sure that would go down a treat with my new employer's if they caught wind of that! :eek:

Gordon

Ahhh the slippery slope of lying and cheating.

I'd come clean but then I wouldn't have lied so I can't imagine your position.

the Guru

Dont worry about it if its a good job go for it an employeer will never ask you for a LC cert to see if you are telling the truth and if anyone says they do they are full of Bollo* I have never heard of it and I have interviewed myself .......... it will make a difference if they try and sent you to College for further training.

and dont worry about lying to your new company as they are going to lie lots to you and cheat you out of romotions and raises..... its not a good time to have morals take the job and forget about it everyone lie on there CVs

De Rebel

A couple of points:

The HR department may or may not ask for a copy of your results - just like following up references, some companies do, some don't, but that number that do is ever increasing.

The unfair dismissal act has nothing to do with this. If you are discovered at any time in the future, you will be liable to dismissal. And no matter how good you are at your job to avoid problematic precedent a HR department will insist that you go. Time limits are irrelevent.

If that happens, you will be out of a job, and have your CV marked accordingly. Any future employer will almost certainly look for a reference from the bank.

It must be very tempting to take the chance and go for it. But this could turn into something very nasty in the future.

I don't envy you. Bite the bullet, come clean.

LegacyUser

I once did a fake LC for a friend of mine.
I just scanned the LC, edited the results, using the same font as was used on the original. (this can be done by copy and paste) ie Copy "A1" from the English result and paste it over the F you got for maths. Then change the name on the leaving cert (this is a different font to all other text on the paper anyways so it doesn't look odd). Print it out, the photo copy it.

Looks identical to a photocopy of the original. Bring that to the interview and they wont ask you for the original... lovely jubly.

sunbeam

In any job application where I've been asked for documents they all had to be originals. Not saying this is the norm, just stating my experience

Shad0r

Beware of the Karma police.

If you cant get a fake LC results thingy, thats probably your only real option outside of telling the truth. Altho realistically telling the truth isnt really an option either.

If it were me I think I'd stay with the job I had and start studying the LC. Do it and pass it. Then the only thing holding you back will be your ability to sell yourself.

This has nothing to do with right and wrong and everything to do with your lies coming back to bite you in the ass.

I'll say it again: Beware of the karma police. What goes around comes around.

kennyg

Thanks for all the advice everyone - be it good or bad! I think I'm gonna bide my time for as long as possible and try and get away with it! I'll post an update on this topic in the next few weeks when developments have taken place.

Again, thanks for the advice and not judging me (I'm sure most people have realised that I do not wish to be in this situation and that I know it's not the "right way" of doing things).

Btw if anyone has anything useful to tell me or add to this topic please do so as I will be keeping an eye on it over the next few weeks until "Judgement Day":eek: so to speak!

ciderandhavoc

Without getting too heavy, you would be wise to be VERY careful and consider your moves before you go ahead.

Falsifying information on your CV is essentially fraud, or at least lying, which means the terms of your contract (even if you sign, and EVEN if you are there for 20 years) are invalid, because you deceived the company into hiring you because of your exam results.

They may ask you for your results, and they may push for them, if you don't produce them and start working, you may end up **** creek without a paddle.

A friend who is a HR manager has said that they have hired people with bad LCs, because they have overcome bad results and still done quite well career/academically (college certs, dips then degrees and all that).

Best of luck to you, but do be careful, because it could blow up in your face.

DeVore

Look maybe you are ****ed but maybe you arent.


I know a mate of mine who lied on his CV... I mean, real whoppers. They let him have the job anyway because:

1. He was able to do it.

2. It was easier then re-interviewing (which, by the way, is a MAJOR pain in the butt for employers).

3. He told them it was because he REALLY wanted the job and they looked favourably on his commitment and drive (American company mind you).

Its your call though, cos finding a job isnt easy these days and you dont want to be left between two stools....

DeV.

LegacyUser

Originally posted by DeVore

I know a mate of mine who lied on his CV... I mean, real whoppers. They let him have the job anyway because:

Was it me?

hussey

the only thing I got for my leaving cert was a yellow slip of paper, which was tiny!!

more than likely they wont ask for leaving

but if they found out you lied on CV, it can be sackable offence.
but they would only do that if your crap at your job. as a good workers are invaluable to the company
**
My dad told me they found out a worker had lied on an applicaition form- because someone from his last job seen him working, and went into my dad on UR man's lunch, he told my dad that he stole 2k from the job and was caught and never paid them back.
(my dad rang that specific company and had a chat with the MD, who confirmed it)

now there was nothing my dad could do about it- as he hasn't done anything wrong in this job.

he took out his application form, looked through it seen he left out an employer and was sacked !!

DapperGent

Just on the issue of faking leaving cert results, I think the certificate is considered to be state property of a state publication or summat (with the aul harp on the top and all), faking something like this and being caught could leave you in a whole world of hurt.

AFAIK the penalties for messin with that sort of stuff are akin to counterfiet money penalties which is to say severe.

Typedef

Thing is, in the 'real world', you will get nowhere by continutally nailing yourself to the cross of your past indescressions.

Boo, bleeding hoo, I didn't sit my Leaving Cert, is my life over, do I have to crucify myself over it and sqirm away in subservient, obsequious jobs becuase of that, forever lambasting myself for being young and disinterested in subjects in school that I found boring?

That is the question the poster has to ask, all I would say is "Get down off of the cross, somebody needs the wood".

So what you faked some Leaving Cert results, here is what you do.

Neglect to include them, in the documentation you send back and if you are pressed for them further, say, "I have an application for them in the post". If the company still wants to see them after (n) weeks of you 'supposedly' querying the Department of Education then all you have to do is, go and get the results.

You can either come clean then, or attempt to continue the charade. If it were me, I'd attempt to stall in perpetuity, but then again, I am devious like that, I don't know if you are, but the fact that you have bluffed so far, must be a point in your favour. Once you are in a position where you have (a) A more significant qualification or (b) are very senior in a company where it's you who is the boss, what's to stop you telling the world you don't have a Leaving Cert?

In short I agree, you shouldn't allow a little thing like not having the piece of paper hold you back, you take the chance either way, but, if you don't take that chance you will spend your life confessing to people about the Cert, until it's you who is the boss somewhere (and it doesn't matter a damn whether you sat the leaving or not) or you get fed up of the sorts of jobs that don't require a Leaving and become a house bum.

Do you really want to mope around, lamenting the fact you don't have a Leaving, if not then why loose your bottle now about your Leaving Cert results?

If and when you are in job (x) for say three years and the people in there 'like' you and appreciate your work, you might think about coming clean, but to quote Garak DS9.

"Never tell the truth, when a lie will do".

swiss

I'm not going into the moral position of this affair, all I can say is that this reminds me of an old quote

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right

Basically what you are trying to acheive is one of the following

a) Make sure that the company "forgets" about the LC paper, or falsify the document. If the forgery is a good one then it is highly unlikely that the company will query the DOE about your particular results. However if it comes out that you falsified your results and that document in particular you could theoretically be convicted of fraud. It's up to you whether the risk is worth it.

b) Make the LC results relatively meaningless. This is only realistically acheivable once you have obtained another qualification.

c) Make the company accept that you have falsified your results, and take you on anyway. This is very unlikely unless you have reached a position of seniority and/or have been at the company a long time.

If I was in this predicament, more than likely I would falsify the documents and take the job, but would only present these if the company insisted on the Leaving Cert paper for the job and you couldn't bluff your way past it.

Is this moral.... perhaps not. Whether or not this is right for you, I'll leave that up to yourself.

The Corinthian

I suggest that regardless of whether you intend to chance your arm you don’t rest of your laurels, but quietly sit the leaving cert in the next year and a half. This would no doubt mean you’ll end up studying at least four/five nights a week, as well as going to (and probably paying for) evening courses and once the exams come about, you’ll have to take them during your official holidays so as to keep your masquerade going.

Why? Because it will catch up on you. Not Karma, as some may argue, but if you’re lying so as to get this job because your current one is “not exactly a career thing”, as you put it, then you should really be warned that eventually you’ll reach a career dead end because of your lack of qualification (further aggravated by your masquerade).

Sooner or later (and without a leaving cert this is sooner), you’ll find yourself reaching positions where you’ll be under qualified to get a job or promotion, but it’ll be too risky to for you to lie, as once you reach a certain level in your career, they do begin to verify information. Do you really want to be stuck in jobs that pay little enough that they don’t warrant a background check, for the rest of your life?

So, regardless of what you decide with this job, don’t let the matter lie as it will come back to haunt you whether you get caught or not and it’ll get harder the older you get to rectify.

Typedef

Originally posted by swiss
If I was in this predicament, more than likely I would falsify the documents and take the job, but would only present these if the company insisted on the Leaving Cert paper for the job and you couldn't bluff your way past it.

I didn't want to put it 'that' bluntly, but, since he's opened that can of worms, for me, I would certainly do the bluff part of it, but I think I would stop short of actual falsification of the document as you could theoretically be charged and imprisoned if caught.

Bluff it mate, and for me 'anyway', actual falsification of DOE documents is potentially more hassel then it's worth.

MiCr0

i know of a few people who have been fired because the didn't put their actual LC results in a CV. the company they had gotten the job with checked them out - they got an E instead of the B that she said she had.

she was fired immediatly.
they couldn't trust her after she had lied.

best advice - don't lie - you will get caught and fired

also i think its against the law to lie about LC results

mm.ie

Take a year out and put you time/money/balls where your mouth is and get the feckin leaving Cert.

I would consider it a daft thing to do, to start the job and be constantly looking over you shoulder, waiting for the knock on the door....waiting for the personnel manager to find out about and sack you for dishonesty...and they will, no matter how good you are, how sauve, sophisticated or how good a speller you are you WILL be sacked for your dishonesty.

Imagine you get promoted...double your money, become good within the "industry", known within the "industry" and then sacked for dishonesty....you are fu*ked within the "industry".

IMHO not worth the stress..............

ButcherOfNog

.. and i wonder how many people that did get good LC's .. but possibly not as good as your made up results missed out on the chance of this job due to you?

go for the job, you might as well keep on the way you've started.

Sangre

Originally posted by Typedef
Thing is, in the 'real world', you will get nowhere by continutally nailing yourself to the cross of your past indescressions.

Boo, bleeding hoo, I didn't sit my Leaving Cert, is my life over, do I have to crucify myself over it and sqirm away in subservient, obsequious jobs becuase of that, forever lambasting myself for being young and disinterested in subjects in school that I found boring?

That is the question the poster has to ask, all I would say is "Get down off of the cross, somebody needs the wood".

So what you faked some Leaving Cert results, here is what you do.

Neglect to include them, in the documentation you send back and if you are pressed for them further, say, "I have an application for them in the post". If the company still wants to see them after (n) weeks of you 'supposedly' querying the Department of Education then all you have to do is, go and get the results.

You can either come clean then, or attempt to continue the charade. If it were me, I'd attempt to stall in perpetuity, but then again, I am devious like that, I don't know if you are, but the fact that you have bluffed so far, must be a point in your favour. Once you are in a position where you have (a) A more significant qualification or (b) are very senior in a company where it's you who is the boss, what's to stop you telling the world you don't have a Leaving Cert?

In short I agree, you shouldn't allow a little thing like not having the piece of paper hold you back, you take the chance either way, but, if you don't take that chance you will spend your life confessing to people about the Cert, until it's you who is the boss somewhere (and it doesn't matter a damn whether you sat the leaving or not) or you get fed up of the sorts of jobs that don't require a Leaving and become a house bum.

Do you really want to mope around, lamenting the fact you don't have a Leaving, if not then why loose your bottle now about your Leaving Cert results?

If and when you are in job (x) for say three years and the people in there 'like' you and appreciate your work, you might think about coming clean, but to quote Garak DS9.

"Never tell the truth, when a lie will do".

Once again Typedef rides in on his high horse to save the day....


Note: I read this thread directly after the Marijuana one on After Hours

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

De Rebel

Originally posted by kennyg
(snip)I'll post an update on this topic in the next few weeks when developments have taken place. (/snip)

and

(snip)I will be keeping an eye on it over the next few weeks until "Judgement Day":eek: so to speak!(/snip)

Be aware that there is no expiry date on a lie, if this is discovered in 3 years time you can still be fired then - and a bank will fire you for telling a lie.

Another thing, suppose someone from your school applies for a job in the same place, and suppose someone in HR says "Oh and do you know kennyg, he did the leaving with you"

---

think its never happened?

pickarooney

"Lose" the document. If they insist on seeing it before you can begin work, then screw it, stay where you are. If not, they most likely never will, and as you said you intend to go travelling within a year, it's not like you've much to lose anyway.

Typedef

Originally posted by Sangre
Once again Typedef rides in on his high horse to save the day....

I wasn't aware this was something that has been annoying you over a period of time.

Please accept my humblest apologies.

I know, really it's very rude of me to hold my own opinions, especially when you don't agree.

I will in the future run all my posts past you first, so that you don't get offended, as obviously if I don't happen to hold your opinions on a matter, one must be wrong.

Or better yet righteously indignant.

"Hello kettle, I have Sangre on the line... he says that you're black"

Sangre

Originally posted by Typedef
I wasn't aware this was something that has been annoying you over a period of time.

Please accept my humblest apologies.

I know, really it's very rude of me to hold my own opinions, especially when you don't agree.

I will in the future run all my posts past you first, so that you don't get offended, as obviously if I don't happen to hold your opinions on a matter, one must be wrong.

Or better yet righteously indignant.

"Hello kettle, I have Sangre on the line... he says that you're black"

Well as long as we're on the same page then

l3rian

You will be able to get away without showing them your results for the first 12 months. It will not be a big deal until your 12 month temporary contract is up, and they make you full-time permanent. Banks require you to have at least a passing leaving cert, and they will check your results, its standard procedure.

My advice is to start studing now and do the leaving cert this year (are you too late?), just doing maybe 3 subjects maths english and irish (get grinds, past papers, cram), and by next year when they want your results you'll have something to show them.

Slutmonkey57b

You have 2 seperate problems:
1: No Leaving
2: Lied to the bank.

1: 99% of employers don't give a toss about a leaving they give a toss about relevent experience. When I'm interviewing I don't even look at exam results - and quite a few CV's I see don't even quote them. Because they're about as relevent as chocolate soldier. The only thing I'm interested in as an interviewer is
a) Has this person done this before?
b) Can they speak English?
c) Are they metabolising oxygen?

Lying about your leaving results per se is not going to be a problem for you 99% of the time.
However *flourish*

2) You lied to the bank.
Banks are probably the only employers in Ireland that actually do check references properly. More than likely they checked them before calling you for interview at all (that's why they asked you about them in the interview). And yes they will fire you for falsifying your CV (So would most employers but most employers are lazy and won't have bothered checking to see if you lied anyway). Banks rely on honesty from their line employees. It's very important. Its only the executives that they like to be liars. And you're not an executive. You may get this job by brazening it out for a bit. But then you'll lose it. And banks will share references with other employers. So don't bother. Either come clean and leave the choice up to them as to whether they take the risk with you or tell them you'll have to decline the offer because you're going off to become a televangelist.

Greenbean

Taking this risk with a bank seems a very big one. The only way you should do this is if you happy enough to accept the consequences if it goes wrong, which will probably be a firing, an awful credit rating and a very bad name when you try to get bank references. Not terrible in terms of life itself, but maybe a bitch if you try to get a job in any other big institution (mortagers, estate agencies, banks etc.). It might not be too bad if you get caught at the interview stage as well.. just a failed applicant.

I'm not too sure what job law is like in ireland, but in the uk, if its a requisite that the applicant has the qualifications, then its in the employeers best interests to ensure the applicant does indeed have those qualifications. Otherwise the employer can be sued by ANY of the failed applicants who met the qualifications and didn't get the job. I think banks are the most likely to be watertight on this regard, they'd probably fire you and the human resources person reponsible for your application. Don't mean to scare you, maybe job law here is more lenient and the banks won't be bothered as much.