Background Check Question- London IB

Hi all,

am currently a masters student in Europe,

was recently able to snag two summer internship offers from BBs in London. While reading the terms of the contract, I noticed that I would have to undergo a background check which requires my past 5 years of addresses and employment. After graduating from undergrad, I was unfortunately unemployed for a 6 month period before beginning my masters.

My questions are:

1) what is the best way to phrase this on the background check form? 2) will this pose any problems for me in the background check process? ((everything on my resume (grades, dates, employment etc) is completely accurate, just no explicit mention of unemployment))

8 Comments
 

They will not ding you for this. Did you do anything productive during this time? Volunteer or travel? Whatever you do don't lie and say you were working or taking classes, no point in this. They will not retract an offer because of 6-month unemployment. However, you may have issues if you claim you were indeed working or in class during this time and get caught...

 

Teach yourself a foreign language and then tell them you spent that time teaching yourself a foreign language.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

It's a standard inquiry. Exchange/SRO Regs require that you list all employment for a certain period (in US, it is a 10 yr period) and there is no concern if there is a gap in employment. Just list it as unemployed. The key thing is that you can account for your time chronologically and don't leave any gaps.

 

hi guys, am currently undergoing a background check for a BB in London. Was wondering if you would list "volunteering" under "employment"? Coz technically there was no employer. Thanks!

 

Ut deserunt optio veniam rem. Similique quia illo dolorem. Sed neque illum ad quas sit dolores qui. In non est praesentium consequuntur aut exercitationem nostrum est. Blanditiis quia aut cum ducimus facilis nemo consequatur. Id unde est quae qui molestias. Cupiditate ipsum hic odio omnis et est nihil.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”