Employment Screening
Applicants sometimes stretch the truth or completely falsify employment information and salary history on their employment applications or resumes so that potential employers will think they are more than qualified for a job.
We implement industry best practices to verify dates of employment, position held, and salary (where available) directly from the applicant's previous employers, including reasons for leaving and in many cases, their eligibility for re-hire.
An Employment History Verification is sometimes referred to as an Employment History Check or a Work History. Reference Checks are sometimes erroneously called Employment Screenings.
In many cases, the employer will subscribe to an automated phone verification system called The Work Number. An Employment Screening conducted using this service yields instant results but the information is limited in scope.
Speaking directly to an HR representative can yield much more information, but some previous employers are difficult to locate or slow to respond, which can delay the results. In fact, there are no guarantees that a previous employer will respond to a request to verify prior employment. Those employers who are willing to respond are often not willing to answer every question. Many organizations have policies governing what information may be disclosed regarding prior employees, while others have policies not to disclose anything.
A typical employment verification will include all employers for the past seven years or just the past three employers The period of time covered in an employment verification report varies based on how long the applicant worked for the employer and how the employer maintains its records.
Typically, results are turned around in 24-72 business hours. Employers in most cases will request written authorization from the applicant before they will release any information regarding employment dates and position held.
When we verify previous employment, we go directly to the Human Resources Department. We will locate and contact past employers independent of the information provided by the applicant. This is because employer contact information may be fraudulent and outsourced to companies that provide “fake” employment verifications.
We make at least three attempts to contact the employer or third-party verification service, including phone calls, emails, faxes and mailed attempts. Patience is paramount when verifying employment history because turnaround times can vary.