Interesting Predicament....Advise Please

My father owns company X. X was bought out by Z 10 years ago. X still operates as its own company, but Z is the parent company and my dad gets paid by Z and answers to Z’s CEO. There is one particular factory facility, one of 3 in the country that are all affiliated with Z, that my father exclusively uses for his business. There are 5 employees at this location all on Z’s payroll answering to the warehouse manager that works in the factory that handles all ordering, shipping, and receiving.

3 years ago (keep in mind each “year” refers to the summer), my dad gave me a job at the factory working alongside the few guys there and I answered to the warehouse manager that would give me orders to pick and put on the truck for delivery. I did that for 2 summers. Right before last summer, the warehouse manager retired and I was promoted to fill in this position as acting warehouse manager.

Now, on my resume I put down company Z’s name as the employer since that is the firm I was being paid by. I also did that because X happens to have my last name in the title since it was created by my father. Also, I put on my resume the dates I worked there (summers 05-07) but I highlighted warehouse manager as the position name and didn’t write anything about being just a factory worker for the two years prior. In my interview with the BB, I CLEARLY told them my story about starting off as a warehouse worker, then was promoted to managerial position. But I suppose when you look at the resume at first glance, it can be construed that I had that position for 3 summers since I didn’t delineate in writing the promotion, although again it was clearly said in my interview.

My question to all of you is this. In the background check forms, I put down the number for the factory that I worked at like I’m supposed to do. But, when the current warehouse manager answers the phone, he says “Good afternoon Company X”. He doesn’t say Z since the business is for X not Z but Z is the parent company paying everyone. The contact name I put down was my father, since he is the guy running the show. Now I know the BB will ask to speak to him, but I’m afraid they are going to get the wrong idea when they hear “company X” instead of Z. Also, they pretty much have no idea that my job was affiliated with my father or my father’s company, although they will definitely put two and two together when they see that the contact person’s name is also my father.

I didn’t lie about anything, its just that when looked at in separate pieces, there definitely can be some confusion. I mean, I worked there at the dates specified and all that, I’m just worried that without formal clarification, it may look like I’m lying about it when I’m really not. I know if I get contacted by HR I definitely can explain everything to them since again I’m not hiding a single thing….I just don’t want them to even have to contact me about this as worrying about this shit is not something I want to be doing until I start this summer.

Sorry this is so long. For those of you that actually made it this far, do I have anything to worry about? Thank you TONS in advance.

 

You lied: plain and simple. You are not working for Z, you are working for X; it doesn't matter who the parent company is. You were not a manager for 3 summers; this should have been clear on your resume.

You know that you lied; if you were ethically secure about your actions, you wouldn't be posting this question and worrying over this matter.

 

You're fine. They won't even think twice about it. Your background check won't state anything about your position, just the fact that you worked there. They could ask about the discrepancy in company name, but doubtful since they don't usually compare the background check to your resume unless they think you lied.

You can call HR to let them know that you actually received paychecks from the Z company, if you want to be proactive. Either way, I think you're fine.

 
Best Response

Tough call. I wouldn't say you "lied" necessarily, but you certainly left some info out, and that could definitely be construed as lying.

I know that when I interned at Smith Barney, they suggested I put "Smith Barney Citigroup" on my resume. Technically Citigroup signed my paychecks (& owns Smith Barney), but it would have been improper to list just "Citigroup" as my employer on my resume. In that sense I suppose you are misleading the company you interviewed with.

As far as your job title thing. If you explained it, you should be OK I'd imagine, but if your title has changed it should have gotten some mention in your resume at least.

I don't know, maybe someone with a better idea on this could chime in, but I think you definitely BS'd a bit here.

 

jackofalltrades,

I totally understand that. but my situation is on a much smaller scale. customers of X know full well they are dealing with Z. when they get billed, they go through the billing agent from company Z that handles X's billing. I'm not 100% positive but they may even make the checks out to Z. i'm not trying to undermine your advice and i greatly appreciate you responding, i'm just trying to give you all some more information to make it more clear.

 

as i skimmed over your message, my initial conclusion is that anyone that has to go through such lengths to explain their situation is doing so because they have something to hide. i believe you have something to hide and may not have been fully ethical on your communication. in addition, there is a saying that goes, "when in doubt, ask," because there is a good reason you should be doubting yourself if you're not exposing the whole truth.

however, if you think that your story is truly legit and that you were only sparing some details to conserve space on your resume, then you should stick with that notion and never question yourself about it. that means that if you're ever asked about it, your tone of voice shouldn't be exuding any doubt, otherwise you're only inviting people to question you in a similar fashion as how the people on this forum have veritably done.

my advice to you is to not worry about it unless you're specifically asked about it. if you're asked about it, don't stumble over your words, and just tell whatever your version of the truth is.

​* http://www.linkedin.com/in/numicareerconsulting
 

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