Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would like to know if background checks can find if you worked at a company you didn't list on your resume. This isn't applicable to me, only a hypothetical
Suppose, you worked for Company A for 2 years and found a better job at Company B. You work at Company B for three months but get fired from the job and decide not to list it.
Can a background check determine if you actually did work at Company B? If so, how is that possible? They can't possibly call a company you didn't list. Also, there can't be some database that lists where everyone worked.
you give your social security number when you work so they can put you on the payroll tax... then you give it to the hiring company to give you a background check... you think it is hard to just look someone up by ssn? in theory there should just be one of you.
unless you are working under the table or something...
but my question to you is why do you even think it matters? Only list the relevant jobs and not any and all random jobs you had in the past. Employers know you curate the resume for them, why would they expect you to list everything?
but my question to you is why do you even think it matters? Only list the relevant jobs and not any and all random jobs you had in the past. Employers know you curate the resume for them, why would they expect you to list everything?
The OP is talking about the actual job application, not the resume. Of course nobody would list a 3-month stint on a resume. But on those job applications that state, "List ALL previous employment for the past 10 years." I believe he is saying that if he didn't include such a stay on both his resume AND app, could the employer still find out.
No they cannot. Only federal job that require security clearance have the possibility to, but I don't even think they can.
O_o, my current job went around asking my neighbors if I lived where I said, at each place for the last 10 years... job history aside, they went and checked into my friends and address... the government can and will do what they want :S
other than that, I haven't that that through or a background check before, the other ones were mostly call who I gave as references, check with hr of employers I gave, and that was that :S
Also, there can't be some database that lists where everyone worked.
It's not a single database but multiple databases that provide this information.
Example, you worked for a company that is out of business. The company that is out of business may of had their employment functions, or payroll, benefits, incentive processing and other functions handled by a third part outside company. When the company went out of business, those third party companies sell their info to other interested entities, mostly employment verification or data brokers. Also, when companies go out of business (especially for financial reasons) their employee files are an asset that is auctioned off.
Additionally, many times when you complete an application (online or in person) even if you don't get the job, they may provide or sell that information to a verification company or data broker who now adds it to your personally identifiable file.
When I do a background check, the company will run all sorts of searches through these contract databases and it will return what is available. If you listed a job with a company but not me and we used the same verification company, it will disclose the discrepancy. If you said you were a manager at a defunct company, we may find out you were the shipping clerk. The most common (besides job tiles) is dates; we get a report that said when you worked for ABC company you said you worked for that defunct company for 6 months, but when you applied to XYZ company you claimed 1 year, and Big-Name Payroll Processing (who did the payroll for the defunct company) said they had you down working for that company for only 3 months.
Even in states with limits on what can be obtained, there are still so many loopholes that we get things and may make a decision without every telling you why. It's easier for us to reject you for a "better candidate" than say we think you have lied to us. We have to resort to this because (often right on CD) people brag about using fake backgrounds, they encourage others to make things up, and they openly defy companies to check - so we check and the results isn't often what an applicant was hoping for. But, we are only doing what applicants have trained us to do through their deception.
I would like to know if background checks can find if you worked at a company you didn't list on your resume. This isn't applicable to me, only a hypothetical
Suppose, you worked for Company A for 2 years and found a better job at Company B. You work at Company B for three months but get fired from the job and decide not to list it.
Can a background check determine if you actually did work at Company B? If so, how is that possible? They can't possibly call a company you didn't list. Also, there can't be some database that lists where everyone worked.
I do know that there are companies I and my friends have worked for that use a service that lists every job you have had, the start and end dates and the salaries from starting to ending as well. My friend got pinged because she didn't have some of her start/end dates accurately listed or her salaries. She had to do some calling to old employers to get salary information and provide an explanation for the discrepancies before she was cleared to receive the job offer (it was offered, then pulled back because of the discrepancies). Not saying this always happens, but I do know that companies have access to this kind of information.
I've had at least two jobs in my life where I've been an unpaid employee. The first was my father's law firm where I was something of a technical adviser and investigative observer. His advantage was he didn't have to pay me; mine was that I could get passes to trade shows.
The second job, it was something of an informal apprenticeship for something like 12-14 years. When the business was bought, the new owner didn't go for this concept of volunteerism, so I started getting paid, he had my SSN, and as the phrase goes, I'm on the books now!
The apprenticeship thing, if informally, can be rather complex. I provided him with services so he didn't have to hire someone else for those tasks, but I didn't get paid, but he did provide me with technical support.
Back at the start of the century, I asked a prof about how to list all this....for applying to police agencies. My father's law firm wasn't important but he did tell me to list the volunteerism (I wasn't being paid by them at the time).
BASICALLY, be as honest as you can. Don't quibble about what you may have done. In matters like this, it either is or it isn't.
It depends on what you're trying to hide, and it becomes more irrelevant if it was years and years ago. I honestly "forgot that I worked there" is defensable if it was not your very last job.
if the issue is, you dont want to list the 3-month stint because it's "not relevant" to the position you're applying for, that could work. If you don't want to list the 3-month stint because "it was just a summer job helping out a friend", I could spin that, too.
If you're actually trying to hide the 2-year job, I believe the social security wages check would blow that one up in your face and your application would be tossed out for being fraudulent.
If what you're really trying to hide, is the potential new employer would be aghast at your previous job (e.g., you are applying for a job working with elementary school kids, and you previously worked at a w***ehouse), I think you're screwed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
