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Q: Hi Prudence, I spent about 20 years with GE Supply/GEXPRO in sales and then sales management and post-acquisition I found myself in a market that had two locations, mine was smaller and I was downsized. They took good care of me and my manager helped me to find another position with a rep firm. I only stayed there for about 9 months before a far better position became available with another large distributor. My question is, do I put that 9 month stint on my resume or leave it off? It hardly matters in the big picture as I’ve been with this company for several years now, but I’m looking to relocate and am trying to put my best foot forward on my resume.

A: Hi, Leave it on. Here’s the potential fallout from leaving it off; first, any resume you have sent out to anyone that reflects that on your resume still exists (we get people who do this all the time thinking it’s inconsequential) secondly, companies will check references, those will include the people you give them and the HR department will likely call the HR department of your old company to verify dates of employment, the 9 months will become obvious and if you lie, you can’t recover from it. Better to err on the side of honesty than lose a great opportunity because you didn’t want to appear like a job hopper. Best of luck, let me know where you land! Thanks, Prudence