Dear Cindy – Still on Staff, But …

I worked at a hospital for a couple of years, but have been on leave for the past year and haven't done any shifts. Is it a lie to say on my résumé "to present" regarding this job? I am still on staff.

Sincerely,

Still on Staff

If you indicate your experience like that, your pants would definitely be on fire. And when I worked in recruitment, this sort of misrepresentation always left a bad feeling about the applicant among the recruiters.

You are on staff, but you're not working, and that's the main concern in a résumé. When and where did you work, and what did you do while working?

It's March 2008. If your write, e.g. "Staff Nurse – Medicine, Hospital X, January 2006 to Present," it looks like you have about two and a quarter years of experience, doesn't it? But based on your scenario, you actually have one and a quarter years of experience. That's not only a significant difference in time, but in this case, it's also a big difference regarding the currency of your experience.

It's better to state something like "Staff Nurse – Medicine, Hospital X, January 2006 to March 2007" and then indicate in the information about the job that you're on leave, and haven't worked any shifts, but are still on staff.