Anxiety

Probably That's the funniest story about background check that you have ever heard...

I applied for a famous investment bank last October, I had to fill out the online application and submit cv+cover letter.

On the online application the start/end dates of my previous internship are correct, on the cover letter i clearly stated that i did an internship during the summer 2010 but, i don't know why, i made a terrible mistake on my cv.. Instead of May-Aug 2010 I wrote May-Apr 2010!! I was sooo stupid! I checked my online application so many times but i uploaded this f+++++g cv without paying attention.

Surprisingly I was invited to interview (I suppose HR just looked at online app). I had 2 interviews in my city and 4 interviews in London. When I was asked I always clarified that I worked last summer and I remember that 2 interviewers wrote it down on the cv that they had. It was very embarassing.. but I was really motivated and I did very well during the interviews (I have a strong technical preparation). They made me an offer for a summer internship! It happened in november, I was very happy for that and I almost forgot about the "CV problem". Recently I have searched on internet and I read about background check and how it is strict for financial firms.

Now I'm worried, because I know that my bank has not started yet. They have already done the screening for FT (I friend was selected for that program) 2 months ago, but for SA they are going to ask for the academic transcript during the next month. (It seems that the process for SA will be easier and shorter) I never told the HR about my mistake, I thought that they should have already noticed since they had all the documents since the beginning... But maybe they didn't!!

It was a completly honest mistake, I never lied and always said the truth during the interview process. But I was wondering... maybe the interviewrs don't remember me and maybe HR don't have it written down, maybe they are going to think that I wanted to exagerate the lenght of my work experience...

What should I do? Call them and clarify again? I feel shame for that mistakes, I look as someone who doesn't pay attention to details (and it was not a small details). These kind of things never happen to me and I am an honest person. I read so many bad stories on this forum... I don't wanna lose my job and be considered as someone who put fake GPA on CV or tried to hide a crime!!

14 Comments
 

I'm sure they know your internship wasn't negative one month long dude.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

Yes, I am foreign. The point is that I should have worked again for that firm and the first version of my cv was: may 2010 - apr 2011. I just did a cut and paste and i saved 2 version of my cv, one correct and one with mistake... and unfortunately I uploaded the wrong one. When I realised it it was too late. The only thing that I could do was talk about the right period during interviews. Some recruiters did not look at it, they just had a list of technical questions, brain teasers, competences-based questions.

I know it is very stupid.... =(

 

I'm curious what FAMOUS bank it is. If you got the interview, then don't bring up the mistake unless they ask.....stop shooting yourself in the foot. Shows how valuable a CV really is......

Get busy living
 

Maybe call HR and say that you are calling to follow up and make sure that they got the info discussed in the interview.

Other than that, nothing you can do about it now, really. Chill out and concentrate on doing well for the rest of the process.

More is good, all is better
 

The process is over and I got offered. My interviews were great!

But even if I told the truth when I was asked, I never talked directly to HR about that. And now I am worried that if they find it out during the background screening they could think that I don't deserve the job anymore and rescind the offer. Or even worst, they could think that I told some strange story during the interviews to cover my mistake.

I don't know if I should call them and clarify...

I feel so bad for this mistake... I worked so hard to get such a great offer and now a stupid mistake could destroy everything :(

 

This is a good story of mine from several years ago... After I had already sent my college application/essays but before I'd gotten the decision; a friend of mine asked me to send them to him for him to read while we were chatting online. As a joke, he said something like..."wait...woah dude...Penn STATE?!?!?!, you wrote Penn State by mistake in one of the essays!!!!". I almost had a heart attack before he told me he was kidding (I wanted to go to Wharton since like 4th grade, no joke). That's the only time I've ever freaked out over a typo, and it was fictional, lol.

 

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