Interview question

[wood pecker]

At what point do you reveal any screw ups in the past / skeletons in the closet during an interview? Ex. - I was I mean a friend was busted for minor in possesion but was advised to not disclose this voluntarily as a sealed case can only be revealed with a written request to the judge/court that handled my/his case. He has done the background checks and nothing pops up. He asked advice from my current airline ( friend in hiring dept.) and nothing pops up.

I have read the multiple posts that contradict what I have been told that is why I am asking how do you prove your being honest. On the application is there a blank that ask or will this question be asked during an interview?

I don't want to blow a once in a lifetime oppurtunity over a beer. Thank you for your help

 

[Launchpad]

Be up front about it. I had a MIP as well, still got hired a 4 airlines. I also worked on a Captain's board giving interviews. Everyone (Almost everyone) has skeletons, usually the interviewers laugh about it afterwards.

Bottom line is if you don't disclose it and they find out about it, you will lose your employment. Not because of the skeleton, but because of the lie....

Good luck-

 

[blzr]

If you have satisfied your court ordered dutied it should not even be on your permanent record. May want to talk to the lawyer that represented you, i mean, your buddy and verify though. As long as it wasn't a DUI you should be good to go.

Case in point, my roommate from college got a DUI at 19 but got off as a youthful offender. He interviewed last year, 10 years after the fact, consulted his lawyer and was told to act like it never happened. Sure enough, it wasn't on his record when they did the 10 year background check. Basically, It never happened. Still, you would be well advised to consult your representing attorney to be sure!

 

[Clyde]

At what point do you reveal any screw ups in the past / skeletons in the closet during an interview? Ex. - I was I mean a friend was busted for minor in possesion but was advised to not disclose this voluntarily as a sealed case can only be revealed with a written request to the judge/court that handled my/his case. He has done the background checks and nothing pops up. He asked advice from my current airline ( friend in hiring dept.) and nothing pops up.

I have read the multiple posts that contradict what I have been told that is why I am asking how do you prove your being honest. On the application is there a blank that ask or will this question be asked during an interview?

I don't want to blow a once in a lifetime oppurtunity over a beer. Thank you for your help

Wood,
I'm not a lawyer nor have I had this issue happen to me, but for what it's worth this is what I would do:

I would disclose it. First of all, it's not like you committed a felony or any serious crime. Also, there's no guarantee they won't find it if they look hard enough.

Disclosing this up front, especially if you don't have to, will say quite a bit about your integrity to the interviewer. They may even shrug this off. I would rather get this out of the way early, than possibly hear about it years down the road with them asking why this wasn't disclosed.

Again, just my $0.02

 

[Spooky 1]

Don't know how this might impact your decision but with all of the new TSA requirements taking effect there is usually a basic "criminal background" check to see if you have encountered any felonies. Most states consider a DUI, a felony. The check will go back for 10 years and they will not only check the law enforcement agencies where you have lived for these periods but the driver lisc. issuing state as well. A minor in possession does not sound like a felony, but just to make sure you can go to a web sight and for a few bucks they will run a check for you and you can see if anything comes up in your record.

Being truthful is proabably the correct course of action.

 

[Launchpad]

Along with a professional background check, I called the courthouses in the cities/counties that I had lived in the past to see if anything came up. I Even provided dates and citations. Nothing ever came up, but I disclosed them anyway. It gets there attention, but usually it's no big deal. I wish they would have never hired me, being furloughed blows! Just kidding.

Good luck.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Disclose it if asked, verbal or written.

Its nothing, nobody will disqualify you for that alone.

But get caught lying...bamm...out the door, see ya, pack yer $hit now.

then try and explain THAT one later...Id rather expalin a beer possesion when I was kid than explain why you were canned for lying.

I have seen this happen, just come clean it if asked! - people like honest folks and hate liars. - and intentionally hiding info because a lawyer told you it was sealed is...well....lying.

Dont sweat it, dont dwell on it. Its nothing.

 

[Flying Freddie]

Hey,

If Nixon didn't lie he would still be President.

 

[Keydet]

Hey,

If Nixon didn't lie he would still be President.

How does Clinton fit into this argument?

 

[Gulfstream 200]

awww....c'mon...he just got caught "piggin" and was embarassed to admit it...even though its expected when married to something like Hillary!!

.

 

[vetteracer]

This could be state specific, but in my state everything you have ever done in the state is forwarded to the county in which you live. This information is stored in a document called the Clerk of Courts Records. This in not your driving record, or your criminal record or your FBI record. It is the record of all CHARGES and CONVICTIONS. It is stored in my state forever. It will have everything from parking tickets to minor in possession.



I asked the lady at the Clerk of Courts office if they get request for these records, she said they mail them out every day.



If an application asks what county, you can bet they will get the clerk of courts records.



Nothing is ever “gone”; there is a record of it somewhere. Most companies, airlines in particular are going deep, i.e.; the clerk of courts to find info for the TSA.



For Me:

NDR – Clean, not a speck of ink.

FBI – Stamp and seal of “NOTHING”

State Driving record (5 years) Clean.

Criminal (state) – Shows warrants, parole, jail time, etc. Clean- Nothing ever nada.

Clerk of Courts Records – everything I have ever done in this state.



Merry Christmas.





Mark

 

[Ty Webb]

Most states consider a DUI, a felony.

Not true. Most states consider a DUI a misdemeanor. Your inappropriate use of a comma, though, was felonious.

 

[Dinger]

Be honest. Put it down.........I have done that for three airline interviews and the general question when it came up (and it came up every time) was........"What were the circumstances that resulted in the MIP"? I told them what happened and the typical response from the interviewers was something to the effect of....."so you got caught doing something almost everyone at this airline has done"?

Two of those airlines hired me (suckers)! I did, however, just get a rejection letter from the third, but I am pretty sure it wasn't because of the MIP.

 

[Spooky 1]

Wrong Ty. Most states do consider a DUI feloney. I'll bet you a double on that one.

 

[Spooky 1]

Wrong Ty. Most states do consider a DUI felony. I'll bet you a double on that one.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

maybe a DUI is just more socially acceptable in Alabama as opposed to other places...

.

 

[Creamer]

I would definately disclose your minor infraction if asked. You don't want to spend your entire time with that company in fear of losing your job.

Look at it from the interviewer's point of view. Everybody was a teenager once and I'll bet at least 80% of the interviewers drank a little hooch before they were "legal". This is something they can relate to and just adds to the credibility of everything you tell them in the interview. They will see you as a real person with integrity and may actually be a positive overall! Make sure you talk about how you have learned from this experience and are now a better person because of it....yada yada yada.

Good luck to you.

 

[Resume Writer]

I would also suggest you disclose it. MIP is not a big deal, as we all know that many people drank before they were legal to drink.

It also presents you with a good opportunity to tell what you learned from the incident. The answer should not be that next time you will hide the beer better!

Just be honest, be humble and let them know that one brush with the law was enough for you. (assuming that it was! ) It is the people that continually keep making the same mistakes that worry hiring people.

Kathy

 

[wood pecker]

Thank you for the quick replies. I know to be honest, just wondering when do I get the chance. Is it on an application or during an interview? During an interview, does the interviewer ask specifically what mistakes have you made or does the application give you one tiny space to list arrests with no room for explanation. The airline I am curious about is AirTran if anyone has any specific details on how they go over background checks.

P.s replace all of the I s above with he/she or friend from Grenada.
Thanks again this info is great as out my multiple roommates all of us have screwed up in the past. Maybe a character trait to be a pilot. Instead af being told to eat my vegetables why didn't my parents tell me don't get arrested you could F up your whole future.