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So, I just found out that "employment verification" is a standard part of the background check process. Honestly, I thought they just checked if I had a criminal record and called it a day, but it turns out they actually fact-check your resume history.

Since I had to learn this the hard way (cue 2:00 AM anxiety), I wanted to drop an informative guide for any other first-timers who might be in the same boat.

What are they actually checking?

Most third-party background check companies (like Sterling, Checkr, or First Advantage) focus on three main things:

Dates of Employment: They want to make sure your start and end dates match what you put on your resume.

Job Titles: They confirm the official title held at the company.

Eligibility for Rehire: Sometimes they ask if the company would hire you again, which is often a subtle way of checking the "nature of your departure".

How do they verify it?

It’s not always a person calling your old boss. They use a few different methods:

Automated Databases: Many large companies use services like The Work Number. It’s an automated system that gives the background check company your info instantly.

HR Calls/Emails: For smaller companies, they’ll reach out to the HR department or payroll directly.

Tax Documents (The Backup Plan): If they can't reach a former employer (maybe the business closed), they might ask you for W-2s, pay stubs, or 1099s.

What if there’s a discrepancy?

Don't panic if your dates are off by a week or two. Most employers understand that people forget exact dates from five years ago. However, if you claimed to be a "Senior Manager" for three years when you were actually an "Associate" for six months, that’s a major red flag that could lead to a rescinded offer.

Pro-Tips for First-Timers:

Keep your tax records: Seriously, save your W-2s and final pay stubs. If a company goes out of business, those are your only proof.

Request a copy: Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to request a copy of your background check report to see exactly what they found.

Be honest about gaps: It’s better to explain a gap than to invent a job that will "fail" the verification.

When you run background checks for new hires, what do yours typically include? Do they include employment and education verifications?

My boss is insistent that no one does employment/education verifications anymore, but that hasn’t been my experience with the past few companies I've been with.

Curious to hear what’s standard practice in your organization or industry. Appreciate any insights!

A friend is a senior PM at a FAANG company and, while recruiting, lied on his resume and said he's a Principal PM. He recently got a principal offer at another FAANG company and is now wondering if it will be caught in the background check. How common is this? Do they check job titles? His scope is definitely equal to a principal PM but just hasn't been lucky enough to get the promo.

Ever since he told me this, I've been doing a bunch of research on what employment background checks actually verify 🤔

Alright yall. I went thru a rigorous job interview process and got an offer!

They sent me a background check consent form where they are running a background check thru a 3rd party. I signed the form so they can run the employment verification, criminal, etc. In the body of the email the HR person also asked me to give her 3 companies I worked at, why I left, a phone number to the HR team, and my previous manager's name at these companies. They did NOT ask me to fill in my job title/dates so I assume they are using my resume or the info in the email to verify?

The thing is...I lied on my resume about a company (that I did not list above in the email) where I worked at. I said I worked there for 2.5 years when I only worked there for 1.2 years (inflated the start date). The company went bankrupt amd we all lost our jobs. I also inflated the title from "Senior Manager" when I was actually a "Senior Specialist".

Lying got me the interview, but nervous af about the results of the background.

How screwed am I? How do I go about this if they ask for proof? What other lies can I tell to secure this position

I've been watching this sub and people talk about twn as the end all be all but there are so many data sources a company could use to verify. one of my former companies used a small privately owned agency for employment verfication (it was not done in house by HR) even tho the company itself was a massive corp. this company, if called, will tell you whether x person was employed for what time, dates, and salary, etc. when i asked them where they got their info they said the company just gave them directly. there are tons of bc+ev agencies and u have no idea what third party service your new job will use. plus it takes time to shut down these reports too so how r y'all doing this?

I wanted to share my recent experience with the background check process. Reddit is full of people asking "will I pass?", but there is a lack of people actually talking about background check outcomes. So, here's what happened to me:

First off, let me be transparent: my job hunt hadn't been going great. Despite my skills in data analytics (with 5 years of experience), I'd been out of work for two years and was struggling to even land interviews with my honest resume. Desperation started to set in as my savings dwindled, and I knew I had to take unconventional steps to get back on track.

I changed the employment dates on my resume. Instead of admitting to my two-year gap, I kept my last company as my current employer. Was it honest? No. But I was at a point where putting food on the table outweighed playing by all the "rules," and I will not apologize for this.

The tweak on my resume worked. I started getting interview callbacks; it was like magic. Eventually, I was offered a position in the insurance industry and was asked to undergo a Sterling background check.

The background check asked me to provide employment history, and I was not able to select "Do not contact." Thankfully, I took a proactive approach and froze reporting sites like the Work Number, LexisNexis, and all credit monitoring services months prior. When the background check report finally came through, it seemed like they only glanced at the court records for the places I have lived in (I'm in the US). It was a very basic check; I guess the company only paid for a basic search on me.

Fast forward to today, I got the job, and I'm finally back on my feet. Sure, my resume might not be entirely accurate, but sometimes you have to bend the rules to survive in this cutthroat job market. I do keep LinkedIn, but I don't share photos or job history. If anyone were to ever ask, I would say it's a privacy concern sharing personal information online.

I don't feel good or bad about this; it was necessary to survive, so please spare me the lecture. I'm sharing this not to gloat about how I beat the system but because I know others find themselves in the same position. It's a hard place to be, and all I can say is, do what you need to do.

These companies do not have a crystal ball, and there is no running blacklist shared between employers of those caught lying. This isn't risk-free either, and maybe word can get around in a smaller industry, but my advice is to keep trying, and if you get caught, carry on and apply somewhere else.

I'm bored and might help you with the process. I might be the one who process your files right now. My department works with employment and education verification. Anything beyond such as salary, criminal investigation, gap, etc. will not be answered, sorry.

On my Resume I have the Year I worked at my most recent place of employment and not the date. On the application for the company it did not ask for dates, just to upload the resume.

I was let go from my job a few months ago and lied to the Hiring Manager that I still currently work there. I have only spoken about it with her and not HR or anyone else.

For the Background Check, if I put the correct dates I worked there I would pass the background check.

Once the background check is cleared does the Hiring Manager see the results of the background check which would show I have been unemployed for months and she would know I lied?

This is a multi national corporation so It’s possible that she would not see the results of the background check and just get the Okay from HR.

Can any managers confirm if they see the Background Check Results or not?

I'm about to do a 2nd interview for a role/company that I'm very stoked about. I was unfortunately laid off from my job a few days ago, meaning that I was employed during my 1st interview with the potential new company. I've seen varying statements online saying that some recruiters do verify employment history, while others don't. Should I say anything in my 2nd interview that I was laid off last week? I'd really prefer not to, but I don't want to come off as dishonest if there is some sort of previous employment verification after this.

There seems to be a lot of confusion and frustration around background checks. As someone who reviews background checks, I thought I could clear a few things up.

First in recent years many big companies have been buying out the little and medium sized companies. In the US this includes HireRight, Sterling Talent Solutions, CareerBuilder Employment Screening and others. These companies are pretty much the same and I would like to give you an idea of how they operate. It’s pretty much a call center model, the people that answer the phones and send emails are the bottom of the totem pole. This means that they are paid low (hourly), receive quick training and are limited in what they can say and do. In the old days, screening companies paid better, provided better training and the people that worked there could do things like make decisions and give candidates personal attention. Those days are pretty much over. (Most person details such as SSI# and birth date are partially redacted on the viewing end)

Also, some companies have changed how they review the results. My company recently started to have legal department review and audit background checks, we have been given very specific guidelines on what is acceptable. This includes what are known as discrepancies; dates, titles, names, etc. For instance, if a start or end date is off by more than 3 months, this is a discrepancy that must be corrected by the candidate, with the background company. Not all companies are taking this step, but there has been a lot in the news on failures with this system, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. We have had instance where candidates lied about job titles and responsibilities, they interviewed well but couldn’t perform basic job duties after hire. We have also had instances that led to a lawsuit for terminations based on poor performance. The legal team hates these things and when they happen, we have to be stricter with details.

As a candidate you need to take steps to ensure that this process goes smoothly and quickly for yourself and your employer. As an HR person I can’t handle this for you, it’s your background, not mine and the results are really between you the company doing the checks. Just like a credit check this includes a lot of personal information. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to push back a start date due to delays in the background check, which doesn’t make a great first impression. Most of the time this could be avoided by the candidate just by paying attention to the details and being as accurate as possible.

THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, not mine (I’m not your admin, you don’t pay me and I shouldn’t be involved in your personal matters.) No, I can’t take your word for it. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I’m sure you’re a fine law-abiding citizen that would never lie on your resume or application. However, that’s not good enough for a background check, we need documented evidence folks.

Here are some mistakes and discrepancies I’ve noticed come regularly. If you are actively seeking employment it might benefit you to get this info together now and keep it on file;

• Name; please include your full legal name as it appears on your SSI Card and other legal forms of ID. Yes, I know this sounds obvious, but if your name doesn’t match your SSI, then as far as the background company is concerned, you don’t exist. So full legal name please, no “go by” or other variations.

• Address; for at least the past 7-10 years, including dates at each address. Again, please check for typos and accurate dates.

• Education; Please enter your degree/s; include the name of the college/university, dates attended, major, level of degree and date of completion (graduation).

• Professional Experience; The background check will only verify job title and dates of employment through the HR department of each employer or employer approved clearinghouse (used by most large companies – WorkNumber.com is the most used, you can order a report for yourself if need be). If you work for a small company then yes, they will call and speak to whoever answers the phone first, maybe even your manager.

• Employer; is the name of the company that paid you for work as it appears on W-2s, 1099s and/or pay stubs. Many people get this wrong, it’s who pays you not where you work. Maybe you work for Bob’s Office, which is s subsidiary of Acme Corporation. You need to know who pays you, Bob or Acme. If you list Bob and its really Acme, Bob’s Office will not verify employment, and this will be marked “unverified” or something. If this happens you might be asked to submit documents to verify employment.

• Also ~ if you check NO to the question "May we contact this employer?" ~ You will be required to submit additional documents to verify employment dates and job titles including: W-2s, 1099s, pay stubs, offer letters or Article/Certificate of Incorporation (for self-employment). Never forward copies of these documents directly to an individual person, the company should be providing a secure way to upload into a date base or something. As an extra measure you might want to redact all or part of your SSI# and birth date.

FAQs;

Q: Will the company contact my current manager?

A: Maybe. If you work at a larger company, they will use a clearing house for employment verifications and not call your boss. However, if you work for a smaller company (one location) they might have to call the location. How this is handled is anyone’s guess. They should be directed to a HR person, who knows only to verify job title, dates and maybe last pay rate. If there is no HR person, they might just get through to your current manager.

Also a few HR folks and hiring managers falsely believe it is OK to contact listed supervisors directly for a reference. You should be asking the HR representative making you an offer if this might be the case.

Q: How far back does the background check go?

A: The standard answer is 7-10 years, for government jobs it can be much longer (20+ years depending on level of security). Again, I would ask when accepting an offer for clarification.

Q: What’s included on a background check?

A: For most jobs’ verifications include; criminal, employment, and education. Depending on the job and industry it could also include; verification of licensure or certifications (if required for the job), driving record (if driving is part of the job), credit check (if in the financial industry or job requires access to customer information). Again ask.

Q: How far back and what’s included in a criminal check?

A: Larger companies have a legal obligation to provide a safe environment for both customers and employees. Felonies such as murder will appear for a lifetime. Misdemeanors really depend, I’ve seen quit a few DUIs and other driving offences that won’t matter if driving is not a part of the job. I would consult with a lawyer, the HR person isn’t the person to decide for the company, the company lawyers are.

Q: How can I find out what was reported on my background check?

A: Just like a credit check, you have a right to this information. Contact the background check company and request the report.

Q: What can I do to make things go smoothly and quickly?

A: I’m glad you asked this question! First of all - take a deep breath, it’s going to be OK. You can also do a little leg work before your next background check. Do you have copies of your W-2s, if not you can request a report from the IRS, call all your previous employers and ask for copies or even pay to conduct a background check on yourself. The devil is in the details, so if you gather all your info now all you have to do is fill out the form right. Not that hard, right?

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

https://www.goodhire.com/blog/complete-guide-to-background-checks

https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/background_checks_employers.cfm

(edit to add links)

Does the company I got an offer from go into the background check details to see the employment history breakdown with the dates and cross check with what they have on the resume or will they just automatically accept me as long as the checker background check is green!

I accepted a new position last week, and as expected, have to undergo a background check. I filled out all the paperwork, provided 10 years of former employers, education, etc. and went on my merry way. This is a standard process and I’ve never run into any issues before. Well, except for that time one of my former employers lied on a government security clearance request and told them I was terminated instead of laid off. But that was a long time ago.

Anyway, late last week, I got a phone call from the company doing the background check, telling me that one of my former employers was unable to verify my employment, and the company doing the background check requested I could provide evidence of employment (W-2, paystub, etc.). Ironically, it was the same employer mentioned above, so I wasn’t terribly surprised. I thankfully was able to find the old W-2s and submitted them.

Fast forward to this week: a second request from the company, saying they were unable to verify another employer, and asking me to provide evidence for that one. Oh yeah, and they also needed evidence of one of my degrees because they couldn’t verify that either. Ok, this is starting to get weird. I received a phone call for them with the same request, so while I had the person on the phone, I asked if there was anything else they still needed. She looked and said “oh yes, can you also send us information from a third employer, they haven’t replied to our request yet either”. So half an hour of digging through files and scanning, more W-2s and a copy of my diploma was sent.

What the heck??? Seriously? Is this an issue with the employers or the company doing the background check? One issue I can understand, but four separate ones really seems fishy.

I did learn an important lesson though: keep your old W-2s or pay stubs! 10 years or more apparently...

Just curious but how far back do employers typically go in terms of years when verifying work history?

And how does this verification work?

Hey everyone,

I have a question about how companies verify past work experience during background checks.

Let’s say someone worked at a company under a certain job title, but the actual work they did was different from what they expected. For example, they were hired for a technical role, but due to internal changes, they ended up working on something much simpler.

When a new employer does a background check, do they:
1️⃣ Just confirm job title, dates, and employment status with HR?
2️⃣ Go into details about the actual work done at the company?
3️⃣ Ask about specific projects and responsibilities?

The reason I’m asking is that due to the bad market conditions, some people tweak their experience just to get an interview call. But I’m wondering—do companies ever verify beyond just the job title and duration?

Would love to hear from anyone who has been through this process or knows how in-depth these checks usually are. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I have lied on my resume (made up experience) and therefore lied on my interviews as well. It’s the only way I’m able to even get interviews in the current state of the market. Long story short, a potential employer told me that they would need 2 weeks for a background check. How do those work? What do they entail? And would they find out about my employment lies. I have contacts at the companies I claim to have worked at (2 of them, both foreign) that can corroborate my claim. Am I okay for the background check or will they know I lied? This is an entry level position btw

Please help and thank you 🙏🏽

Do background investigators really see all employers you've ever had ? If so how? For clarification not trying to hide employment but when I was younger I worked a lot of odd jobs as freelancer and with temp agencies and can't recall all of them. Would also take me some time to try and tack down contacts for all of them. As some of them were just for a day or 2 .

I was personally working on this years ago and it's only gotten better.

Payroll providers have been working on how to share data like this for years. Background check companies provide this as a service where they call previous employers, but the desire to fully automate is very high.

If two employers have the same payroll company, it's beyond trivial. If they have different payroll companies, it depends on who is doing the background check.

It can be built into background checks which cost practically nothing and you probably consented to have run at any time. Companies can sign up for packages with automatic re-runs and alerts if something changes.

I've seen a lot of posts lately with people not knowing how they were busted.

Personally, as a manager of managers, I am very vocal that measuring performance is what matters. Top performers consistently get more done in less time, and what they do has a bigger impact.

People are encouraged to have side projects that might turn into their own company. Hell, many successful startups are such because some employees worked on the side to solve a problem their business had, and their j1 wound up being their first customer. J1 often invests in "J2."

Low performers aren't going to get any more done if they work 12 hours versus working 4. They might actually get more done working 4, and the research on knowledge work (such as software engineers that I manage) is pretty clear that longer than a 6 hour work day is not productive.

Are two 4 hour work days in one 24 hour window more productive in terms of a civilization's total productivity? I don't know yet but I'd guess as long as there isn't a lot of task switching, the answer is yes.

Anyway just a PSA.

I lost my job in March 2023 and spent most of 2023 applying to 100s of jobs. I finally got an offer from Job A with start date of December 4, 2023. Right after I accepted this offer, I got an interview call for job B with much better title and position. I chose to not reveal about job A and continued interviewing while working in job A. I received offer from job B recently , which I accepted with a start date of Feb 12th. I am resigning from Job A tomorrow ( no notice since I am on probation), but I am worried it will show up during background check. Am I overthinking ? Please help me with this.