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I recently left my job after being recruited by a few former coworkers. I worked for the new company for two months before being terminated for unprofessional conduct in the work place (a confrontation with an employee involving a lot of swearing, if it matters). I am now looking for a new job. I've been torn with if/how I should present this job on my resume. After reading through similar questions on this site and elsewhere on the internet, I've decided that it is probably best to list this job on my resume so that I don't end up lying or showing a gap in my job history.

The problem is, I'm not sure what to list on the resume with regards to my role at that job. I'm a software engineer and all of my other jobs list out my major projects, accomplishments and technologies used. I spent the first three weeks of the job training and learning/reviewing the code base. The rest of the time was divided between Christmas break, the HR investigation into my behavior and a single project assigned to me. That project was completed pending code-review, but given my departure prior to merging into the code base, I'm not sure I can count this as a successful accomplishment.

The short time span is already going to "jump out" and I'm afraid that if I write too little (or too much for that matter) the contents will stick out as well. I'm not so much interested in highlighting the job as I am showing that I did not have a gap in employment.

How can I list this job without attracting too much attention to it or lying? Should I rethink even including it on my resume?

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    As noted in past answers (I don't have a specific one handy to cite as duplicate, but search titles for "month"), you may indeed want to leave this off the resume rather than raise questions about what happened. Three months is not a huge gap, if you have a good work record otherwise. The other approach is to list it and just say you and they concluded it was a bad fit, rather than getting into exactly how and why the engagement ended... but you had better have a good answer ready for in what ways the fit was wrong .
    – keshlam
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 13:53
  • It sounds like you may have seen this already, but worth linking. Make sure to read more than just the top answer, as they all give different and useful advice. "Is it OK to leave very short-term employment off my resume?"
    – David K
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 13:58
  • Also possibly worth noting is that the company from which I was terminated has a policy for only disclosing employment dates. In other words employment verification does not include reason for leaving (layoff/quit/terminated/etc). I mention this because one of my bigger concerns is background checks and employment verification for a future job.
    – user63351
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 14:52

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Unless it highlights a skill or knowledge that is not part of any of your other jobs, I would rethink including the job on your resume. A two month gap should not be significant. However, depending on how long it takes you to get another job you may want to look at adding it back to show less time unemployed.

If you do need to include it on your resume, just highlight what you did. When asked why it was such a short time, I would say that the management style and culture wasn't what you were looking for. Be prepared to share details about why the environment didn't work for you, and keep them positive or at least neutral. "When I was interviewing it sounded like I would be working in technology XYZ, but my role was more ABC"

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  • Suppose I omit it. My experience with all jobs I've held so far was an extensive background check. At that point I'd have to disclose the job. Wouldn't red flags be raised? I've heard of people losing their jobs for misrepresenting the facts and being "found out" later
    – user63351
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 14:22
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What is your priority, showing no gap in employment or not wanting to discuss with prospective employers that your latest job was short-lived because you were terminated for cause? You are trying to have it both ways and you can't have it both ways.

If nobody is willing to give you a reference at your former place or work and you worked only two months, it's a double whammy.

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  • I don't want it both ways, and honestly I'd rather not include it on my resume to begin with. Yes, this will raise questions about the employment gap which I do worry about. The only reason I would want to include it is so that its not flagged during a pre-employment background. I feel like omitting it is the same thing as lying about it and could be grounds for dismissal (should I receive a job)
    – user63351
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 14:52
  • If you are applying for a security clearance, they will be explicit in wanting you to include this job. The non-security clearance background checks that I experienced consisted of the investigating contractor checking my dates of employment and making sure that any gaps in my resume were not the result of me staying in the Big House. The longer your career, the more likely you are going to have gaps in your resume that you'll have to explain away. Get used to it.
    – Vietnhi Phuvan
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 15:02

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