Job Discussion Forums

[Omeo]

My regular doctor knows I have this. If she has to fill out the medical report I turn in to JET, me keeping quiet about it won't matter; unless she forgets, which is possible.

Y'know what? I just had a brilliant plan that will hopefully clear up this whole thing. I'm gonna write to JET and AEON under a fake name and ASK THEM. This is probably what I shoulda done in the first place instead telling a bunch of strangers about it and asking them. Not that I don't appreciate your input, of course.

[Synne]

[Omeo]

Okay, folks. I had a phone conversation with AEON this afternoon. Here's how that went:

First of all, what happened was, I wrote them under a fake name saying I had a friend who had a medical issue they were too embarrased to ask about so I was doing it for them. I said I didn't wanna ask my question until I knew I was talking to the right person and asked them to forward my message to the right person and have them get back to me.

When the guy got back to me, his message, of course, contained a copy of the one I'd sent and I noticed that at the top of my message, my real name was right there in the 'From' line, (D'OH!) So I thought, "Well, the jig is up; might as well come clean." So I wrote back to the guy saying, "Hi. This is my real name. Sorry about the ruse; it's just that it's not easy to talk about this with a total stranger."

Today, I gave him a call at the number he'd given me and I'm happy to report that he didn't seem to think it was a big deal. In fact, he seemed to not understand why I even brought it up. He indicated that I could just as easily have kept my mouth shut and no one would've known or cared. He wasn't encouraging me to lie, he was just saying that I was making a bigger deal out of it than I needed to. He said that AFTER the teachers were hired, THEN the company would ask if there were any medical conditions they should know about; mostly in case of an emergency. Apparently JET does the same thing; they ask about your medical information after they've already hired you. But, again, he didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

Here's the interesting thing, though; the thing that actually has me a little paranoid now. He didn't seem to think that the herpes was going to be an issue, but it bothered him that I had tried to lie about my identity. He didn't chew me out or give me the third degree or anything, but he said that as a professional and a potential employer, it gave him pause that I had tried to pull the wool over his eyes. This really surprized and embarrased me. I would've thought he wouldn't care. I would've thought he'd be more understanding. I mean, yeah, I shouldn'a done it, but cut me some slack here. Like I said, this isn't an easy thing to talk about with someone I KNOW, let alone a total stranger. It's not like I was actually applying for a position and hiding this from them. I was just trying to ask a question. I dunno; I guess I hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot, there. I hope my name doesn't ring any bells when it actually comes time to apply. But there again, I'm probably sweating over nothing. Besides, he DID say that I should go ahead and apply.

I'm not even gonna bother going through this with JET. I'm just going to assume they feel the same way and keep my mouth shut. I guess I feel comfortable telling them about this when I apply, especially if they're not even gonna ask until after I've ben hired. Besides, if that's how they're gonna react to me lying about my name just to ask a question, I can just imagine what would happen if I lied on my medical report and they found out later.

So there you have it. The moral of the story is herpes probably won't matter to them, but don't try to lie about your name. Thanx for all the feedback, guys. See ya next question.

[king kakipi]

Mmm, so now, thanks to your ill-concoted and poorly implemented plan, there will be a little black mark next to your name on their computer system......

[Zzonkmiles]

Congratulations on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Look, you're obsessing about this a bit too much. Either don't say anything about it at all, or be completely open. Half-stepping your way through this will only lead to embarrassing and incriminating situations such as the one that just happened to you.

[Doglover]

You've basically just proved to him that you are sneaky, devious and on top of that, a liar.

Not the kind of person they want working for them if you need to lie to get a job because you are embarrassed about a problem you have.

As long as you are not sleeping with your students at work, they dont care about your sexual history. What you do at home is your business.

Pretending to be someone you are not when applying for a job is something else again.

[Perpetual Traveller]

[Omeo]

Wow. I was expecting a little more support on this, but okay. I just don't see how this really makes me look like such a bad person. I could understand this kind of reaction if I was actually applying for a position and trying to hide this from them, as some have suggested I do, (and I WAS thinking about doing.), but all I did was use a flimsy disguise to ask an embarrasing question and I'm some sort of scoundrel for doing it? Okay. Live and learn, I guess.

Yes, I see the irony in me posting this on the internet for all to see, but again, I really thought that this might stand in my way of getting hired, even though I knew it shouldn't. I mean, isn't that a legitimate concern; thinking that a medical condition might hurt your chances of living your dream? I didn't wanna bring this up to everybody, but I had to know.

Anyway, as I said before, the guy did encourage me-more than once, I might add-to go ahead and apply. He just kinda scolded me for lying to him. And again, yeah, I shouldna done it, but holy cow, am I really a lying sack just for that? Wow.

[Doglover]

[Synne]

It's amazing how quickly ppl will jump on others for small faults.

You previous four posters excluding Omeo, grow up.

This is a support forum, not an attacking one.

Omeo, do not worry about it one bit. Whats done is done.

The fact of the matter is that your concern was indeed a very personal one. You wouldnt ask a dozen ppl in an office "who has herpes, raise your hand" and expect anyone to answer. If your employer cannot give you a little leeway becuz of the serenity of this matter then he is no better then the flamers on this forum.

Dont let this slow you down, youve got your answer now so keep moving forward.

Best of luck.

[kdynamic]

[Omeo]

I think I'll probably do just fine despite this. I think there's a good chance the guy won't even remember my name by the time I actually apply, and even if he does, I don't think they'd pass on me just for this or he wouldn't have encouraged me to apply anyway. In light of this whole thing, I'm going to be completely honest with them.

Actually, I don't think I would feel the same way if someone did this to me. That's exactly why I'm so bewildered by this response. Even if I didn't have this, I'm pretty sure that if someone came to me under a false name with a question about this and later told me their real name, apologized, and said the reason they lied was because they were embarrased to ask the question, I think I'd be pretty understanding about that. I suppose I can see things from his perspective on this after the way you guys have explained it, though. I'm not saying I agree, but I guess I can understand why this might make him hesitate.