My Old Boss is an Asshole - can he ruin my background check?

Hi everyone,
I am currently a junior who will be doing S&T at a BB this summer. I am having a problem with my boss from my previous internship and am wondering how much damage he can do.

Here's the story: Basically this guy is a paranoid asshole who runs a small private wealth fund in my university's town. When I told a professor that I didn't get any offers after a couple interviews last spring, he suggested that I call this guy. He hires me as an equity research intern in May, saying he will have plenty of work for me at the office. (I'll be working under the table.)

I quickly realize he is really paranoid and gets kind of touchy about random stuff. So I made sure to be as cordial and helpful as possible. It turns out that he moved out of his old office for a new place that he is renovating, so that he expects me to do most of my research from my university library. That seemed fine, because we have multiple Bloomberg terminals at my school. So a couple times a week he would send me an email or call me with a bunch of names he wanted some research for. I would report my pay according to the honor system. Even though he originally said he would have plenty of work for me, it turns out I only end up doing research for him about 10 hours per week.

In order to get as much out of this experience as possible, every week I asked him for other directions I could take my internship. He was normally pretty receptive to this, and he would give me guidance: read these articles, think about these strategies, check out XYZ's letter to investors, research how these mutual funds are managed, etc. I normally spent another 10-15 hours a week doing these things, but I didn't bill him for them, because they were for the purpose of my education, not his portfolio. At the end of the summer, we talk about how I should represent my work for him on my resume and come to an agreement on that.

Since I ended my internship, his paranoid asshole-ish side has really come out. He doesn't return my calls. I needed to give his phone number for my apps, but he never let me know the new office's number. He got a business partner and re-registered his company, but he never returned my email about whether I should update my resume with the new name. On another occasion he got upset that I listed his name on my LinkedIn profile without consulting him first.

Last week I got an email from the BB I'll be interning at this summer about the background check. Obviously they wanted the form filled out asap, and he didn't answer my call to fill in the details. I entered the fund's phone number found on its new site, and I listed 20-25 hours as my weekly average, even though he only paid me for 10.

When I email him to let him know I said my internship was 25 hours a week, he finally responds. His tone is pissy and very disapproving. He says we need to meet this week to "correct a number of assumptions that I have taken the liberty to make". My best guess is that he thinks I am reporting being paid for 25 hours a week and that I expect him to lie for me or something. (Even though I don't think they even ask how many hours a week I worked in the check.) Of course, he doesn't reply to my response apologizing if I have made him uncomfortable and trying to set up a time to meet.

Summary: Worst case scenario, this delusional paranoid asshole thinks I am trying to twist him into lying for me to an investment bank. This guy is so unpredictable I don't put it past him to tell the investment bank that I am lying about working for him at all, out of something like revenge for trying to "pull a fast one on him", as he would see it. What is the worst that could come of this? Could my offer be pulled because of this guy's paranoia and general weirdness?

 
she_monkey:
also is your professor friends with him? explain the situation and point out where you did wrong, and ask your professor to perhaps mediate the situation ... this is assuming the professor is fair and wants the best for his students
The professor left my university. Unlucky circumstances there
 
RoyalFlush:
she_monkey:
also is your professor friends with him? explain the situation and point out where you did wrong, and ask your professor to perhaps mediate the situation ... this is assuming the professor is fair and wants the best for his students
The professor left my university. Unlucky circumstances there
assuming he's an academic in the field.. should be fairly easy to get his updated contact information (if hes an author, professor at new university, etc) i think at this point asking the professor for advice (considering he referred you, he must've thought of you highly in some ways) there is very little down side

and definitely contact career services they are trained professionals for recruiting problems

 

Since you were paid for around those 10 hours a week, there is proof that you actually worked there. A very realistic scenario would be if they called him and he absolutely destroys you. Luckily you have already secured the offer, so his input won't matter much. If there's any problems you can simply show the guys at the BB the payment, assuming there are records (i.e. receipts, etc...). If you must, explain that this guy may have forgotten or doesn't accurately remember the facts. Hopefully it doesn't come to this.

 
blackjack21:
Since you were paid for around those 10 hours a week, there is proof that you actually worked there. A very realistic scenario would be if they called him and he absolutely destroys you. Luckily you have already secured the offer, so his input won't matter much. If there's any problems you can simply show the guys at the BB the payment, assuming there are records (i.e. receipts, etc...). If you must, explain that this guy may have forgotten or doesn't accurately remember the facts. Hopefully it doesn't come to this.
Thanks for your help. Unfortunately I was being paid in cash under the table, so I do not have those receipts. Would there really be no consequences if he shat on me in the background check? Are you sure they can't pull my offer?
 
blackjack21:
you have already secured the offer, so his input won't matter much
THIS. It's highly unlikely that they'll ask for any details. If the hours come up, just say that you were paid for 10 hours but worked extra hours in order to better develop your understanding of the job, and overtime was unpaid (or something to that effect)

You got an offer, go celebrate.

Get busy living
 

The whole idea of a background check is to verify that your records are accurate. The only big problem would be if this douche guy decides to say you never worked there at all and he doesn't even know who you are.

Look, to pull a BB S&T offer would be horrible. It looks bad for both you and the bank. They don't want to do it either. There's obviously others who can take your place, but reputation is at stake. If I were you, I'd do everything in my power to show there was heavy contact with this guy (forward them phone records of your cell phone calls, even though his phone number may be different). If it was under the table and this guy is as bad as he sounds, something shady must be up with him.

Complaining about employers is one of the worst things to do, but if there's ever an exception this would be the case. Don't necessarily complain, but state that he has changed and kindly put that he has, "fallen off the deep end." The BB will believe you if you put forth all these efforts. After all, one employer hiccup doesn't mean you're not qualified for the job. You already proved yourself in the Superdays.

 
RoyalFlush:
?

Keep the email communications. While I think nothing is going to happen specially that those kind of small offices changes frequently, keep the email communications. Email communications shows that you worked. I had the same experience. If it is a must send email to him putting career services in the cc. They do not call every small firm and ask about you. They just want to make sure that you really worked for that place and you have the email communications to show that. Payment under the table is similar to unpaid internship, there is no proof of a salary but there is proof that you worked.

 

Wow, this is a pretty bizarre situation, sorry you have to go through it.

Like others said though, you'll almost surely be fine. The background check is just basic stuff, to confirm that you worked where you said you did. If they have an issue with contacting your ex-boss, I still really doubt they'd pull the offer without hearing your side of the story, and you can back up your version of what happened.

 

Thank you, everyone. Do you think I should pre-empt any possible damage he can do by caling HR, saying that he is hard to get ahold of and rarely answers his phone, and offer to forward some emails from him that confirm my work for him? (I have many - I even have the email where he approves of the description of my work for my resume saved.) Otherwise I'll just sit tight

 
RoyalFlush:
Thank you, everyone. Do you think I should pre-empt any possible damage he can do by caling HR, saying that he is hard to get ahold of and rarely answers his phone, and offer to forward some emails from him that confirm my work for him? (I have many - I even have the email where he approves of the description of my work for my resume saved.) Otherwise I'll just sit tight

I wouldn't. I'm pretty certain there won't be any issues, but if there are, HR will get in touch with you (and you can explain then).

 
Best Response

Two things: 1) It doesn't seem like you are blaming your boss (for the most part) but the complaints you wrote down that your boss had seem valid. If work starts at 9, you need to be ready to work at 9. Regarding asking questions, it really depends if you were asking the relatively same questions over and over, and whether you could have figured out what the correct approach was through applying what you previously learned. Asking questions is fine, asking the same questions is not. Before asking, always attempt to answer it yourself and explain what you have arrived at, but want to double check. At the same time your boss could have just been awful to work with in this area. 2) If you have the option to not use him as a reference, obviously don't. If they are asking for a reference from the company, use someone at the firm who liked you and has some seniority.

If it does go down the road where your employer speaks to your ex-boss and they grill you on the review, it is very important to speak about what you learned from it, instead of playing victim or showing anger. Of course if the boss was completely unreasonable you can try to bring that up appropriately, but tread carefully.

Either way, based on what you provided this doesn't seem like the biggest deal in the world. You are worrying a bit too much as you don't even have an employer asking for the reference yet. Many employers don't. My old company doesn't give any information out to other companies other than start and end date.

“I’m not fat. I’m cultivating mass.”
 

Have you ever heard HR call for a reference check? It's an eye-opening experience. Most HR functions are very legal driven so they ask the bare minimum number of questions. The majority of HR checks are (1) verify dates of employment (2) verify title (3) verify ending salary and (4) something to the effect of "would you hire this person again"

Both 3 & 4 above are considered optional, depending on how your new employer runs things. Regardless, it's not like they sit there and gossip about you for 2 hours. Most HR checks are very innocuous, you'll be fine.

 
GoingToBeAnMD:
Have you ever heard HR call for a reference check? It's an eye-opening experience. Most HR functions are very legal driven so they ask the bare minimum number of questions. The majority of HR checks are (1) verify dates of employment (2) verify title (3) verify ending salary and (4) something to the effect of "would you hire this person again"

Both 3 & 4 above are considered optional, depending on how your new employer runs things. Regardless, it's not like they sit there and gossip about you for 2 hours. Most HR checks are very innocuous, you'll be fine.

Verify ending salary?

But ya, it's check list stuff. But OP, you need to play harder. Never come in on time, always be early in the beginning of your career.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. There's nothing you can do about it at this point, and the internship sounds like it's worth keeping on your resume.

Just keep in mind for your next job that you need to be more proactive about seeking feedback on your performance early on - ESPECIALLY when it's evident that your boss has issues with how you're doing things. As long as your boss is a relatively reasonable person, and you're working hard, there's no reason why you should be getting that bad of a review

 
Kateeeee:
I did a 6-month internship (usually referred to "coop") at a small local investment firm in FP&A department. I had to honor the contract I sign with the firm and my school to complete the duration 6-month at the firm, and I could tell my boss did not like me and she ended up giving me really really bad review on my internship reflection which can only be review by me and my career advisor at my school. There were some misunderstanding/miscommunication during my time there, such my working hour start on 9:00am so I usually arrive around 9:00am, but I overheard my boos complaint to the HR that I am always late, she expectation was that I should arrive on 8:50 and started working on 9:00 am. Another example is that she told me to ask questions whenever I am unsure about a task, but when I input a transaction, that I have never seen before and I just wanted to confirm whether I did the job correctly, she said you should have known it, you have been here for 3 months.

Now, I am looking for a full-time job but this internship is the only intern position in the financial industry that I held in the United States, so it is worthy to put on resume. (I had 2 internships in my home country and 1 part-time research job on campus. ) I know employer would ask for references, and I don't have to give them the contact from this firm, but if they want to call the firm, it is easy to get in touch with my old boss as the firm is really small.

Stop being lazy. This attitude of blaming others won't serve you well in your career. You will be fine. "Reference checks" are just checking the dates of employment. That's it.

Clearly need to step up your game with a 2.98 GPA as you mentioned in another thread!

 

Hi Kateeeee, hope I can help. Do any of these links cover what you're looking for:

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  • From Energy Trading (internship) to Full Time Management Consulting Hello All! I have a few questions in regards to full-time management consulting recruiting. As the ... about making the change. I have currently been working full-time in consulting for a month and a half, ... internship, don't be afraid to look elsewhere! full time 2015 consulting ...
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  • Part time MBA + Full time work or Full time MBA and no or part time work I want to do in the end, but if I can switch to full time, I can do a part time unpaid internship for the ... to full time, I'll be able to finish in 2 years (including the current semester). If I switch to ... full time. As I've said in other posts, my fiance wants to move back to Michigan ASAP, but I want ...
  • Summer Internship Before MSF- Preferably full time and paid degree? I am looking for a full time internship so I can quit my job during the summer. I am also trying ... from a non-target UC school. I am looking to turn things around and I know that without internships the ... MSF(especially from a non-target) will be useless. I am trying to get some advice on what type of inte
  • My Journey From Corporate Finance to IBD via a Full-Time MBA Program- Part 1 University's Fuqua School of Business this fall as a full-time MBA student with the intentions of switching ... apply to business school, until I (hopefully!) receive a full time offer for an associate role. In ... careers into investment banking. My purpose is to reflect on my journey from the time I began preparing to ...
  • From Buy-Side Internship to IBD Full-time? this experience, and how to best leverage it to get a full-time job. My GPA does not make me ... Good Day WSO users, With full-time recruiting just around the corner, I'm very lost as to ... in advance! Investment Banking full-time recruiting pension fund private equity <p class="h4 ...
  • More suggestions...

No promises, but thought I'd mention a few relevant users that work in the industry: city_north alexpasch zea

If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

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I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

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