Can you leave a job off your resume?

[newmomRN]

Some of you may remember me. I was a new grad and pregnant a few months ago. Now, I am no longer pregnant. Sadly, I lost the baby. When I posted before it was over concerns that newly pregnant + stress from working as a new RN would harm baby. So I quit my job. Several weeks later found out I miscarried and did not know it. Fast forward to now. Now I realize that the odds of stress harming the baby were very small, that it was nature's plan. I also feel dumb for quitting my job simply because now I realize that it was impulsive and that there is no getting around the stress of being a new RN. I just have to find ways of dealing with it if I want to get in at leat one years experience at the bedside. I can't let what I perceive to be overwhelming stress get the best of me. That may mean meds, therapy, working part time, I just don't know but I am working on it.

So......I am trying to look at all of this with a different perspective. There is part of me that wants to be an RN, wants to succeed, and KNOWS that the only way to relieve the stress is through it. I HAVE to get experience to build confidence!! That said, I am applying for jobs. Do I or do I not include my first RN job I just quit? I have heard that HR has ways of checking and will find out if you don't include it...I feel really embarrassed about it now. I could be honest and include it but the reason I quit doesn't really look good or acceptable (I don't think) since all people have problems/stress/tragedies. Plus, I don't want to go into gory detail about the pregnancy, cuz I don't think that looks good either. I only worked a little over one month. What should I say about it if I do include it?

Also.....I was hired on nights previously but moved to days d/t being pregnant but do you think nights would be more suitable for someone with high anxiety? I frown on taking a night job d/t it messing up my whole rhythm (and in case I decided to get prengnant again) but if I was less stressed it could be worth it. If I chose nights I would delay another pregnancy at least for 6 months and most likely pursue meds for anxiety.

Thank you for any help!

[Ms Kylee]

You can always say you quit for "health issues" that have now been resolved. That way you don't have to explain what they really have no right to ask.

[llg, PhD, RN]

You can always say you quit for "health issues" that have now been resolved. That way you don't have to explain what they really have no right to ask.

That's what I would do.

If you leave it off completely and they find out about it, then they will know that you lied on your application -- and that usually means "automatic termination" even after you have been working successfully as an employee for many years. Lying on an application is rarely, if ever, worth the risk.