Do I include a job I left after a few months?

[~Shrek~]

I accepted a job straight out of school. I quit after a few months, with no job lined up because I was exhausted and extremely depressed and my family was willing to support me for the sake of my well-being. I don't want to go into detail here about why I left the job, as I have good reasons.

Am I legally obligated to put this job on my resume? I am terrified that I will be labelled as a "high risk" employee and a quitter.

I know some of my friends who graduated with me are still searching for jobs, and I am still able to be considered a new grad.

My main concern is that if I don't include this on my resume, someone will do a background check and say I omitted information. I would put it on my job applications if they ask for work experience, but not on my resume. Some job applications just ask for a resume and nothing else.

Is this considered lying? Should I still leave it in?

[caliotter3]

I have read that you tailor your resume to read the way you want, to put yourself in your best light. Different matter on the job applications that call for ALL employment during the past X number of years.

[llg, PhD, RN]

If they ask you to list all your jobs ... or all of your jobs within the past X years, etc. ... then it would be considered lying if you don't tell the truth. If discovered, it would probably lead to automatic termination with a notation that you would be ineligible for re-hire. Definitely don't lie.

To simply not list it on your resume is considered lying by a lot of people -- but not all. While it is not stating something that is false ... it is intentionally misleading and most employers would consider it a serious misrepresentation of your background. The consequences might be as bad as outright lying.

I recommend that you come to terms with the fact that your first job did not work out. Only when you come to terms with what happened, will you be able to move on.