What Really Comes Up on Job History

[LadyinAZ]

My question involves a background check in the State of: Arizona

A friend of mine said to be careful about working too many places or not giving accurate information to a potential employer. She claims they can run a background that lists all of my previous employers, time on each job etc....Is this true???

[Dogmatique]

If you're asking if there is some sort of centralized database containing details about every employee's work history...no, that's not correct.

For example - if you choose not to tell a potential employer that you once worked for Burger King, a background check is not going to give them that information.

However, if you omit certain details or aren't truthful that is generally ample cause to fire you at a later date once the truth is discovered (not that they need a reason to fire you in all but one US state...and even in that one state, exceptions apply).

If I misread your question, sorry - please elaborate

[cbg]

However, it is true that you want to be as accurate as you possibly can. It is sometimes very easy for an employer to find out information that you've omitted or have stretched the truth on.

Examples - and every single one of these is a true example that happened to me personally or that I was involved with - good thing I'm honest in my applications and too bad some of my employees weren't:

1.) Boss comes in: "Cbg, I'd like you to meet Mike Smith, the new COO". Mike Smith was my father's next door neighbor.
2.) Boss comes in: "Good morning, staff. The new head of our department has been hired - his name is David Jones and he worked for ABC Company. " Funny thing, I used to work at ABC company and my boss was David Jones.
3.) Hiring manager comes into my office trailing newly hired employee; "Cbg, this is Sam Richards. He's starting work today; do you have some time to go through his paperwork with him?" Sam had worked for me at a previous employer.
4.) I'm at a regional HR meeting and chatting with the person next to me. "You're with XYZ? One of my former employees left us to go work for you. His name is Jim Jackson". Upon further conversation, we discovered that Jim had lied about how long he worked for us - and not just a little lie; he worked for us for 8 months and told the other HR department he worked for us for 3 years. The other HR department did an investigation and ultimately fired Jim.

There have been other, non-reference situations too, such as when the new recruiter at the temp agency we used was a former colleague; when I started a new job to learn that my old employer was one of the new employer's vendors and our rep was not only someone I knew, but someone I trained; and when I said to another HR manager at a conference, "I know someone who works for your company; her name is Katie Peterson" and was told, "Katie was fired on her fourth day of work for lying on her application".

Also, remember that omitting information can be considered a falsification of an application, and it can be caught, too. Imagine if Jim or Katie had not put my employer down on their application, or if I had never mentioned working for the company Sam and I had in common. Truthful is always better. What employers hate is being blindsided. "I was fired because of x, and I take responsibility for what I did; I've learned my lesson and it will never happen again" might well pass muster; an employer finding out about x only after the fact because the employee did not mention it when they should have will not.

[LadyinAZ]

My question has been answered! It wasn't that I want to ommit any info, but a friend of mine suggested that it can look bad if I have worked for more than one "type of place as in the industry I have been in there tends to be a transient population of job hoppers....so that fact that I have worked for 2 different places, and am applying at a third place, she cautioned me. I have it on my resume so Im not sure why it would be an issue, but it sparked an interest on my part about what really comes up as far as work history. Thanks!

[Security Consultant]

She claims they can run a background that lists all of my previous employers, time on each job etc....Is this true??? Yes, when an employer runs a Social Security Number check, as part of their background check process, all previous employers you have worked for that deducted paid Social Security payments on your behalf will be listed.

[cbg]

I disagree with your friend that it will "look bad" if you have worked for more than two places within an industry. That may have been true at one time, but it has not been true for a long time. It is now quite common for people to change jobs for better opportunities, or to be laid off through no fault of their own and find other work within the industry.

The days when people worked for a single company for 40 years are pretty much over.

Please note that not all, or even most, employers run SSN checks that will show all employers.

[Security Consultant]

I disagree with your friend that it will "look bad" if you have worked for more than two places within an industry. That may have been true at one time, but it has not been true for a long time. It is now quite common for people to change jobs for better opportunities, or to be laid off through no fault of their own and find other work within the industry.

The days when people worked for a single company for 40 years are pretty much over.

Please note that not all, or even most, employers run SSN checks that will show all employers.

I can only cite from personal experience. Having been responsible for the background check policies for companies, I required them. In todays climate with the issues of illegal immigrants, the SSN check is a good way to discover undocumented workers and will also disclose employment left off by applicants that have progressed to the background check level.

[cbg]

And I can only speak from my personal experience, which is that it is not universally required or done.

[LadyinAZ]

cbg, I would tend to agree with you. Im not proud of the fact that I have had alot of jobs. But, I toggled between being a stay at home mom, a college student and part time/full time work. I have NEVER had a company ask me about ANY of my past employers after I was hired. It all went off what I put on my application and resume. Heck, even my credit report doesn't list my employers accurately!

[cbg]

My whole point is that they don't HAVE to ask you about former employers after hire. It's quite possible to find out, without asking, and in many cases without even looking for the information. But if they find out something that goes against what you've told them, that can go badly for you.