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I was offered a new position by a company and signed for them to do a background check on me. I've always been curious as to how the process works, especially when it comes to employment verification.
I'm asking because when I initially listed my employment history on the online job application a few weeks ago, there was no "May We Contact?" box for either my current or prior employers which I found a bit odd. The HR team requested three professional references as part of their standard interviewing process, though, which was fine.
I eventually received a job offer this week and, yesterday, I signed a third-party background consent form called the "Consumer Report and Disclosure" in which I had to list my name, DOB, SSN, Driver's License, and either a Yes or No question regarding have I ever been convicted of a criminal offense. There were a few extra pages explaining my rights under Fair Credit but I didn't see anything regarding listing employment, calling employers, or anything like that.
I'm a bit worried because I don't want my current employer to know I'm looking elsewhere, as there wasn't a box to select "No" on the company's job application...nor was there anything mentioned about it on the third-party background check form.
Do you think they'll still call my current and/or previous employers? I appreciate any insight and experience.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The first unusual thing is asking for your SS number at this stage. They need it when hired for taxes, but getting it now means a credit check. Is this a job where you are responsible for large sums of money?
My job is responsible for several millions in revenue and expense and yet they didn't do a credit check on me.
As for your contact question, without a way to opt out of it, they probably will contact HR at your current employer to verify dates of employment. If the person is professional about it they will not divulge the reason, since it could be a mortgage company, or other lender asking.
The first unusual thing is asking for your SS number at this stage. They need it when hired for taxes, but getting it now means a credit check. Is this a job where you are responsible for large sums of money?
Hi Hem, nope no money involved. It's for a dispatching position for a trucking company. Hope that helps!
They can contact as many or as few people as they want. They don't need to ask your permission about who to contact since the background form you signed gives them permission to conduct whatever check they deem appropriate.
I’ve had background checks done from several companies, including Hire Right and Sterling. If my memory is correct, there’s a field on the form that allows you to indicate that you don’t want your current employer to be contacted, or only contacted after you left. It sounds like there was no such field?
Perhaps, you can contact HR at your new company and express your concern. I’m sure they are aware of the sensitivity of this situation.
I've had a bg check on me a few months ago. They said it could take up to a week but it completed in less than 8 hours. I think it was automated. I even got a link to the results. Of course, there is no one size fits all bg check. It depends on what the company is requesting and the company performing it. Here's a few excerpts from mine.
Report Summary
Component Result Status
1 SSN Trace Complete
2 Multi-State Instant Criminal Check Complete
3 DOJ Sex Offender Clear
4 Criminal County Search (7-Year Address History)
Jurisdiction: (county), (state) Clear
Package Title
Comprehensive Background (7 Yr Cty, Multi-State, Sex Reg)
Report Status
Complete
Request Submitted
Sep 29, 2020 9:57 am
Report Completed
Sep 29, 2020 5:44 pm
Completion Time
7 hours, 46 minutes
I’ve had background checks done from several companies, including Hire Right and Sterling. If my memory is correct, there’s a field on the form that allows you to indicate that you don’t want your current employer to be contacted, or only contacted after you left. It sounds like there was no such field?
Hi ccm123, there was no field on the background consent form about employment; whether it was listing employment history or contacting anybody at whatever company.
If I remember correctly, when my current workplace extended an offer several years ago, I was given a link to their background check company's website where I had to list my employment history. Of course, my prospective employer is using a different company, but I just found it unusual that there was nothing like that this time around.
The first unusual thing is asking for your SS number at this stage. They need it when hired for taxes, but getting it now means a credit check. Is this a job where you are responsible for large sums of money?
Some background check forms do ask for SSNs and credit checks aren’t done.
Some background check forms do ask for SSNs and credit checks aren’t done.
As seen in my report, they did a SSN trace. I've checked my report with two of the three majors since and saw no inquiry that looked like it would be the bg check. It would probably be considered a "soft pull" anyway.
I’ve had background checks done from several companies, including Hire Right and Sterling. If my memory is correct, there’s a field on the form that allows you to indicate that you don’t want your current employer to be contacted, or only contacted after you left. It sounds like there was no such field?
Perhaps, you can contact HR at your new company and express your concern. I’m sure they are aware of the sensitivity of this situation.
Second this. There is always a box that you can check for them not to contact your most recent employer. They will get your consent before contacting your references. Pretty much anything beyond that they are calling your corp HR hotline to find out basics like title and tenure. It's not as though they are dialing up your boss. You have nothing to worry about
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