How to Pass an Employment Reference and Background Check
No matter how spotless your background is, passing a pre-employment reference and background check requires some preparation. Think of it as image control. Former co-workers, friends or supervisors may be the kind of people who can't say purely nice things about anybody -- which is something you need to know before you list them as a reference. You'll need to police your own image online to make sure an embarrassing Facebook note doesn't sink your job prospects, and you will need to check other details as well to ensure that you are represented fairly when your future employee digs into your background to check you out.
Things You'll Need
- List of three people willing to provide a professional reference for you
- Name, title, email address and phone number for last three previous supervisors
- Copy of last performance review (if less than 24 months old)
- At least two letters of recommendation
Instructions
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It's standard practice for most candidates to provide a list of references to a prospective employer when asked. The typical number of references to have available is three; however, you should have six references available for use, but pick only three to send to any single employer (so the same people are not always contacted about you.) Also, make sure you contact each person on your list ahead of time to confirm they are willing to provide a reference for you and to advise them of the scheduled date and time to expect the call from the employer. This will give them proper notice so that they will be prepared when the call comes. Provide a copy of the job description for the new role to your references. This will help better tailor their (positive) comments about you to the caller.
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In some cases, you will be asked either on the application or on a separate reference request form whether it's OK for the company to contact your previous supervisor. Hopefully you left your previous company without burning any bridges. Just like with your pre-selected personal references, it helps to call your former supervisors ahead of time to alert them of the expected call or email and ask for their reference. Most companies will not provided a detailed reference on former employees due to concerns regarding potential liability for defamation of character but they can disclose your job title held, your last salary, the dates of your employment and whether you are eligible for rehire.
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Most large companies outsource their applicant background and reference checks to private, smaller verification services that use electronic databases and clearinghouses to verify your education, previous work experiences and other information. Sometimes they may not be able to verify specific information on you, so make sure you have on hand copies of your degree or transcripts, previous performance reviews, address and phone contact information for each employer and school. You should have something available to back up the education, work experiences and credentials you've listed on your resume or have the contact information available for the entity that can.
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Depending on the position and company, some employers will run a credit check. Make sure you have a recent copy of your credit report and have reviewed it for any inaccuracies and make sure that you can fully explain any negative/derogatory items listed. While a specific credit score may not necessarily keep you from getting the job, derogatory information such as judgments and collections, tax liens or unpaid child support likely will.
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Almost all companies that conduct background checks also search for past criminal history. Again, just as with your credit report, a past criminal history may not disqualify you from a job, but never try to hide a past conviction if you are asked to divulge that information on the application. Most companies will typically consider infractions that occurred within the past seven to 10 years unless it was a major felony -- in that case, they may consider your entire criminal record history. Any infraction that was expunged from your arrest record need not be disclosed unless it is specifically asked about. The legalities of asking about such information vary state by state. Make sure you understand your criminal record history and can explain any issues associated with it.
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Employers also collect background information on candidates via the Internet and through social networking sites. MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, Friendster, Twitter and others can be traced by employers to determine if there's any positive (or negative) information out there on you. Make sure you Google yourself on a regular basis to see what can actually be found in cyberspace about you. If you do find something on yourself that could be considered derogatory, the chances are good that your prospective employer will find it as well. This includes making disparaging comments about your previous supervisor or employer on a blog site -- these comments can come back to bite you.
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Tips & Warnings
A great way to build your online (positive) reputation is to write articles in industry trade publications or blogs. Anything that helps build credibility online as a subject matter expert in your field certainly can be viewed favorably by an prospective employer.
It never pays to commit resume fraud. You may think that the employer won't check to see that you didn't quite finish that degree or that you were only a supervisor and not a senior manager, but be warned -- you could get caught and will be disqualified from being hired.
Although that photo of you drunk balancing that beer bottle on your head in Jamaica may have been funny at the time, if it's online, it can be discovered by a prospective employer. Make sure any photos or videos of you in any sort of compromising situations are removed from your social networking sites. Just because you mark it as "private" or "locked" doesn't fully secure if from being accessed.
References
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