While potential employers can view some of your previous employers/positions through background checks, employers cannot view your entire work history. There isn’t one central database that keeps track of every job you’re held. Therefore, what they find out during these types of checks will depend on the type(s) of checks they perform and what information you give them about your previous employers/positions. This guide will outline what will show up on these checks, what will not be reported, and how to deal with gaps in employment or background issues.
What Employers Can Actually See
Your employer’s evaluations of your employment history come from three sources:
- What you’ve written on your resume.
- What former employers tell them when they contact them regarding your employment with them.
- Possibly through a background check done by a background check company.
Your resume only contains the relevant information that you’ve decided to put into it. Most people list only relevant jobs, omitting short-term or outdated roles. Employers expect this to be the way that your resume presents your strengths. No one would include on their resume a two-week job where they left after one day, or any seasonal positions they did 10 years ago.
Screening companies conduct background checks to verify the resume that you provide. They confirm your claim about dates employed (and whether employed) only by calling the employer(s) that you provided, along with completing some checks of the public courts (which vary from state to state). Credit companies do not, in and of themselves, provide you with a complete list of (and/or where you had) a job; in fact, there is no single source that can give you this information.
How Verification Works
Existing employers check to see if your previous work history is valid by contacting employers you previously worked for. The majority of corporations have a Human Resource (HR) department that is responsible for taking these calls. HR generally only verifies date of employment, job title, and occasionally, salary. Performance history and termination reasons are generally not provided by the HR department.
The Work Number is used by many large corporations as a third party service provider of employment and salary verifications. The database contains approximately 2.5 million employer records in their database (source: Equifax). If your prior employer utilized this service, a verifier can instantly retrieve your dates of employment and job title(s). Small companies often do not use any third party verification services, so they must be contacted directly for verifying employment history; if the company has gone out of business verifying your employment may prove to be very difficult.
Standard verification is a method of confirming basic details about jobs you’ve listed on your application. Employers want to make sure that what you’ve said about where and when you worked is true.
The information typically verified includes:
- Dates of employment (start and end)
- Job title or position held
- Employment status (full-time, part-time, contractor)
- Salary or wage (sometimes, with your consent)
- Eligibility for rehire (sometimes)
Majority of employers will simply stop right there. They do not normally find out about any of your reviews or why you left unless someone offers that information first. Many companies have written policies regarding sharing specific details in order to avoid any potential lawsuits.
Types of Background Checks
In terms of the amount and quality of the screening/ranking employees to see what type of job they qualify for; each job will have different requirements depending on the level of risk. A retail job will only do a criminal check, whereas a finance job would do checks against every job for the last ten years and do a credit check as well. The employer will make the decision on how in-depth they are going to screen based on the type of industry and job.
Basic identity verification includes confirming identity and searching for criminal history. This type of check typically only validates the last one or two jobs held. Most basic record checks will typically cost between $20-$50 for the employer and take between 1-3 days to complete. Retail, food service, and entry level positions will often utilize basic checks for pre-employment screening. A criminal record check will include a search of county, state and/or federal databases to locate arrest/conviction records and pending case information. The search will not retrieve any work history directly.
A comprehensive background check will verify additional employment history and include additional searches. Additional references may be verified as part of the background check. Responsibilities may include reviewing civil court records for a period of 7 to 10 years from the date of hire. The cost of comprehensive background checks is generally between $50 – $150, with completion times between 3 to 7 days. Comprehensive background checks are used for professional positions, management positions, and positions that have financial responsibilities.
Some sectors have legislation that governs what checks to carry out, e.g. in healthcare, employers are required to carry out a licensing board check, whereas in financial services, an employer must check an individual’s credentials and any regulatory sanctions against their names. For companies awarding government contracts, a security clearance is also required, and it is not just about doing a regular verification, as these are very specific types of checks.
What Doesn’t Show Up
No single database automatically tracks all of your jobs. Credit reports indicate your debt, not where you’ve worked; criminal records only show your arrests and convictions, but they will not indicate where you’ve worked in the past; and tax records are retained by both the IRS as well as various states and do not provide information about where you worked previously.
Employers typically do not check social media for hidden employment history. A background verification is a tool used to verify the information your application contains but cannot uncover secret employment. You may be able to hide short-term employment that you did not list on your resume, unless someone from that company communicates with the new employer about your work history.
Cash jobs, freelance work, and gig economy jobs typically do not exist in the verification system. These positions exist outside of the traditional payroll systems and do not leave a paper trail to provide evidence of employment.
Your Legal Rights Under FCRA
How an employer uses background checks is governed by the FCRA. When an employer conducts a background check on you, you have certain rights under the federal law. These include requiring the employer to obtain your written consent before conducting a background check, and allowing you an opportunity to refuse to be screened; however, if you refuse to sign the consent form you may not be hired.
If the employer opts against hiring you due to your background check, they have to inform you about this decision. Two notices are mandated by law. The first notice is called the “pre-adverse action” notice which must provide you with a copy of your background report and your rights. The second notice is called the “adverse action” notice that confirms the decision after waiting for an appropriate amount of time for you to respond.
Mistakes are common in background checks. Common errors include having the wrong person’s name or having incorrect titles/dates. However, if you believe there’s a mistake on your report the FCRA allows you to contest the error. To contest the error, you must contact the agency that provided the screening report. They are required by law to conduct an investigation of the contested information within 30 days. If they cannot verify the accuracy of the contested information, it will be removed from your record.
Several states have FCRA regulations that provide additional safeguards. Employers cannot conduct criminal history searches beyond seven years in California. Employers cannot inquire about criminal history in New York until after the applicant has been interviewed. Thirty-five states have banned the practice of asking about a job applicant’s criminal history on an employment application. You should review the laws in your state to learn about what protections you have.
Preparing for Verification
Be proactive by preparing your background prior to applying for jobs. Look at your own background and compile the necessary documents. Consider how you will address issues in your history. Being prepared helps to avoid any surprises.
Make sure to check out all the information available about you before any employers do. You can receive free copies of your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com. Some past employers may have used The Work Number as a source of employment data, so be sure to request those records as well. You can search counties where you have lived for courthouse records. In addition to this, you need to create a complete list of all jobs you have held with their accurate dates and contact past employers if you are not certain of exact dates.
Tell the truth about your past. Lies create larger complications than telling the truth would cause. Background screening catches lying by verifying important information such as degree, certification, and employment history. If found to have lied during the background screening process, there is an opportunity for immediate disqualification; if employed when discovered to have lied, there may be a termination. If you have gaps in your work history, short tenures, or left a job on poor terms, be prepared to answer questions during an interview regarding these issues, if asked. A brief, factual response is a much better choice than a vague response or no response.
Common Questions Answered
A variety of unique circumstances can lead to an individual losing sleep over employment verification. Below are specific responses to the most frequently asked questions.
Typically, employers cannot see the jobs you did not list. The purpose of most background checks is to verify what you provide, and not to uncover employment you may have “hidden.” In most cases, if you have worked for a short period and did not include that employment on your resume then you are unlikely to have that information come up in a background check.
It’s uncommon for employers to know exactly what the reason you left an employer was, unless they were able to verify it through a “re-hire eligibility” check, which indicates your exit point. The majority of employers limit their reference check to confirming employment dates, job title(s), or time frame from hire to termination. Employers normally do not have access to detailed references about why someone left or how they were terminated.
Checks may be checked back in time by either an employer or the law of the state in which an employee works. Criminal records can often be checked back a maximum of seven years. Many employers require you have worked at least the previous ten (10) years, while some may only verify your work history from the last two to three (2-3) jobs. Be sure to inquire as to how far back in time the company will conduct their verification checks.
Do employers ever check your employment history? Not always; there are various reasons as to why a potential employer may choose not to use this method. Typically, there are 3 types of companies: those that always conduct an employment verification, and those that conduct extensive employment verification checks for senior level positions only, and those that will not conduct either type of verification at all. Each company has different policy’s so it makes it difficult to determine if an employment verification will take place or not. Generally speaking, large corporations will always conduct an employment verification check, whereas small businesses typically do not conduct any employment verifications.
The history of your work is yours to control, including how much of it you choose to share and confirm that what exists about you is true. You should be checking your records frequently, disputing errors as soon as possible, and preparing for anything that may give rise to questions regarding your employment history. The purpose of employment verification is to identify falsehoods rather than find out hidden truths. Individuals applying for jobs who are being honest and whose resumes are accurate will generally not have many concerns.
