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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    1

    Question When Will Previous Employers Show Up in Background Checks

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

    I was let go just shy of a 90 day probation period with a previous employer. It was a W-2 position. Overall let go on bad terms.

    I'm very hesitant on mentioning them on a "previous employers" section. I'm wondering if they would ever show up if a potential employer does a background check on me.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: When Will Previous Employers Show Up in Background Checks

    Contrary to what many people believe, there is no generally searchable data base that has a listing of all your employers, that can be accessed for background checks.

    However, there are a great many ways that an employer can find out about previous employers, often without even looking for the information, outside of a background check.

    My favorite, true story, about how this can take place, happened to me a few years ago. Luckily I had not left any information off my application so there were no repercussions. My maiden name is somewhat unusual, and I was using it at the time. My employer had hired a new COO and I would be reporting to him. When I was first introduced to him, he commented on my last name and mentioned that he knew someone else with the same name. Turned out he was my father's next door neighbor, and a good friend. They had frequently shared information about what their respective kids were up to. If I had left anything off my application, he'd have been in a good way to know about it.

    As would, in a different situation, a former boss, who through a series of layoffs and mergers turned up as my boss again, two companies later.

    Any given industry is a small world, and especially these days when there are a lot of chopping and changing. Even without a background check, it is not by any stretch of the imagination impossible that a former employer could eventually discover that you had left an employer off your application. What they would do if they did is unknown, but they could immediately terminate you for falsification of your application, and the termination would be legal.

    I do not recommend leaving any employers off an application unless you worked for them less than about three weeks. It's far better to include them, but explain that you left on bad terms and get your own spin on the situation beforehand, preferably without badmouthing the employer. Most employers understand that not every employee is a good fit for every employer, and you wouldn't have left if everything had been going well. What bothers employers is not an employee having had a bad experience with a previous employer - it's being blindsided about it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    15

    Default Re: When Will Previous Employers Show Up in Background Checks

    Also be careful if you've posted your past employment history on sites like Linkedin, Facebook, or MySpace, and any job sites like Monster or Dice that you might have posted resume's onto. Also, be careful if you've used an email address from your former company as contact info to ask questions on a public blog or technical website.

    Any of those can come back and bite you in the rump when you least expect it.

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