Employers who ask for prior addresses (employment, applying, applications, find a job)
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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Some employers will do more than just a credit check, for sensitive work. Having your old addresses allows the to contact landlords and neighbors, and check county records for foreclosures. It does also provide information as to your stability but it seems like your job history would do that.
One of my application requested something like that quite a few years ago. It was for a job with security clearance. Here's what I put down:
Current address Sep 1995 to present
Apartment address Sep 1994 to Sep 1995
Parents address May 1994 to Sep 1994
College Address Aug 1993 to May 1994
Parents address May 1993 to Aug 1993
College address Aug 1992 to May 1993
Parents address May 1992 to Aug 1992
Don't feel back to put down your dorm/college apt address.
Some employers ask for prior addresses on their online application. Today, I applied for a job that asked for my last seven(!) addresses. I feel that prior addresses constitute personal information irrelevant to the job application process. What purpose does such information serve other than to waste the time of applicants?
There is probably no good reason for this employer to have this information. You may not be legally obligated to provide it. But the law doesn't matter. All that matters is who has power in the immediate situation, and employers always have all the power when dealing with job applicants. If you refuse to provide any bit of information, they can simply remove you from consideration. The burden of proof that they eliminated you for an unjust reason falls on you, not them. You'd never be able to prove anything. It is terrible, but we are all basically the property of our employers.
It's for the criminal background check. Criminal records are searched in counties/cities/states where you lived or worked for past 7 years.
If you put an Iowa address from 5 years ago and also a Kansas address from 3 years ago, then both states will be searched for criminal records, also counties and cities from those addresses.
They're gathering info for a credit/background check. I've actually lost out on opportunities before because they wanted to go back and check X number of years, but they would have had to call people in countries where English isn't the official language. Now that I'm several years removed from living in non-English speaking countries it isn't so much of an issue anymore, but boy was it a hassle.
But back to your original question...yes, it's almost certainly for a credit/criminal background check. And you may think it's a hassle or an invasion of your privacy to provide this information, but trust me...if they ran a background check on you without it, they'd find it out on their own regardless. You providing them with this info just saves them some time and gets you to a hiring resolution that much more quickly.
It's for the criminal background check. Criminal records are searched in counties/cities/states where you lived or worked for past 7 years.
If you put an Iowa address from 5 years ago and also a Kansas address from 3 years ago, then both states will be searched for criminal records, also counties and cities from those addresses.
that's right! i had to do this for my job and i couldn't remember why, but now i remember that it was for child abuse clearances.
They want to be able to run credit checks, and even before running them if you move every 4-6 months they won't hire you. I have a relative that is facing this challenge. They have moved 6 times in 3 years -- and I don't mean within one city. Those are all moves that took them at least 50 miles from their previous address. (Going back and forth between two towns)
I don't bother to fill it out, but that may be needed for cashier type jobs. I wouldn't accept a job where they needed that kind of information. If the job is asking people with Master's for that info, they are too stupid to treat that employee correctly.
Some employers ask for prior addresses on their online application. Today, I applied for a job that asked for my last seven(!) addresses. I feel that prior addresses constitute personal information irrelevant to the job application process. What purpose does such information serve other than to waste the time of applicants?
I think seven prior addresses is a little much. Just put in the two where you lived the longest. Also, some people move almost every two years for some reason or another. They want to see you have stability. They are trying to see if you have been a state or U.S. resident for a period of time. Of course they can use your social security number for a background check to find this out, but they have to pay for that. This is their way of getting it for free.
My guess is that they want to call your previous landlords and see if you were a good tenant. It sounds like a huge waste of time for them.
Being a good tenant has nothing to do with your job. If you were a noisy and trashy tenant but a stellar employee what good is that info? Your job references speak for that. They want to see how much stability you have and that you have been living in the U.S. and the state for a good length of time.
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