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A former employee of my business recently reapplied for a job. Their resume lists the dates of employment as July 2016 – December 2016, when in fact they were fired after less than a month. I feel like our business is being misrepresented, as I know this employee has stretched their employment dates at my business.

Is it okay for me to email them and ask to correct the dates in the resume?

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    You mean change the dates for this application or for all future applications anywhere? If for future applications, why do you think they'd listen to you and how would you even know whether or not they did this? – Dukeling Aug 26 '17 at 15:10
  • Good point. This is the second time they have reapplied, so I'm sure they'll try sending me their resume again at some point in the future. I think I just want this person to know that I know they are being untruthful, but it does seem petty now. – kimberly Aug 26 '17 at 15:15
  • Thank you, you're right that I have no leverage. I actually haven't received any calls for reference, and up until this point I have taken everyone's resumes at face value. Makes me think twice now. – kimberly Aug 26 '17 at 18:21
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    @kimberly The evil thing to do would be to not hire her, but write her she can always use you as a reference. If she falls for it, you can tell everyone who calls the true story. – Wilbert Aug 28 '17 at 7:14
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What your employees (present or former) write in their resume is not your problem. If they apply to a job with false data, it is their problem and the (prospective) employer's problem. Don't worry about it and don't tell them to fix their resume.

The only two scenarios where you could do anything about it are:

  1. If they apply for a job at your company, you can reject their application for providing false data. This also holds if you work for another company in future, and they apply there.

  2. If a background checking agency (hired by their prospective employer) asks you to verify their employment, you can inform them of the discrepancy in an objective manner, such as below:

    Dear Jane,
    This is in response to your request for verification of employment dates of Mr John Doe at Acme Corporation. As per our HR records, he was employed with us from July 1, 2016 to July 22, 2016.

    Do not call out the employee's lies, just state the facts and be done with. Let the background checker and the prospective employer figure out how to deal with the discrepancy. Stay professional even when others behave unprofessionally.

I feel like our business is being misrepresented, as I know this employee has stretched their employment dates at my business.

Fudging employment dates, exaggerating achievements, introducing fictitious employers and awards, and writing other creative lies metaphorically true statements in the resume happens frequently enough that there's a term to describe it: resume padding. Everyone understands that it is impractical for any employer to police what their employees write in their resumes. No reasonable employer would hold that against you.

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    +1 if someone calls you for a reference, definitely provide the correct start and end dates... – mxyzplk says reinstate Monica Aug 26 '17 at 17:59

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