SINGAPORE: A fresh grad took to social media to ask whether she should list her “failed probation” as an internship or leave it out of her resume.
“I’m a fresh grad on extended probation and I’m about to leave my job soon. Can I put it as internship so that employers most likely won’t conduct a reference check or should I leave it out my resume completely?” u/shinehyun wrote on r/askSingapore on Jan 7.
She also disclosed that she is experiencing a decline in her mental health and that she is depressed, which is why she finds it exhausting to hunt for a new job while she is working.
“Should I go for a break to another country after I leave my current job and only start job hunting then? But I’m worried that if I delay my job hunt I will take a longer time to find another one/miss potential opportunities,” she asked.
“At the same time, I feel that the job that I’m looking for isn’t really a good fit for me, but I’m just applying cause it’s relevant to my degree,” she added.
SG Redditors say, “Leave it out,” but should you?
Several SG Redditors said she should remove the ‘failed probation’ from her CV.
“Just leave it out of your CV entirely. Take the time you need to fix your mental health and come back into the job market a recharged and more resilient person. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” one Redditor advised.
“How long have you worked there? If it’s less than a year, consider leaving it out. Also if u list it, they may call the company hr to check on your work performance,” another commented.
“Leave that out of your CV, doesn’t look good to a potential employer that you failed probation,” yet another Redditor added.
To exclude “failed probation” or not?
Many are against including the job failed probationary period in their resumes/CVs, fearing that it could hurt their chances of getting hired.
However, according to Channel Resume, the only time that you can safely omit information about your probationary employment is if it occurred so early in your career that the employer would no longer find it relevant.
Otherwise, listing the failed probationary period in your work experience is still better.
Your credibility within the company may suffer, at best, or you may face termination, at worst, if your employer discovers that that portion of your employment history was purposefully omitted.
You can just type in the year you worked for the company and skip the months.
You can also be proactive and include an application letter that explains why you left the company during your probationary period. This could be because the company, or your job, was not what you expected it to be.
There’s no need to go into details.