How far back can an employer go for employment verification?

Question

I've heard anywhere from 2-10 years. All of the jobs on my resume has been extended as far as how long I've worked there. I did this so I can get hired quicker. Most of the jobs I've held were customer service positions and they come and go, so I really have 5months here and 3months there. What would you do in this case and is that the best route to take by me stretching the dates??

Answer 1

Typical background checks will go back 10 years of employment and as far back as needed for education.

Answer 2

Fern and Lailedr (sorry if I misspelled) have made some good points. Depending on the state you live in and the employer, some do go back a full ten years. What do you mean "the jobs on my resume....extended as far as how long I've worked there"? Do you mean you put down that you worked there longer than you really did to fill the gap and cover periods of unemployment? Some companies may not care about that, but others see it as a lack of integrity, and if you lie on your application, what else will you lie about? It calls into question your honesty. Top, major employers WILL check your references, dates and position in particular, so lying on your application is a quick way to the reject pile.

Answer 3

To be perfectly honest, most places don't check back more than your last employer. HR people are notoriously lazy, and after a few years, many retail/customer service places don't even exist any more, so it's impossible to call them. As long as you didn't stretch your very last job too much, it'd be fine.

However, it's best not to exaggerate too much on how much you've worked at a certain place, just in case they DO check. It's much much better to be somewhat vague on the resume - Example: It's better to say you worked "April 2006 to June 2007" than "April 29, 2006 to June 2, 2007." This makes the time you work look slightly bigger, especially if you only worked there a few months.

Also, if you worked at several places only a couple months each, if you were a temp you can combine them under the name of your temp agency, because one continuous employment for 2-3 years is a lot better than half a dozen little jobs that cover 3-5 months each. If they were all in the same mall or outlet strip you can do the same thing and just give a general office number to the mall.

Answer 4

Get a No Cost Background Check Scan at https://tinyurl.im/aH3YG

Its a sensible way to start. The site allows you to do a no cost scan simply to find out if any sort of data is in existence. A smaller analysis is done without cost. To get a detailed report its a modest payment.

You may not realize how many good reasons there are to try and find out more about the people around you. After all, whether you're talking about new friends, employees, doctors, caretakers for elderly family members, or even significant others, you, as a citizen, have a right to know whether the people you surround yourself with are who they say they are. This goes double in any situation that involves your children, which not only includes teachers and babysitters, but also scout masters, little league coaches and others. Bottom line, if you want to find out more about someone, you should perform a background check.

Answer 5

First, I'd say it depends on your age. If you're younger, they may only go back 5 or so years, but if you're into your 30s or so, they'll probably go back 10 years (or you should have 10 years on your resume, at least -- they may not actually "verify" as in call back that far). I don't think there's any set legal time they can go back, but 10 years is probably good. I don't know what you mean by, "all of the jobs ... has been extended as far as how long I've worked there." (By the way, make certain you have no major grammar errors - like "all of the jobs HAS been extended" -- I'm not trying to be mean; I just like to see people get good jobs.) My suggestion would be, if it's true that customer service jobs come and go, as you say, then calling them contracts might make it easier for you to get a job. Stretching dates MAY work, but you run the risk of someone finding out. Of course, if you're young and the jobs do, indeed, "come and go," and you had no control of that, then I believe you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Yes, I said it. People need to work, and sometimes good people lose a job for no good reason.

Also, if you have enough years behind you, don't throw in dumb little jobs that you only did for a few weeks or whatever. Group your jobs that are relevant to the job you're seeking together under a category called "relevant experience" or something like that, and then if you have gaps in employment, you can explain it at the bottom with a quick "various other temporary or part-time contracts" or something like that. Here's an example of how not putting the most important and relevant information on your resume is very bad -- I revamped a resume for a friend who had been out of work for TWO years (!) -- he was sending out resumes the entire time and getting almost no responses (!!). I looked at his resume and he actually had as his FIRST job some dumb temporary overnight stock job at a retail store he did at Christmastime ... he was an experienced and trained machinist! I told him no wonder you're not getting any calls (!) -- employers look at the first job on your resume and think why on Earth would I hire a stock person! They look at that one job and throw the darn thing in the trash!

Oh, and one more thing, MANY jobs can be considered 'customer service.' Make sure you maximize your experience on your resume -- put everything relevant to any kind of customer service -- and don't be afraid to toot your own horn a little!

Answer 6

Depending on the position and employer....i know that some go way back from the begining and others only go back a few years.

But believe it or not many of them don't even bother with employment verficiation

Answer 7

They can say anything they want except release any medical information or forward any medical docs to the prospective employer per HIPPA laws. They also cannot say something that is defamatory/slanderous. For example, you were let go for violence or theft and that never happened. But for there to be legal grounds it would have to be extreme as the examples I just gave you. Unfortunately, there are no laws on the books that protect employees from sc*m bag employers from blacklisting them. The smart companies only give dates of employment, position held, and last salary. That's it and no more. But as I said those are the smart organizations.

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDD9e

Answer 8

5 years

Answer 9

Yes, they go back from 2 or up to 10 years. The average for a corporation is about 5 to 7. Now, regarding your resume and your short job time periods, you might want to switch to a resume where your position and experience are your headlines. For example, I would include all your companies where you worked for customer service under one segment. When you do get an interview, it is important to let them know that you plan to find a company where you plan to grow professionally and remain for a very long time.

Answer 10

I think they only verify the past couple of jobs but the rule of thumb for resumes is 10 years - I go back 17 to show more skills. A functional resume might be better than a chronological one. But you would have to put the correct dates on your application.