Employment Background Check
Hello, I recently got an offer from a BB in Risk Mgmt. I have worked for this BB and same boss 2 years ago. They are doing a background check currently and I need to know if they will check for my real GPA. I have a 3.0 but I put 3.6. I did the same thing when I applied before and no HR ever called me to explain the discrepancy. Just wanna know if they will only confirm my degree status or check my GPA as well.
Thank you.
What is a Background Check?
Background checks are the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records, and financial records for an individual. Typically, firms will do a background check during the final round of interviewing or after an offer has been given.
What is Reviewed During a Background Check?
Background checks vary firm to firm but a general overview of what is to be checked are:
- Academic dates: School attended, degrees, awards
- Employment history: Dates employed, position, companies
- Criminal background: any arrests, misdemeanors, felonies, DUI
- Credit checks
Many students worry about background checks, if they lied regarding their GPA or academic history and user @TraderJoe1976" makes an excellent point regarding this:
The university cannot release GPA and transcript without your written consent. They cannot release salary information or performance information without your consent.
However, when signing offers you often have to agree to letting these kind of checks happen in order to start employement with the firm.
Read More About Background Checks on WSO
- IB Background Checks: What You Need To Know
- Does Background Check Include High School Diploma?
- How Does The Employment Background Check/Verification Process Work?
Preparing for Investment Banking Interviews?
The WSO investment banking interview course is designed by countless professionals with real world experience, tailored to people aspiring to break into the industry. This guide will help you learn how to answer these questions and many, many more.
They might. They might not.
No one on here knows for sure. They could be more likely to look at your transcript now that you've graduated (assuming that this job is full-time, as opposed to the previous two), so you might be screwed. But you had to expect that possibility applying with a fake GPA.
say was a typo
Sounds like Société Générale
your gpa will show on your transcript. maybe they will glance by and miss it....
.
Why would you put 3.6 if you had a 3.0?
yea i cannot believe a BB missed this discrepancy the first time you applied
Actually, they do not check the GPA during the background check. The following checks are done: Academic: Dates attended, degrees awarded Employment History: Dates employed, position Criminal Background check: Any arrest record, incarceration record, for sensitive jobs they may require a FBI fingerprint check which takes four weeks to get the results and shows ALL arrests anywhere in the USA. Even DUI shows up on FBI record. Court Record; Any civil suits Credit check However, you will have to leave this company after a few years experience and go to another company. For senior level promotions, something like fudging GPA 8 years ago suddenly becomes very sensitive and results in the person being fired. There are many cases where senior people have been fired when they came up for promotion and a routine background check done as part of the promotion procedure shows that they had been recently arrested for something like DUI, spouse abuse, assault, etc. If they had not come up for promotion no one would have ever been aware of their arrest record.
In regards to academic history, do employers verify only the information you provided them with (which universities you said you've attended) or will the background check return a list of every educational institution you've attended, even if it never played a role in the completion of your degree?
What happens if one of my jobs was "under the table" and it doesn't show up on my background check. Am I in trouble and is it looked down upon?
For academic history, they only verify the information which you provide on your resume. The university has a legal obligation to provide name, SSN, date of birth, dates attended, degrees awarded. They make this information (not SNN and date of birth - that is only for identification purposes) available online. The university cannot release GPA and transcript without your written consent. For employment, only dates employed and position are verified. They cannot release salary information or performance information without your consent. Results in lawsuits. I should add that arrests for pot possession and engaging the services of a hooker also show up on the background check and can create a lot of probems. The only way to get those arrests off your record is through a Governor' pardon which costs a hell of a lot of money.
+1
Thanks. I was always curious how background checks worked. I didn't know if they had access to your entire academic/employment history or if they just look into and verify the information that you provide them with.
Many universities ask background companies to contact http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/ to verify an individual's degree and enrollment these days. But if you withhold your information from the university directory under FERPA, your information cannot be verified through NSC. Most likely your employer will simply ask you to submit your diploma/transcript.
I don't see how you can sleep at night with that huge of a discrepancy on your resume. Unethical..thats borderline just wrong.
You'd be surprised what some people do and get away with.
Chances are the IB Analyst sitting next to you is the same guy who cheated on the Econometrics midterm because he was too busy getting trashed the night before.
In the end, it all comes down to now how much you know, but how much you can SHOW you know. That's why BS'ers fare so well in interviews. In this case, the guy knew what he was doing was wrong, butt bit the bullet and went through with it. He didn't get caught, so he's lucky. If he gets caught now, he deserved it.
But yea that's life.
I hear ya, they thing with background checks is that they can uncover the "typo" at any time. I know there was a post on here a while back about a guy who had been working for a few weeks/months and was called into HR and let go on the spot. He didn't even have time to explain to his MD or anything .
To the Op, I would be worried each day I walk into work that today will be the day that HR discovers the truth...If they don't, consider yourself one lucky dude
You must have nerves of steel to apply for jobs by changing your GPA from 3.0 to 3.6 and actually getting through the job interviews in a calm manner. I hope that you continue to follow through on this endeavor and successfully get this job and keep the job for three years. Then you can apply for other jobs with your 3.0 GPA or apply for MBA programs with your 3.0 GPA. Keep it up and Best of Luck. We surely need more people like you. I have no doubt that you will be successful in life. Don't chicken out now. There are a lot of people like you who partied way too much in college. You will give them all hope that they too can get good jobs and be successful in life.
Actually, if I remember correctly. When I was going through the process, some potential employers asked me to bring unofficial copy of transcript. Forgot if this was for internship, I believe it was for at least a few on site interviews after handing in my consent forms. Also had to do a drug test after getting the offer. I thought this was kind of standard. Not sure who your employer is, but I also concur on the ballsy part.
In a way, I kinda feel bad for the OP. He/she'll always sit on nails for a few years. Potentially awaiting a possible discovery. Having to consistently hide this information in case someone who he/she pissed finds out and lets HR know. Personally not worth it.
The difference between OP and the guy who cheated his way to an in Econometrics. One straight up lied the other did what many college kids do, partly work, partly hustle. In no way am I saying either is right or better. But the stage is different.
Compulsory schooling is absolutely nonsense and is one of the biggest jokes in modern day america. Who cares if someone cheated on an economics test?? I agree with the above poster that it everyone comes face-to-face with the dilemma of cheating, especially in college. College is the biggest joke anyway. There is hustling and outwitting others to get by, and then there is flat out lying...
the same thing is happening to me.. it says 3.75 instead of 3.57.. and im kicking myself everyday about it. my only hope is to try and make it look like a typo.. its for an unpaid internship.. but theyre still doing a background check! its going to be tough if you're planning on staying in BB in any case.
I know it has been somewhat covered but is it true that the employer has no access to salary information from a credit check alone? Will it show what dates you were on the payroll? How much can they obtain this way?
You guys mention HR verifies employment history, but what about extracurriculars around school?
One time I lied about an internship I never got, companies didn't check that and I still got offers, but I have since taken it off my resume. Not worth the stress.
Question for everyone. There are background check forms in which they ask you to fill out all work experience including paid and unpaid experience. Do they just verify what you disclose on this, or do they actually go back to your resume and verify all of that?
After my freshman year I had a political internship which didn't exactly help me so I just left this off my resume and replaced it with a small internship with a company that a family friend runs, except I never actually had the second internship. Obviously it's fine to leave off something on your resume that doesn't help you like the political internship, but it's the second one I'm worried about. I've helped the family friend out in work capacity from time to time but no formal internship. It basically said that I learned excel/macros/data projections during the internship, which I really do know how to do. So should I just leave this off the background check and say that maybe I forgot to include it? Or put it on and the'll most likely reach out to him and he'll vouch for me? it wasn't paid and wouldn't have been paid anyway.
When an organization carry out the process of background verification they do check each and every information that you have provided to them and certainly expect all of them to be true. So, be truthful.
[url="http://http://www.clevesresearch.com/"]pre employment screening companies[/url]
Background check - am I screwed? (Originally Posted: 03/12/2013)
Okay guys I need some help here, urgently. Thanks in advance for any advice. Here's the story:
I made a mistake on my resume. For one of my previous internships, I wrote that I did it in 2012, when I actually did it in 2011. I think it wouldn't normally be a huge deal, but since I'm a junior in college it makes me look like I pretended to have done an internship in the summer after 2nd year, when I actually didn't.
I wasn't trying to misrepresent anything though. It was an actual honest mistake. In interviews, I never said (nor did I try to give the impression) that I did the internship last summer. However, that was what my resume was erroneously claiming.
Now it's background check time (IB SA at a BB in Asia), and so if I just go ahead and put in the same incorrect details as on my resume, I'll get found out. But if I put the correct dates, it'll be inconsistent with my resume and that'll also raise a red flag.
So is coming clean the best course of action? If so, what is the best way to do this - call or email? How exactly should I phrase my statement? How likely am I to lose my offer?
It's definitely that time of year...
Call HR, send them an updated copy of your resume and let them know about the mistake. You'll be fine.
Thanks for the reply. I know you guys are probably a bit jaded having seen a ton of these (there's 2 or 3 in the sidebar right now lol), but I'm over here crapping my pants :/ Good to hear that I'm in the clear though.
One last question though (sorry, but I really need the reassurance!). So the fact that it is one of only two internships I have done (i.e. a major-ish element on my resume) doesn't make my error too huge a deal?
I was thinking the same thing...There should be a background check FAQ.
ignore it. no one gives a fuck
Disregard this. Getting your employment dates wrong is material, and will show up even on their standard third party background check (dates of employment are one of the few questions they ask). Just bring it to HR's attention and you will be fine.
Again, zero fucks will be given. Don't call HR / your bankers or whatever, play dumb and explain what happened if it comes up.
HR loves making a big deal out of shit when given an excuse and your team now nor ever has given two fucks about it to begin with. Keep your mouth shut, adress it if it comes up, hit F9 and your done.
This is another perspective, up to the OP to decide. It's not material, so there is no reason to believe that anyone would freak out. But I can't understand how waiting for the third party background check to find the error (and they almost certainly will) would improve your situation.
Tell hr. no brainer. I doubt they will even raise it beyond hr.
Typos happen, no matter how many times you read what you've written. I don't think it's a problem, as long as you tell HR about it now that you've noticed the error. Nothing bad will happen, don't worry about it. Call them and explain why you're sending an updated resume. Good luck with your application process.
Wow, I was expecting some sort of conviction that would pop up on a background check. You're fine.
How did everything go with HR?
Went ahead and called HR. They seemed to take it completely fine, and asked me to send over the updated resume so that they could forward it the background check company. Obviously, I can't tell if they were secretly suspicious about the issue, seeing as we were talking on the phone, but so far nothing has come up. So thanks Northsider and others; definitely feels like a weight off my chest having told them myself and pre-empted the background check. I'll update when there's finality (if I end up starting the internship I guess we can say this whole thing didn't matter :)
Like I said, I doubt that anything will come of it. Now that the background check has the latest, everything will come out clear and you'll be good to start. Let us know if there are any updates!
Out of curiosity, how did you address it when you spoke with them?
I called up and said "Hi Jane [my HR contact], I just wanted to inform you of something. While I was filling in the forms for the background check, I realized that for my internship at XXX, I made a typo on the resume I sent you guys. Basically, I've put the wrong date down, it should be Summer '11 instead of Summer '12. Apologies for the error"
She replied "it's fine, I'll notify the background check people, send me an updated resume", then she went and asked me about some other stuff related to the internship (which I guess means it went over fine). Hope this helps!
I know this has been resolved - but as some perspective: I got caught with a typo like this in an interview once. The interviewer didn't care really. They just crossed out my year on their copy and re-wrote the right year. Complete non-issue if it is a true mistake. Unless it is a drastic mistake (not 1 year difference), people are hiring you for WHAT you have done, not WHEN you did it. If it's a one year difference - I doubt they will care too much.
Did it all work out in the end? I know this is late. But I'm facing the same issue.
Did it all work out in the end? I know this is late. But I'm facing the same issue.
How did you do in the end? I am one the exact same situation
GPA Background Check (Originally Posted: 11/03/2013)
Recently accepted an IB offer from a BB, go to a target. When I accepted my offer, I had a 3.1 GPA. However, I mentioned that I had a 3.2 in the online application, since there a was 3.2 GPA minimum requirement. I am taking all easy classes and my GPA will go up to a 3.2 at the end of this semester. Will the background check find out this once it is conducted?
Highly unlikely this will be an issue. Even if your GPA isn't a 3.2 at the end of the semester. Its not a big enough difference to cause a flag to go up. Can very easily be dismissed as being mistaken, typo or any number of other things. At the end of the day the disparity between your real GPA and what you entered in your app isn't enough to be a deal breaker.
Background check on graduate GPA (Originally Posted: 01/10/2015)
Need some advice on GPA
Background: I just graduate from a master's program and got a job offer from a major firm. When I applied for the position, I calculated my GPA based on my grades from the first 2 semesters and some guess for the third semester after my second semester ended. I put 3.75 on my resume since I got a strong second semester(got around 3.85). However, I got a intern offer and worked around 30 hours per week in my third semester. Naturally, I didn't pay a lot of attention to grades and ended up with something like 3.5.
Will this be a big problem for me? Our school doesn't calculate GPA for graduate students. But they have a vague "grading guideline" which I didn't notice until the end. Shall I just tell the HR that my old resume was outdated and I need to replace it with a new one?
Nihil odio explicabo et atque. Optio iste sit quis accusantium eum.
Laboriosam aut numquam sapiente cum. Ad eius voluptatem beatae hic et minus. Aut et vel voluptatum minima ut quis id consequatur.
Est quaerat autem enim tempore nemo dolorem quibusdam omnis. Vero doloribus ut possimus doloribus. Error architecto ut totam aliquam incidunt. Minus quis nihil autem quia debitis repellat.
Quaerat repellendus quasi autem maiores excepturi provident quia dignissimos. Architecto minus quia pariatur ut at fuga. Laudantium soluta est corrupti eos.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Velit facere suscipit esse aut ducimus. Qui veritatis debitis cupiditate id accusamus quis. Possimus magni enim qui velit nostrum impedit id.
Amet eaque ipsum consequatur tenetur fugit tempora asperiores dolore. Quas tempora perspiciatis beatae excepturi. Esse cum et nostrum amet vel aperiam magnam. Hic et perferendis accusamus tenetur.
Aut sed facilis nam numquam est nobis. Atque in occaecati dicta labore cum et. Vel consectetur sit eius et sit. Voluptatem voluptatem voluptatum magni autem qui debitis magni. Pariatur non voluptate et velit voluptas.
Et aut consectetur assumenda sit suscipit ut dolor. Ipsa quasi impedit ea corporis quia. Ut provident dignissimos laudantium est qui corrupti voluptas. Qui qui quas omnis ullam qui et rerum.