Short work experience - omit?

Question

Hi,

Would appreciate any advice as to how to approach the following scenario in my MBA applications.

I'm deliberating whether to include a short 1-2 months of work experience I had.

The thing is that I really wish not to have any background check companies or adcoms contact that company. Essentially I told the company that I wish to terminate my contract with them as the role was very far from the one described, and apparently, they took it really hard and started making some allegations about violations of company guidelines etc. (i.e., that company can screw me over if contacted).

Now, I know that an omission of information could be equivalent to lying/misrepresentation and could potentially serve as grounds for rescinding my offer (if admitted), but would really appreciate good thought advice as to how to approach this issue.

Most people suggest simply omitting this short work experience, as it is not material enough and as there is extremely low chance that any background check company can find out about it. Regardless, I'm worried about the possibility that it will somehow come up in the background checks (I'm based in central Europe, not in the US).

Admissionado · Answer

Daren65 :

Omit it. It's extremely unlikely to come up in a background check. Even if it did, it would be something that you could argue wasn't really additive to your profile (and was so short-term) so you decided not to include it.

It's not a perfect solution, but it sounds like there is way too much risk in listing this company in your CV/application. Take the chance it never comes up so you don't have to address these terrible allegations.

Again, it's very improbable that it will somehow appear.

-Admissionado

Daren65 · Answer

Admissionado 
Thanks, appreciate the response. Just in case it does come up in a background check, how would you advise addressing it vis-a-vis the adcoms? After all, I'm sort of lying in the application by not including all of my full-time work experiences.

Admissionado · Answer

Daren65 :

It's tricky but you could effectively say you did not feel it was appropriate to cite it given the extremely short-term nature of your time there. You could even go so far as to argue that the assignment was considered temporary. Even if they pick up on this omission, it's unlikely the school will rescind your acceptance.

For peace of mind, do not think about it now. If and when it comes up (and, again, that's unlikely) you can reach back out to us here for additional assistance.

Have faith,
Admissionado

Daren65 · Answer

Admissionado

Yep. That's really my point - what are the odds of rescinding an offer in a scenario of omitting/lying by omission, shortly before the start of the program/while enrolling in a program? 
I'm no legal expert, but a school pretty much exposes itself to legal liability in case they rescind an offer in a scenario like this. I mean, unless the school shows that it has applied a similar strict background check to each and every admit, one could argue that the school discriminates against that particular student that has omitted some info from his app.
Obviously, if one was straight up lying about his/her UG degree or mentioned a workplace he/she didn't work at then that's an entirely different scenario.

Admissionado · Answer

Daren65 :

It's very hard to speculate about this generally, particularly with so many hypothetical variables.

If I were you, I would sit back and let things play out. If it comes to something this contested, you can always speak with counsel and determine the appropriate course of action at this time.

I know that may be unsettling, but your only other option is to put this short stint on your resume and play it out that way. That seems like the clearer way to put yourself in a bind.

Short work experience - omit?

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