Do background check companies PULL your education history, or ask YOU to provide it?
All questions for US/Canadian offices only.
- When they ask you to SIGN offer letter which is contingent upon a background check, is that enough authorisation from us for them to easily PULL our records out of universities?
- If you come through a referral, do they still perform an intrusive background check?
- Is this a standard now?
- Is there anyone who was offered (in the recent past) without having to sign any authorization/release?
Cheers!
How do employers check education?
- Job verification is typically done by an independent firm
- You will likely be asked to produce transcripts
Most employers will hire an independent firm to conduct background checks on their behalf. This involves verifying your work history and your education credentials.
The independent firm or prospective employer will verify your work history by confirming your start and end date. If a firm is doing a deeper dive into your education (transcripts) they need your consent. At this point, your employer may ask you to produce a transcript to verify your education.
from certified user @DBCooper"
I think they pull: date of enrollment/grad, GPA, and major. However, if you are going for an analyst spot, they will probably want your transcript.
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Lots of threads of various firms background checks, but more or less this is the deal: Each firm contracts out of an independent background check company that then accesses your information. Firms like Kroll, Talentwise, etc. These background checks involve calling employers to confirm info, getting info from school etc. Not super in depth by any means (by comparison if you get a Top Secret-SCI security clearance the investigators can find out things that will make your skin crawl), I had an employer for a short time that went out of business and they were fine calling a person who I identified as my supervisor-he was my actual supervisor but could have been anyone. For work they are just calling to confirm that you are employed during the dates you said, they dont ask about reasons for leaving.
To answer your questions:
I'm not a lawyer but I think so. They just called my schools to check. My understanding is you give consent, though some schools may not provide transcripts unless YOU specifically request them (exception would be a security clearance). My undergrad for example would not do that, though they could confirm GPA.
Yeah, why wouldn't they subject everyone to the same background check. It's quick and cheap. Again, compared to a security clearance not very intrusive at all.
Typically go into a background check company's website and enter relevant information, that is correct. That's what I did for mine.
Yes, everyone gets background checked by the same firm. Never heard of an exception. Why would a firm provide an exception.
Yes again. Though if you passed a WES background check the consulting firm checks aren't any more intrusive and I don't see why you would suddenly have an issue.
This forum is anonymous, so if you have more specific concerns I may be able to give better answers.
Thanks babster for your to-the-point response. Q1) Do you work/have worked for an MBB? If yes, was it in the US, or Canada? Q2) If not, do you know any MBB who recently went through this process? Q3) Do companies in both these countries have similar processes?
I am not worried about the checks per se, but I am super uncomfortable with providing any authorisation to these background check companies. I have no idea who they are? Or what values they have? China recently busted an underground gang that sold personal information on Apple clients - all those employees belonged to companies Apple outsources to! I am fine as long as these companies perform the checks themselves, I am even willing to sit with them and provide all information to them. But only TO THEM.
But I guess, where we take one step forward towards personal freedoms, we take another step backward.
Q4) When you filled out that online form on the background check's website, a) did they ask for your consent? Q5) My university would only provide information on final grades IF they receive some form of authorization from me. My university wouldn't provide anything over the phone. In this case, would they insist on receiving my consent on a written paper (as required by my university), or would they have me request my university to deliver my transcript directly to them?
I would expect WES to be more careful than the rest because they have some big names on their client list e.g. Harvard. And they also let you contact your university YOURSELF, instead of pushing you for gaining access.
Cheers!
Pretty sure we use the same system throughout North America, but am not 100% certain.
Yes, you need to give that for the background check.
As for WES being more reputable b/c they have clients like Harvard, aren't McK, BCG and Bain very reputable clients? They aren't sending you to some sketchy firm, these are firms that do background checks for lots of F500 companies, BB IBD, big law, etc.
Experienced hire - education background check (Originally Posted: 04/24/2013)
Hi guys,
I have about ~3 yrs of work experience and received a verbal offer for a lateral position at a boutique firm. What type of background check should I expect for my education?
I didn't lie on my resume or anywhere. I have a gap year that is very justifiable.. Just want to be aware of what to expect.
Thanks!!
Interested in this as well.
They will find your transcripts and exam scores.
Do they just do transcripts or graduation confirmation for experience hires? Would love more experiences. Ty!
Anyone else?
halp!!!
This is probably highly situational given that its a boutique firm. I would be guess they will just verify graduation if anything, this kind of stuff varies a lot from place to place though, even in F500 you can't count on what HR will do.
They can't access exam scores or grades without your approval. So, if they ask you, you'll know. Otherwise the only thing they can do on a background check is verify graduation.
background checks - education (Originally Posted: 04/23/2010)
hi, i recently interviewed at GS, HR told me they would need to do background check and a credit check. at the time when i was applying, i wrote down on my resume that i graduated 09 but i didn't. i still need a few more credit to gradaute, does this matter? i am serious student and a hard worker, i've had banking internships and very serious about my career. do you think when they run the background check, will this not-graduating from grad. school be a problem? thanks so much!!
Idiot. They will find out fo sho.
WHy did you say you graduated in 2009? Did you put that on your resume/application prior to knowing that you were going to have to stay longer?
If you did this in good faith just tell them....if you did it just to make it look like you could complete your education in time to get a job or to not look unusual then you're fucked.
In the case of the former, just call HR and tell them what happened, that you thought you'd be able to graduate when you formulated that resume and, as it turn out, you didn't have the credits you needed.
Blame it on you advisor or something....are you sure you got the job? Is it an SA or an FT? Obviously if it's an FT you're really screwed.
are you by any chance related to jeffrey chiang?
m.c. trader - yes. I thought I'd have enough credit to graduate in 2009. I put that on my resume before I knew I didn't have enough to graduate. It is for operations analyst. I am not sure if I got the offer. I just asked GS to see what their hiring process is like and how long it'd take to hire someone. If I got an offer, I will definitely explain to them that everything was in good faith. Thank you!
Corenlius - I am not related to Jeffery Chiang and I am not making anything up!
BB Background check for education. (Originally Posted: 11/14/2012)
So I recently accepted an offer for a S&T analyst position with a BB. I transferred to my current school over 2 years ago, and following the advice of my schools career center, removed my previous school from my resume in order to make room for new internships. When my new employer runs my background check and sees that I went to another undergrad, will this hurt me in terms of my offer? I didn't want to lie to anyone during recruiting but everyone I talked to said its ok to remove your previous school after 2 years. Thanks
bump? please let me know if you have some insight
bump. really need to know
As long as you received the degree from the institution you listed and didn't fudge any dates I'm pretty sure it'll be okay.
I actually don't have the dates on my resume. I hasn't been a problem during recruiting.
You'll be fine if you didn't lie. A discrepancy is a lie whereas leaving something off is not.
Background Check - Education (Originally Posted: 02/28/2013)
Got an offer at BB for 1st analyst position. Do you know which information the Background Check reveals from my university? Exact dates? All subjects you were enrolled in?
how detailed are background checks especially at GS, JPM, MS?
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