Leaving a job in bad terms - any backlash?

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GallbLad

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If I leave a popular company in bad terms, is there any way that medical schools/adcoms or future employers would know about this? Any repercussions or is it confidential?

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Very few employers are willing to say something negative about a former employee othar than (at the most) that you are 'not eligible for rehire'. Too much potential for lawsuits. And even that's only if they check your references and ask the right questions. If this is just some random part-time job you held for a little while prior to matriculating, it's not a big deal. If you held the job for more than a year, it might be harder to not mention your employment there.
 
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Officially if people call to check your references, like to HR or something, HR will generally only confirm that you worked there and roughly when. They don't have to say more and it is VERY rare to say something negative. I've been asked if the person was eligible for rehire.

Once, I was also asked the rough salary of the person.

Another time, I had one person ask a series of questions that were very detailed, than that but I think that is because I was a reference too not just employment verification. I am not sure how legal those questions were.
 
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Leave it off your resume. There's no such thing as a national employment database. If it's not on your resume, then the job never existed. Some job applications ask you to list ALL jobs for usually a ten year time period. If you look online, people often debate whether you can list it or not. Generally speaking, if people are fired, they leave things off. Though if there is a gap in employment, this might raise a red flag. As for your medical school application and resume, you only put things on there to sell yourself. DO NOT put anything which can make you look bad in the future. Also everything @DokterMom said earlier is true. Unless it is explicitly asked, your former employer can only say you aren't eligible for rehire. Just leave it off your resume, and you should be dandy.

If you end up applying for a government job like a VA hospital and it makes you list everything, be sure that you do.
 
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What about a volunteering opportunity instead of a job?
 
If a med school staffer calls to verify an activity, they aren't looking for a reference, they just want verification of time frame and work hours.

Though if someone was doing something very non-Kosher, like signing in and then ditching, I can imagine that the volunteer coordinator might either refuse to verify hours, or will tell all? Have you had any experiences trying to verify volunteering where the applicant did something very wrong? I imagine it's different than a paid job.
 
Though if someone was doing something very non-Kosher, like signing in and then ditching, I can imagine that the volunteer coordinator might either refuse to verify hours, or will tell all? Have you had any experiences trying to verify volunteering where the applicant did something very wrong? I imagine it's different than a paid job.
This is the kind of backlash that I worry for. Because I volunteered for 500+ hours, but I ended up doing something stupid which got me kicked out. Now I don't want that to follow me, if I decide to put that on my activities alongside my other volunteering hours.
 
This is the kind of backlash that I worry for. Because I volunteered for 500+ hours, but I ended up doing something stupid which got me kicked out. Now I don't want that to follow me, if I decide to put that on my activities alongside my other volunteering hours.

Yeah I have no idea what to suggest for that. :blackeye: That's a whole lot of hours to leave on the table. Here's a couple things you can do:

1. Contact the volunteer coordinator, and ask if you can still use them on future applications for hours verification. It would be really crappy of them to hold your hours hostage like that. The only way I can see them refusing is if you signed in, ditched, then signed out at the end of the shift for the entire duration of the activity.

2. Have a friend or someone call and try to verify your hours, and see what they say.

Remember, ADCOMs will only ask for hours if they either think something sounds off, or if they are doing a random check. In this situation, I'm not sure what the volunteer coordinator will say, but I doubt that anyone will be asking for performance. Alspo, it's unlikely that your hours will be verified anyhow. I honestly don't know what to do in this situation. It's entirely up to you. I feel terrible about leaving all those hours on the table, but am sure that you feel worse. :(
 
Yeah I have no idea what to suggest for that. :blackeye: That's a whole lot of hours to leave on the table. Here's a couple things you can do:

1. Contact the volunteer coordinator, and ask if you can still use them on future applications for hours verification. It would be really crappy of them to hold your hours hostage like that. The only way I can see them refusing is if you signed in, ditched, then signed out at the end of the shift for the entire duration of the activity.

2. Have a friend or someone call and try to verify your hours, and see what they say.

Remember, ADCOMs will only ask for hours if they either think something sounds off, or if they are doing a random check. In this situation, I'm not sure what the volunteer coordinator will say, but I doubt that anyone will be asking for performance. Alspo, it's unlikely that your hours will be verified anyhow. I honestly don't know what to do in this situation. It's entirely up to you. I feel terrible about leaving all those hours on the table, but am sure that you feel worse. :(

Well, I have the paper verification of my hours, but seeing as everything is done online, would I be able to scan in the document verifying my hours on AAMC?
 
Well, I have the paper verification of my hours, but seeing as everything is done online, would I be able to scan in the document verifying my hours on AAMC?

On AMCAS, you're asked to put in total hours and a contact. I'm not sure if you can give them the paper verification. It might look fishy too. Hopefully an ADCOM can answer this question better...
 
Have you had any experiences trying to verify volunteering where the applicant did something very wrong?
That role is not in my job description.
On AMCAS, you're asked to put in total hours and a contact. I'm not sure if you can give them the paper verification. It might look fishy too. Hopefully an ADCOM can answer this question better...
Planes2Doc is right, that your paper copy would not be regarded. You have the choice of providing a phone number or email address. You also have the choice of which person to list as contact if there is anyone in that office friendly to you, besides the Volunteer Coordinator, like a Secretary.
 
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