Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Caught stealing from job

I am NOT a hiring Manager but I do advise clients to put "job ended" on applications. Its not a lie and if your clever (if asked) you can explain what happened without lieing or saying you were fired for theft. In fact find out how your termination reads it may not say theft! In addition not employers call former ones and not all employers give detailed info. One major retailer only tells other retailers that person worked there, for how long and if they quit or was let go. No other details are given.
 
shrinkmaster said:
I am NOT a hiring Manager but I do advise clients to put "job ended" on applications. Its not a lie and if your clever (if asked) you can explain what happened without lieing or saying you were fired for theft. In fact find out how your termination reads it may not say theft! In addition not employers call former ones and not all employers give detailed info. One major retailer only tells other retailers that person worked there, for how long and if they quit or was let go. No other details are given.
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Okay thanks . but I'm pretty sure they will tell them I was let go & my letter says terminated for theft
 
Yes. They are going to tell them you were let go and they very well may say that you were termed for theft. That is a given. That is the risk you took when you decided to steal from them. It is no one's fault but your own.

However, I still say that you will have an easier time finding and keeping a new job by acknowledging what you did and that you have learned from it, than you will by trying to hide the fact that you worked there. I am telling you right now, you WILL be caught. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not till next year. But you WILL be caught. That is a given as well. And WHEN - not if, WHEN - you are caught and you have to admit to the next employer not only that you were fired for stealing, but then you were fired again for lying about it - just how easy do you think it will be to find the next job?

Remember, with this on your record you're not going to get another job in retail. It's going to be much more likely a job where you wear a paper hat and ask, Do you want fries with that? And that's if they let you work the cash register - you may be the one in the back wrapping the burgers. Or mopping the floor. You're not going to have the luxury of picking and choosing.
 
I have aided others with shoplifting issues work and remain in retail but its not easy and there is no guarantee. CBG is the expert in HR related issues but if you want I can pass on pointers I gav clients to you. If you desire you may email me at retailtheftexpert@gmail.com
 
Go ahead and fill out your applications however you want to do so but don't be surprised when you don't get a job because you lied about being fired. I'm sure a manager is going to want someone who is honest more than someone who lied.

If my ex husband who is currently on trial for a felony charge can get a job - even just a temp job - you can get a job. He also has a history of burglary, aggravated assault, 4 DUIs, and two misdemeanor charges he just got in April. And he's on probation.
 
No really saying a "job ended" is not a lie its the truth. Much depends on wording again I am not suggesting anyone lie. Example "I did not have sex with that woman" (remember that?). Because he did not have actual intercourse it was (in some views) not a lie.
 
"Job ended" is one thing. What do you suggest he say when the recruiter or hiring manager later comes back to him and says, "We talked to your former employer and he says the reason your job ended is that you were fired for theft?"

Because that can happen. And likely will.
 
shrinkmaster said:
No really saying a "job ended" is not a lie its the truth. Much depends on wording again I am not suggesting anyone lie. Example "I did not have sex with that woman" (remember that?). Because he did not have actual intercourse it was (in some views) not a lie.
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He did have sex with her - oral sex. He lied about it. That's why he got impeached. He lied under oath. That's not a great example to use.
 
And this is what I am asking. What are you suggesting he say instead, to the question I posed? It's all well and good to suggest, Job Ended. That might get him into the interview. It will NOT get him past the call to a former employer. More and more employers are answering such questions honestly in situations like this; they don't want to be sued for negligent responding when/if the new employee steals from the new employer. And they are legally permitted to do so.

So, he's had the interview, he said the job ended, and now the prospective employer has called the old employer and been told he was fired for theft. What does he say now, shrinkmaster? How does he answer that question without lying, and still not admit that what the former employer said was true?

Don't tell me it won't happen. It can happen. We await your wisdom.
 
Its a crap shoot much WILL depend on whether or not the former employer will say more than acknowledge he/she worked there or give details. However if the OP just blurts out "I stole from my former employer" hes done! Of course this also depends on if call is even made. Without giving too much detail let me give a story from a client. The client was accused of wrongdoing. Rather than be terminated for the wrongdoing he (with Manager knowledge and approval) resigned to avoid possible firing for wrongdoing. On all applications he puts"job ended". If asked he states he didnt feel he and his Manager would share same views on how he should perform his job so he left. None of this is a "lie" He has worked at his current job now for many years and is highly praised for his job skills. Had he stated why he actually left he would never had been hired and his current employer would have lost what they consider a valuable asset.
 
You're missing the point. Which is that the employee/applicant is NOT the only one who gets asked questions. You're counseling him to just say his job ended, which is definitely stretching the truth even if not absolutely a lie, and then you're just abandoning him when it comes to what to say to a prospective employer who catches him out. For that matter, what do you suggest he say if the employer says, So WHY did the job end? At least I'm trying to give him a way to work with the full truth. You're taking him down the garden path and then leaving him there.

And I've got news for you. I can just barely see, "Job ended" as acceptable. But if you got fired for theft, "The manager and I didn't have the same view of how to perform the job so I left" IS A LIE.
 
I have to agree with cbg. All jobs end ("job ended") whether you are let go by employer or you quit. Generally prospective employers are going to want to know why the job ended & I believe the best bet would be to tell the truth to start with instead of just "job ended".
 
Being accused of a crime, doesn't mean you committed the crime.
In fact, our constitution mandates that anyone accused of any crime is innocent until proven guilty (or they plead guilty) before a court of law.

An accusation, in this country, doesn't rise to the level of a conviction.

The presumption of innocence, a foundation of our civil and criminal justice systems.
 
But we are not talking about a court of law and we are talking about an admitted theft. He does not have the presumption of innocence under employment law. Particularly not when he acknowledges the theft.
 
cbg said:
But we are not talking about a court of law and we are talking about an admitted theft. He does not have the presumption of innocence under employment law. Particularly not when he acknowledges the theft.
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I'm not supporting anyone's premise, or point of view.

I'm simply saying that an accusation of theft doesn't mean the person did steal.

Frankly, as a person who has hired, and still does hire people; if I ever saw "job ended" on a resume; possible employment chances with me would also be ended summarily. I'd simply toss the resume into a receptacle that temporarily contains trash.
 
An accusation of theft doesn't mean the person did steal, I agree.

But a person who acknowledges that he stole, most likely did.
 
cbg said:
An accusation of theft doesn't mean the person did steal, I agree.

But a person who acknowledges that he stole, most likely did.
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We agree on the second sentence, too.

If you take a plea, it's even more convincing in my view than a guilty verdict. Both, nonetheless, arrive at the same conclusion. You did it.
 

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