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I accidentally listed having a Bachelor of Arts degree on my cv whereas my it should be a Bachelor of Science degree. I’ve listed the BA like this in my CV “Bachelor of Arts (Maths and Statistics)”.

I’ve now accepted the offer and will soon be confirming they can proceed with background checks. Should this typo be mentioned to the HR? Or not needed as I’ve already mentioned maths and statistics which is not arts related.

Also I’ve already have 3 years of relevant working experience in this field and this role (investment banking role) is not a graduate role.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

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  • It doesn't sound like you set out to "deceive" or made a degree sound higher than it was (I think Bachelor of Arts/Science are pretty much an equal level, and some universities, at least here in the UK, give all degrees as BA even those in 'scientific' subjects like maths, physics, etc) so in your position I would just drop a note to HR along the lines of "oh, while preparing for the background check I went back through my cv and noticed I'd put BA when it actually should have been Bachelor of Science - apologies for the confusion!" etc. I'm really curious how this 'accidentally' happened! May 18, 2019 at 17:29
  • Which country/region is this - may be able to help with some more "culturally specific" wording. May 18, 2019 at 17:42
  • I graduated in the UK and the job is in UK as well. It was a silly mistake I made. Noticed it was wrong when I looked at my degree certificate for background check and realised it said Bachelor of science not art.
    – Kelvin
    May 18, 2019 at 21:37
  • Is there a "Bachelor of Arts (Math and Statistics)" in your country? If there isn't such a degree, then you can be certain that they did not give you the job based on your BA in said discipline, and thus little risk that it might be revoked when it is changed to a BS.
    – Cort Ammon
    May 19, 2019 at 23:48

2 Answers 2

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It is best, as in any situation when you do an honest mistake, to be the first to recognize it and try to do the needed repairs.

So just go to the HR person, tell them that you made a mistake, and ask them to update the information. Maybe you provide also an updated CV, with the mistake corrected.


You can do the same thing after they find the error themselves. You can claim that it was an honest mistake, but they will have the opportunity to doubt your good intentions. Just do not give them this chance, to have you in a position of inferiority.

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Should this typo be mentioned to the HR?

Yes. It's a simple mistake.

Mention it and then correct your CV so this doesn't happen again in the future.

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  • +1 I think the main point here is that it's a very simple mistake, and the context of the CV makes it clear what you were meaning to write. So do mention it in a lighthearted way.
    – Helen
    May 18, 2019 at 14:17

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