Inconsistencies between resumes

Question

I applied for a job, and have gotten called in for an interview. The application process was done through a third party website where I had to fill in some personal info, education info, and work info for an online form. I also had to upload documents, including my resume. I had filled out the same online form for another job I had applied to previously, so I already had a form filled out when I went to the site, but I wrote a new cover letter and uploaded a new resume.

However, after sending the application I've noticed some inconsistencies between the written resume I uploaded and the online profile. Specifically, the birthday on my online profile is off by one day (birth dates on resumes are expected in my country), I guess I must have misclicked without noticing. Furthermore, in my uploaded form I used convocation dates for my education, while in the online form I notice I used my last month of classes. So while year is the same, months differ. Also the current job information is more accurate in my uploaded resume (as I updated my resume since my last application, but not the online form). In all, I didn't put enough thought into proofreading the online profile and just focused on my uploaded documents.

Now that I have the interview, I'm unsure what I should do. Which resume are they likely to be looking at, my uploaded resume or the online form? Should I bring up these inconsistencies at the interview? Are the months likely to matter for the education during a potential background check? Am I overthinking it since I got to the interview stage?

Answer 1

Take a copy of the resume you wish to use with you. Offer them a copy at the interview. I'd make a simple comment of "There may be more detailed information on this one than what you have".

It doesn't sound like it's much to be concerned about. It is more of an issue if there were gaps in your employment history, or if you'd listed different employment. But off by a few days, or a difference of specificity is hardly something to be concerned over. Any questions can be discussed in person.

Answer 2

There is no way to know ahead of time whether they've noticed the inconsistencies, or whether they care. So really, the only thing you can do is be prepared to talk about it in your interview.

If you want to be proactive, one thing you can do is print out copies of your completely correct resume. And then, at the beginning of the interview, say something like this:

In the process of applying, filling in forms, and uploading my resume, it seems like there were some inconsistencies. Perhaps I made some typos or some data got messed up. Therefore, I brought the correct version of my resume with me.

And then, hand them that copy.

Or else, you could wait and if they do bring it up, then offer the corrected resume.

Edit: in a comment, you mentioned that you were TAing and you took up another term of that. And that it is a skype interview, so copies of the resume will not work.

In that case, simply mention that some things changed since you uploaded the resume: for instance, you took on another TA class, so currently there isn't an end date for your TA work, since that is still active.

Simply explain that things have changed since you uploaded the document, and go on. Don't make it a big deal - just mention it in passing. If they want more information, offer to email them the corrected resume.