Like Tree3Likes

Pre Employment Background Checks - Employment History

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    21

    Pre Employment Background Checks - Employment History

    Hi All

    I am getting close to final round interviews with a global bank and am wondering about the background check process, particularly the past employment section.

    I have a work career that spans 25 years. The last 12 years I have been working as an independent contractor under a sole proprietorship i.e. I work directly with clients on projects rather than via a formal corporate consultancy and work when I feel the need to. Prior to this I had 7 roles over 13 years for large corporate institutions. This is all clear to my interviewers and from my CV.

    With my current independent contractor work how will the background checker verify this? Do they contact my clients? Or is any contact with my clients part of the more general reference check (vs background check) process?

    Also how far back to they go to verify my employment history? Is there a statute of limitations here? Will they expect to speak to clients I worked with say in 2006 to verify that I was independent contracting back then? Similarly with my corporate roles, will they go back to jobs I held back in 2005 or 1995 to verify that I was employed then?

    Thanks all!!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Cramped island
    Posts
    5,585

    i doubt anyone knows. depends on each individual company what are their internal requirement.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    14,624

    Depends on each bank/company


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    21

    It can't be that much of black hole!! Assume you guys have been through a hiring process at a bank. Given the large banking sector I suspect a large group of bank employees here who can comment on what has happened at their bank without naming names?


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Cramped island
    Posts
    5,585

    1. background check done by HR and HR usually are mouth tight
    2. most of the guys here are foreigners and i guess most doesnt' pay much attention to the background checks
    3. we only know of it when the HR partner comes in and says, our background check surfaces a problem blar blar blar...

    so there goes.
    and these days all the processes are changing.. alot more verification of certs and backgrounds. as compared to 10 years ago.

    z754103 likes this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    香港
    Posts
    1,162

    I was in a similar situation. Essentially, a reference from some long term clients saying "Mr X worked for us between Y and Z" was sufficient. But even that wasn't that important I think. More important is to have a clean criminal record


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    薄扶林
    Posts
    47,964
    Quote Originally Posted by orel100x:
    I was in a similar situation. Essentially, a reference from some long term clients saying "Mr X worked for us between Y and Z" was sufficient. But even that wasn't that important I think. More important is to have a clean criminal record
    I've seen a couple (sent to me) which also included "Why did they leave" and "Would you rehire this person".

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    21
    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    I've seen a couple (sent to me) which also included "Why did they leave" and "Would you rehire this person".
    Yeah funny that one. When I got my last corporate gig in the early 2000s the agency recruiter went back to an employer I had in 1995, a local consultancy firm, and asked would they rehire me? My old boss said no, and said call me back if you problem with that answer. The HR at my new employer contacted my old employer for an explanation and he explained that I had moved on so much in my career since my employment with them (intl roles, intl destinations, jobs with the largest banks) that if I came back to them for a job then I must have really stuffed up. The HR and my old employee agreed the silliness of the "would you rehire him" question in my context.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    21
    Quote Originally Posted by orel100x:
    I was in a similar situation. Essentially, a reference from some long term clients saying "Mr X worked for us between Y and Z" was sufficient. But even that wasn't that important I think. More important is to have a clean criminal record
    Sweet, I'm no criminal.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    薄扶林
    Posts
    47,964

    Lucky that the employer called ...

    I'd have replied with a "Given how much he has progressed, we would if we needed his experience and could afford to" or something like that. Far too many people in this town would take that "no" as a negative mark and move to the next candidate.

    Mrs. Jones and z754103 like this.

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast