I could use some advice!
I accepted an offer from a great system last week. This job took a long time to get. I first applied two years ago, finally got a call in Jan, interviewed twice and waited a month for the offer. I have positive references from my last several employers.
NOW, I get two worrisome emails, four days before orientation starts.
1. An email from the Reference Checking Company that they are "having trouble getting a reference from "Former Employer Hospital", and they need me to fill in the attached release form and fax it to them, pronto. The form has checkboxes for me, the former employee, to specify whether I resigned in good standing, was terminated, resigned in lieu of termination, or was laid off. Then there is a section for the previous employer to confirm or deny what I stated.
Backstory: This was my first job out of school. I was there a year and I stopped working there a little more than a year ago. I resigned from full time and I do recall getting a letter of acceptance for per diem. However, at the time I resigned from FT, I was taking a LOA to have a surgery. My recovery time was longer than expected. I was depressed and just, never went back. I never went to Occ Health to be cleared to return to work. I didin't formally resign. I didn't receive notice of termination either. I wish I had handled it differently.
2. I also got an email from HR of the new job, asking for me to call her tomorrow. That she has to put me in the system, but first, she needs to know if, by any chancem I ever did an internship at their Main Hospital.
Backstory: No, I never did an internship in the main hospital but I did do one in one of the other facilities in the system and it was a total fail. It is not on my resume. I answered "No," that I have never been employed in that system, because it was an unpaid internship, not a job. It was a fail because I did not perform well, e.g, lateness, and just not fitting in, d/t overwork and lack of life balance. This was four years ago. If asked, it is likely that the person in charge of that internship would give a very poor reference.
Other than those two things, my other work references are strong. I have one year at my current job and got a good reference, as well as two other agency jobs prior to this.
I should have managed things much differently for the internship and leaving that first job. Oh well, live and learn.
So now what?
Whan I call HR tomorrow, should I tell her about the internship, AND fully disclose that I unprofessionally flaked off from aforementioned job? Should I say I was terminated on the form?
Of course I must be honest. Just, HOW to. It is a slippery slope. I don't want to lose the offer!
Thanks.
