RESCINDED FT Analyst Offer
I recently received an offer from a bank for a FT Analyst role, I accepted the offer both verbally over the phone and via email.
A few days after accepting the offer (before progressing to sign the contract), I was called in for a “meeting” with HR, where I was asked to confirm details regarding a “gap” on my resume.
Everything I had listed on my resume was 100% honest and correct (including GPA, all previous education and work experience details, even extracurricular activities and skills etc.) However, I had not included every individual item of previous work experience. I have completed multiple FO internships, all of which I had listed on my resume. However, prior to those internships I had also worked full time for several months, I had not included that FT experience on my resume for three reasons:
- There was not enough space to list it (unless I either went over 1 page or made the font size stupidly small)
- The FT experience was not very impressive (relative to the FO internships), therefore was not as relevant to be included
- My mentors in the industry had recommended I leave it off, furthermore the career websites I had consulted had all stated that it is fine to not include every individual previous work experience on your resume
The application form itself had not asked to list any previous work experience or previous employers, so I did not “omit” any information there. However, there was one question on the form which had asked for the total number of months of previous work experience. I had mistakenly forgot to include the several months from the FT role, therefore the number I had entered was several months off. This was an honest mistake which resulted from completing the application form in a hurry whilst very tired late at night on the day before the deadline.
I only discovered this mistake after HR pointed it out: I was subsequently informed the offer is being rescinded, on the basis that I “mislead” them with false information…
I am now extremely set back since after “accepting” the offer from this bank I subsequently withdrew from the interview process with all other firms. Am completely back to square one and face the prospect of being unemployed.
April 11th update:
I emailed the guys who interviewed me, I did get a response but unfortunately it was to say they support the decision to rescind my offer, so they are not willing to go to bat for me.
I guess there is not much else I can do apart from starting the job hunting process over again...
Apologies about your situation. I would go back to HR and email the people who interviewed you and question them about your situation. Whilst they can rescind the offer (hence the disclaimer of application accuracy before you submit) I would push back to HR relentlessly. HR staff mindlessly follow overly rigid criteria, if you can get someone with more authority to support you then you'd have a better chance.
Also sometimes you can reinstate withdrawn applications (if recruitment is still ongoing) by emailing HR at the other companies.
I hope you can get the offer back!
"I had mistakenly forgot to include the several months from the FT role, therefore the number I had entered was several months off."
That sounds like a fucking lie to me. If you made a conscious decision to leave it off of your application, then how-the-fuck did you magically forget that it existed at another point in the same application? You're lying, OP. Own up to what you did, and move on. If you'd given the honest answer (that you didn't think that it was relevant work experience), then I wouldn't consider it a big deal, but since you doubled down by lying in your post, you deserve it, OP. Have fun in those phone screenings!
I assume that you came here to get ideas for help, so I'm not sure why you felt the need to volunteer this lying story on WSO instead of telling the truth.
As the size of this thread grew I guess it was only a matter of time before someone posted a reply like this. Not sure why you had to post your exact same reply TWICE (at different points in this thread), but since your post is a pretty serious accusation I will follow your example and reply to both your posts.
Actually, I never made a "conscious decision" to omit the FT role from my application. When applying online I simply attached the same old version of my resume (which I had already used for more than 50 other applications over the past few months), and as I already mentioned there was NOWHERE ON THE APPLICATION FORM where you could even enter the names or positions of any of your previous work experiences. Regarding work experience, the form simply had one entry field to enter ONE NUMBER (the total number of months of previous work experience.)
You are correct about one thing: the purpose of this post absolutely was because I wanted advice. So, thinking about this logically, if anything in my post was a lie, it would not only be of absolutely zero benefit, but actually negative benefit (because any subsequent advice which was given would therefore NOT even be applicable, I might as well just be a troll.)
However, you are free to believe what ever you want, so if you still think I was lying then that's fine too, I'm certainly not going to waste time trying to convince you otherwise.
Thank you to everyone else for your support here. As I already mentioned, the purpose of this post was to try to get advice (not to make people feel sorry for me.) Unfortunately, in the end it seems there is nothing which can be done about the situation.
Chill out. Quite frankly, a few months of excluded work experience is also just f***ing irrelevant. Including fake work experience is lying, but there is no requirement that you put everything you've ever done on your resume - its completely normal to prune for relevance.
So... let me see if I understand this right. You have more experience in the industry than your resume let on? And they recinded because you told them you had less experience that you actually did? Sorry for your situation
I thought I was missing something, but I guess not. This is absolutely absurd and sounds like it could be a technicality used in order to hire someone else, cover up a mistake of their own (HR extending too many offers, etc.). I agree with NYSE FANG, you should contact the most senior person you spoke with detailing what happened. Any good executive would sympathize with your situation and rectify it. If not, I wouldn't even want to work there...
Wow... this is a shitty situation. Did you get connected with this bank through your school? If so, have you tried getting career management to help you.
I would definitely go back to HR on this. It’s one thing to add things that don’t exist, but choosing not to include prior experiences is not misleading, at least, not in this case.
I think if this is coming from HR, I would also reconnect with the team hiring you to fight for you. At the end of the day, it’s their call and not HR’s, and if you explain it the way you have here, I think it’s very understandable.
Wow...that seems unfair.
I have definitely left off older internships on my Resume and never had a problem with background checks.
Something doesn't smell right here. Maybe they decided they don't want the headcount and are using this as an excuse.
Job market has been very spotty recently. Received several feedback loops from recruiters loving my background but feeling hesitant about my complicated situation where I had to move around a bit for personal issues.
I've been waitlisted, had offers pulled, given short acceptance periods, etc. These companies are turning into scared pussies as if job seekers have that much choice in roles. I don't think there's anything you can do, but push on.
The FT experience you left off sounds like something someone would use to discredit you especially if the only other experience you have had is internships. These guys want you to show a linear path and they don't typically take internship experience seriously, especially if you did FT somewhere else.
I've assumed that it's all a result of the 'millennial' label, that people ascribe to the entire generation, basically saying that we're going to do something they don't like. But, this shouldn't discourage you as there will be other roles out there and sounds like you have a pretty solid background.
That's really shady that they pulled an offer for that. I question if that's the real reason. I have an unconventional background and switched from engineering to finance, so my resume leaves off old jobs that aren't applicable, internships and even a school that I started off at. That info isn't irrelevant to my current career, so it would just make my resume longer for no benefit to anyone. Your resume should be factual, but the main purpose is tell a story. I've have quite a few jobs since I switched to finance and have never had any issues.
Side note, stories like this are why when I switch jobs I always wait to give my notice until everything is gone through and cleared. I've had companies tell me that it's overkill, but you never know what random thing someone will have an issue with and the the full risk is on the applicant.
Brutal. Sorry to hear this man.
Thanks for your support. I’m pretty depressed about this right now to be honest, it took approx. 6 months of hard work to secure this position, now I’m going to have to start all over again.
HR departments are the platform on which the '''communists''' infiltrate and subvert coporate america. You have to gas them.
How is it that you had a full time job prior to multiple FO internships?
I don't think it's a big deal but I do think the bank is in the right here, especially if everyone who interviewed you supports the decision unanimously.
We just wrapped up internship hiring and given the investment we need to make, character and integrity is incredibly important, moreso than experience or even intellect.
If I found out someone we hired had told a story of interning in FO positions and always being interested in x role, but later I find out they started off in the back office full-time, that would be a pretty big issue. Or maybe you told them how you took a few months off to help the world before going into FO internships. Also a major issue.
Plus, almost every first round interview asks how you how you decided on your first job, so omitting that entire story and backdrop is a big deal. It's very hard to believe you forgot your first full-time role before taking on a bunch of internships. Just seems shady to be honest.
Furthermore, there's likely something else missing from the story. Not saying this happened but if they contacted your FT role and found out you were fired for cause, that should be a 100% rescind decision.
No one knows the full story but I thought I'd give a different perspective as most posters here are coming from the perspective of a college student/entry-level applicant.