Work and Income has admitted it asked a Napier woman to delete her university degree from her CV in order to allow her to apply for jobs at a supermarket and fast-food outlet. Natalie Meehan, 22, said in earlier reports she was "mortified" by the advice. "I am really proud ofmy achievements and I don't want to delete them," she said. Ms Meehan completed a political science degree in 2008 and finished her most recent job in March. She was seeking fulltime work pending an application to join the navy later this year. After not finding a job in Napier, she organised a meeting with Work and Income on Tuesday. During the meeting she says she was told to dumb down her CV, and remove any mention of her two administration jobs before approaching prospective employers at Pak'n Save and KFC. "If I removed my latest work experience it would look [to employers] like I hadn't been doing anything for the past couple of years." Ms Meehan said she had also been frustrated at not being able to get any financial assistance from WINZ. She said her degree would likely mean working from one of the government ministries in Wellington. "I see the jobs advertised there, but at the moment I don't even have the money to fly down for interviews." Work and Income deputy chief executive Patricia Reade said a case manager suggested Ms Meehan take out reference to her degree but did not tell her to remove her work experience. It was common practice for jobseekers to tailor their CVs to the jobs for which they were applying, but it was not appropriate for staff to suggest they take out "valuable" qualifications or work experience, she said. Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said she was seeking information on the case.
