I am wondering whether I should admit to a recent DUI conviction on a
job application. The application specifically asks to list all
convictions. Can or would they find out if I didn't mention it? The
DUI was in another state in a different part of the country. The job
is a university administration/student affairs type.

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Clarification of Question by firstimpression-ga on 22 Sep 2004 08:34 PDT

Thanks Pinkfreud for the moral advice and for the link. I have decided
that you are right -- lying about it would be a far worse crime than
the actual offense. Furthermore, I am just beginning my career and
would like to make an ethically honorable start. I am very relieved to
hear your advice; let's hope my future employer will appreciate
honesty as much as you do.

Thanks Steve for all your ideas. I probably don't have the time or
motivation to get the record sealed, and I am too risk-averse on the
issue of my employment to take my chances. Your comment gave me my
alternatives and convinced me that I had better fess up.

I urge you to tell the truth on the application. If you do not, even
if they don't find out immediately, you would have this hanging over
you forever.

If you do not list this on your job application, the omission may come
back to haunt you many years later. Many employers have a policy of
terminating employees for falsifying their applications, and that
policy is sometimes enforced years after the fact. A friend of mine
was recently promoted because the previous occupant of the job had
been terminated for having made a crucial omission of fact on her job
application. The job application incident had occurred in the 1980s,
but the employer had a zero-tolerance policy with no time limitation,
and when the truth came to light, the axe fell.

Here is an article that I think you'll find interesting:

http://www.businessweekasia.com/careers/content/jul2002/ca20020717_1599.htm