背景调查可以揭示过去的雇主或工作经历吗？

这是一个事实：求职者经常在简历上撒谎。根据猎头公司 OfficeTeam 2017 年进行的一项调查，46% 的员工认识有人在简历上撒谎。当公司上一次问这个问题是在 2011 年时，只有 21% 的受访者表示他们认识简历骗子。   

虽然这些谎言可能出现在简历的任何部分，包括教育部分，但 OfficeTeam 的调查发现，过去雇主最常见的两种简历不诚实形式是：工作经验和工作职责或责任。

简历制作的趋势使雇主处于具有挑战性的位置。大多数招聘决定都基于工作经历和过去的工作经验。雇主通常在寻找工作经历反映现有工作能力的人。如果候选人对他们过去的工作撒谎——无论是通过美化工作职责、调整职位头衔使他们听起来更令人印象深刻，还是捏造工作——雇主如何就雇用谁做出明智的决定？ 

背景调查可以看到什么

简历谎言通常会让招聘经理问一个关键问题：背景调查是否可以显示以前的雇主和有关候选人工作经历的其他详细信息？

简单回答是不。背景调查无法返回专业人士多年来担任的工作的列表或数据库。大多数就业前背景调查服务旨在揭示公共记录信息，例如犯罪记录信息、驾驶记录和信用记录。虽然对招聘过程至关重要，但教育或工作经历等细节不像重罪定罪那样属于公共记录的一部分。相反，详细记录个人工作经历的记录由雇用他们的雇主持有。

虽然就业背景调查不提供候选人工作过的地方清单，但背景调查公司可以帮助雇主发现和识别简历不诚实。好消息是，雇主通常不需要背景搜索来汇总候选人的前雇主名单：候选人可能在填写工作申请或提交简历时自行提供了该名单。 

背景调查可以验证候选人简历“工作历史”部分提供的信息。在 GOOHO.CN，我们提供就业验证背景调查。通过联系候选人在简历上列出的雇主，我们可以帮助招聘经理确定简历上的哪些信息是真实的，哪些可能属于“简历谎言”。

使用我们的就业历史验证产品，雇主可以共享申请人提供的有关过去工作或就业机会的数据。GOOHO.CN 调查人员随后联系简历上列出的公司或雇主，以核实关键细节。这些详细信息可能包括职位、就业日期（开始和结束日期）和工作职责。如果候选人伪造或修饰了部分工作经历，我们的验证检查将揭开这些谎言。

在某些情况下，就业验证背景调查还将包括申请人离职的原因或他们是否有资格被同一家公司重新雇用。但是，请注意，在例行工作历史检查过程中，前雇主并不总是愿意讨论这些细节。 

工作履历验证与背景调查不同，其目标不一定是收集有关候选人的职业道德、性格、诚信或其他表明其执行手头工作能力的细节的信息。询问这些细节通常比核实工作日期或职位等事实信息更主观。 

如果雇主对过去的雇员发表负面评论，他们可能会因诽谤而被起诉，除非他们可以用证据支持或证明他们所说的话。因此，人力资源经理通常会专注于验证或否认有关过去员工的客观事实，并避免踮起脚尖做出主观判断。

希望对工人的工作表现、可靠性、性格和能力进行更多主观评价的雇主应该重点进行专业参考检查。当候选人提供一份过去的老板、同事或其他人的名单来代表他们发言时，招聘领导可以联系这些人讨论其他问题。候选人默许双方——专业推荐人和未来雇主——可以详细讨论候选人。

GOOHO.CN 还可以代表您进行背景调查以及犯罪记录筛查和工作经历背景调查。如果您想检查申请人简历的其他部分的有效性，我们还提供另外两项针对教育经历和专业执照的验证检查。 

求职者有时会捏造大学学位，在专业执照或证书上撒谎，或以其他方式在简历的各个方面夸大事实。验证背景调查可以将简历上提供的所有详细信息放在显微镜下，让潜在雇主知道他们是否可以根据简历安全地雇用候选人。

如果我忘记列出工作怎么办？

如果您是求职者，那么在整理简历时，您将面临一项重大任务。制作一份完美的简历是一门艺术，正是这种挑战促使一些候选人试图夸大事实。

简历的主要目的是让雇主快速确定哪些申请人最适合某个职位。求职者简历的目的是获得雇主的注意。虽然这些优先事项在许多情况下和谐地重叠，但如果候选人获得关注的方式是采用华而不实的职位、在技能或资格上撒谎，或者犯下其他不诚实的简历实例，它们就会发生冲突。

话虽如此，求职者可能会在简历上“撒谎”还有另一个原因：遗漏。也许，在整理简历时，您忘记列出五年多前您担任了六个月的工作。或者，也许您对自己的职业更深入，无法在不超过简历一页的通常限制的情况下为您的整个职业历史找到空间。在任何一种情况下，您都可以提交一份缺少您过去从事过的工作的简历。

求职者经常问的第一个问题是，未来的雇主是否可以进行背景调查，以确定他们没有在简历中列出的任何过去的工作。答案是否定的：没有中央数据库可以编制您一生中工作过的所有地方的清单。因此，如果您从简历中排除过去的一份工作，这并不意味着您的招聘经理会立即找到该信息并询问您为什么将其从简历中删除。

但是，请注意雇主在审查简历时确实会注意雇用和离职日期。如果您忘记列出一份工作或故意排除一份工作，并且这样做会在您的工作经历中留下显着的差距，那么这种差距可能会给雇主敲响警钟。如果您的工作经历中的空白时间足够长，则可能会导致招聘经理怀疑您是否隐藏了危险信号，例如以糟糕的工作结束。或者，如果招聘经理假设您一次失业数月或数年，他们可能会得出关于您的动机和职业道德的结论。

担心简历空白的影响是有时导致求职者陷入简历谎言的另一个因素。在申请工作时，候选人通过简单地说他们在之前的工作中工作了几个月或几个月前开始了后续职位来消除简历中的空白并不少见。 

虽然这些看似微不足道的简历“调整”似乎无害，但尽量不要被它们所诱惑。就业验证可以并且将会标记这些简历谎言，并且大多数雇主会更怀疑你在简历上撒谎，而不是大约三个月的工作间隔。根据 ResumeLab 最近的一项研究，被发现在简历上撒谎的候选人中有 65% 要么被取消了招聘考虑，要么被他们已经从事的工作解雇。 

最终，如果您忘记在简历中列出工作——或者由于空间问题或与职业机会缺乏相关性而选择不列出工作——尽量诚实。准确填写你的工作历史日期，如果招聘经理在你的面试中问你为什么你的简历中有空白，请坦率地回答。 

另一个策略是在 LinkedIn 上完整记录您的职业历史，但要整理您的简历，以便您仅列出该历史中的三到五个关键工作。这种方法为您提供了更多的空间来深入研究您认为最令人印象深刻或与手头工作最相关的工作经历，同时为雇主提供了一种简单的方法来更全面地了解您在此期间所从事的工作年。

熟悉自己的工作经历

建立涵盖整个职业生涯的 LinkedIn 个人资料的另一个好处是，它可以让您熟悉自己的完整工作经历。这个过程是简历写作的一个聪明的基础步骤。花时间反思您的工作地点、所担任的职位以及每次聘用的日期，可以降低意外将不准确之处纳入简历的风险。它还为您提供了一个批判性思考如何最好地向潜在雇主展示自己的机会。

您在职业生涯中的哪个阶段获得晋升、职位变更或其他应在简历中注明的中期工作变动？您多年来工作的哪些工作与您现在寻求的职位的工作职责和资格最匹配？您如何以一种既能引起招聘经理注意又不会 说谎或夸大其词的方式突出您的工作经历？花几天时间熟悉自己的职业历史将帮助您回答所有这些问题，并为您提供制作最佳简历所需的工具。

经常问的问题

背景调查会显示工作经历吗？

从技术上讲，背景调查永远不会显示候选人过去工作的历史。雇主进行的最常见的背景调查是犯罪历史调查。此搜索将发现定罪记录，但不会提供候选人多年来工作的记录。

雇主用来检查职业历史的背景调查类型是就业核查。此检查会获取求职者在其简历或工作申请中披露的工作经历，并检查信息是否存在虚假或不准确之处。 

背景调查公司如何核实工作经历？

就业验证检查涉及联系候选人简历中列出的以前的雇主，并要求他们验证候选人提供的关键信息的准确性。具体来说，背景调查公司会询问职位和头衔、就业日期、工作职责、工资、候选人离职原因以及重新雇用的资格。然后，背景调查公司将向招聘经理提交一份报告，详细说明候选人的简历与其团队通过验证过程收集的信息之间的任何差异。

你能在工作经历上撒谎吗？

虽然可以在简历或工作申请中对工作经历撒谎，但这并不是一个聪明的主意。雇主想知道他们正在招聘合格的候选人，但他们也想雇用他们可以信任的人。即使是简历上的一个小谎言——比如夸大的职位名称——也会在信任开始形成之前破坏它。工作经历验证过程很容易反驳简历上的谎言，这使得对过去的工作不诚实尤其危险。 

雇主可以知道您的工作经历吗？

雇主可以要求求职者提交各种就业前背景调查，包括就业历史验证。招聘经理必须首先通知您他们打算进行背景调查，并获得您的明确书面许可以进行调查。 

这些要求在《公平信用报告法》(FCRA) 中有所规定，不遵守可能会使雇主容易受到诉讼。但是，如果潜在雇主要求您批准工作经历检查而您拒绝，他们可以将您从招聘考虑中解雇。

It's a fact: job seekers often lie on their resumes. According to a 2017 survey conducted by executive search firm OfficeTeam, 46 percent of workers know someone who has lied on a resume. When the company last asked this question in 2011, only 21 percent of respondents said that they knew a resume liar. 

While these lies can appear on any part of a resume, including in the education section, the OfficeTeam survey found that the two most common forms of resume dishonesty concern past employers: job experience and job duties or responsibilities.

The trend of resume fabrication puts employers in a challenging position. Most hiring decisions are grounded in employment history and past job experience. Employers are often looking for individuals whose work histories reflect a pre-existing ability to perform the job at hand. If candidates are lying about their past jobs—whether by embellishing job responsibilities, tweaking position titles to make them sound more impressive, or fabricating jobs—how can employers make informed decisions about who to hire? 

What a Background Check Can See

Resume lies can often leave hiring managers asking one key question: can a background check show previous employers and other details about a candidate’s job history?

The simple answer is no. A background check cannot return a list or database of the jobs that a professional has held over the years. Most pre-employment background check services are geared toward uncovering public record information, such as criminal record information, driving records, and credit history. While vital to the hiring process, details such as education or employment history are not part of the public record in the same way as a felony conviction. Instead, records detailing an individual’s work history are held by the employers that hired them.

While employment background checks don’t source lists of places where a candidate has worked, background screening companies can assist employers in detecting and identifying resume dishonesty. The good news is that employers typically don’t need a background search that can pull together a list of a candidate’s former employers: the candidate has likely self-provided that list while filling out a job application or submitting a resume. 

A background check can verify the information provided in the “Work History” section of a candidate’s resume. At backgroundchecks.com, we offer an employment verification background check. By contacting the employers that a candidate lists on their resume, we can help hiring managers determine which information on the resume is true and which might fall into the category of “resume lies.”

Using our employment history verification product, employers can share data provided by applicants about past jobs or employment opportunities. backgroundchecks.com investigators then contact the companies or employers listed on a resume to verify crucial details. These details might include job titles, employment dates (both start and end dates), and job responsibilities. If a candidate has fabricated or embellished parts of their work history, our verification check will uncover those lies.

In some cases, an employment verification background check will also include the applicant’s reason for leaving their previous job or their eligibility to be rehired by the same company. However, note that former employers will not always be willing to discuss these details in the course of a routine work history check. 

Work history verifications differ from reference checks, in that the goal is not necessarily to collect information about a candidate’s work ethic, character, integrity, or other details that speak to their ability to perform the job at hand. Asking about these details is generally a more subjective pursuit than verifying point-of-fact information such as employment dates or titles. 

Employers can be sued for defamation if they speak negatively about a past employee, unless they can back up or prove the things that they say with evidence. As a result, HR managers will typically focus on verifying or denying objective facts about past employees and avoid tiptoeing into subjective judgments.

Employers wishing to explore more subjective opinions of a worker’s job performance, dependability, character, and ability should make a point of performing professional reference checks. When a candidate provides a list of past bosses, colleagues, or other individuals to speak on their behalf, hiring leaders can contact those individuals to discuss other matters. There is tacit permission from the candidate for both parties—the professional reference and the prospective employer—to discuss the candidate in significant detail.

backgroundchecks.com can also perform reference checks on your behalf alongside criminal record screenings and job history background checks. We also offer two other verification checks for education history and professional licenses if there are other parts of an applicant’s resume that you would like to check for validity. 

Job seekers will sometimes invent college degrees, lie about professional licenses or certifications, or otherwise stretch the truth on facets of their resumes. Verification background checks can put all the details provided on a resume under a microscope to let prospective employers know whether they can safely hire a candidate based on a resume.

What If I Forget to List a Job?

If you are a job seeker, you have a significant task in front of you when assembling a resume. There is an art to crafting a perfect resume, and it’s precisely that challenge that prompts some candidates to be tempted to stretch the truth.

The primary purpose of resumes is for employers to identify, at a quick glance, which applicants are best suited for a role. The purpose of resumes for job applicants is to get noticed by the employer. While these priorities overlap harmoniously in many cases, they can clash if a candidate’s way of getting noticed is adopting flashy job titles, lying about skills or qualifications, or committing other instances of resume dishonesty.

With that said, there is another reason why a job seeker might “lie” on their resume: omission. Perhaps, while putting together your resume, you forget to list a job that you held for six months more than five years ago. Alternatively, maybe you are deeper into your career and can’t find space for your entire professional history without exceeding the usual limit of one page for your resume. In either case, you could present a resume that is missing jobs you have held in the past.

The first question that job seekers often ask is whether prospective employers can run a background check that identifies any past jobs they did not list on their resume. The answer is no: there is no central database that compiles a list of everywhere that you have worked in your life. So, if you exclude one past job from your resume, that doesn’t mean your hiring manager is immediately going to find that information and ask why you left it out of your resume.

However, realize that employers do pay attention to hiring and departure dates when reviewing resumes. If you forget to list a job or willfully exclude one, and doing so leaves a notable gap in your work history, that gap may raise some alarm bells for the employer. If a gap in your job history is long enough, it might cause a hiring manager to wonder whether you are hiding a red flag—such as a work engagement that ended badly. Alternatively, the hiring manager might draw conclusions about your motivation and work ethic if they assume that you were out of work for months or years at a time.

Worries about the implications of resume gaps are another factor that sometimes leads job seekers to stumble into resume lies. While applying for jobs, it’s not uncommon for a candidate to eliminate gaps from their resume simply by saying that they worked at a previous job for a few months longer or started a subsequent position a few months earlier. 

While these seemingly minor resume “adjustments” might seem harmless, try not to be tempted by them. Employment verifications can and will flag these resume lies, and most employers will be far more suspicious that you lied on your resume than they would have been about a three-month gap between jobs. According to a recent study by ResumeLab, 65 percent of candidates caught lying on their resumes were either disqualified from hiring consideration or fired from jobs they already held.

Ultimately, if you forget to list a job on your resume—or choose not to list a job due to space concerns or lack of relevance to the career opportunity—try to be as honest about it as possible. Be accurate with your job history dates, and answer candidly if the hiring manager asks you in your interview why there are gaps in your resume. 

Another strategy is to keep a full account of your professional history on LinkedIn but to curate your resume so that you are listing just three to five key jobs from that history. This approach gives you more space to delve into the parts of your employment history that you feel are most impressive or most relevant to the job at hand while leaving an easy way for employers to get a fuller picture of the jobs that you have held over the years.

Familiarize Yourself with Your Employment History

The other benefit of building a LinkedIn profile spanning your entire career is that it allows you to familiarize yourself with the complete scope of your employment history. This process is a smart foundational step for resume writing. Taking the time to reflect on where you have worked, the positions that you have held, and the dates for each employment engagement reduces the risk of accidentally incorporating inaccuracies into your resume. It also provides you with an opportunity to think critically about how to best present yourself to a prospective employer.

Where in your career did you receive promotions, job title changes, or other mid-job shifts that you should note on your resume? Which jobs that you’ve worked over the years are the closest match with the job responsibilities and qualifications of the position that you are seeking now? How can you spotlight your work history in a way that will get a hiring manager’s attention without telling a single lie or exaggeration? Spending a few days familiarizing yourself with your professional history will help you answer all these questions, and it will give you the tools that you need to put together the best resume possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do background checks show employment history?

Technically, no background check will ever show a candidate’s history of past jobs. The most common background check that employers run is a criminal history search. This search will uncover conviction records, but it won’t provide a record of where the candidate has worked over the years.

The type of background check that employers use to check professional history is an employment verification check. This check takes the work history that a job candidate discloses on their resume or job application and checks the information for falsehoods or inaccuracies. 

How do background check companies verify employment history?

An employment verification check involves contacting the previous employers listed on a candidate’s resume and asking them to verify the accuracy of key pieces of information that the candidate provided. Specifically, the background check company will ask about positions and titles, dates of employment, job responsibilities, salaries, reason(s) that the candidate left the job, and eligibility for rehire. The background check company will then deliver a report to the hiring manager detailing any discrepancies between the candidate’s resume and the information that its team gleaned through the verification process.

Can you lie about employment history?

While it is possible to lie about employment history on a resume or job application, that doesn’t make it a smart idea. Employers want to know that they are hiring a qualified candidate, but they also want to hire someone they can trust. Even a minor lie on a resume—such as an exaggerated job title—breaches that trust before it begins to form. A job history verification process can easily disprove lies on a resume , making it particularly risky to be dishonest about past work. 

Can an employer know your employment history?

Employers can require job candidates to submit to a variety of pre-employment background checks, including employment history verifications. A hiring manager must first notify you of their intent to conduct a background check and get your express written permission to proceed with the check. 

These requirements are stipulated in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and failure to comply can leave employers vulnerable to lawsuits. However, if a prospective employer asks you to approve a work history check and you refuse, they can dismiss you from hiring consideration.