Follow Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/NoBSCoachingAdvice
Can a Company Find Where I Really Work If It Is Not on My Resume? Seriously? You don’t know that?
Someone wrote to me with a question that I thought was terrific. The question reads, (and I am going to read it) Can a company find where I really work if it is not on my resume?” DUH! Of course, they can. So, let's start with the premise that when you fill out an application, you're giving them permission to do a background check. So, they have the ability to check your background. Where can they look? Well, the obvious place is LinkedIn. If they see a termination date, let’s say, six months ago and nothing since and they become curious as to whether you been working. On the interview, they may ask you, but you if you're hiding something there. The way that they'll find that is (number one) a background check which will include pulling your credit report. Your credit report will indicate where it is your earning money at this time because that employer has filed it with credit reporting firms. They can also (this is pretty easy), less easy now than it was some years ago, but they call your old phone number ask to speak with you. Someone calls them back to say, he's no longer with us. “Do you know where he went,” and that person tells them where you really work. “No, I don't know,) but they call another extension or they call your former boss and ask if they know where you went and, lo and behold, suddenly, that new employer that isn't on your resume can be exposed. Knowing whether a firm will do a background check or they check your credit report pre-employment goes a long way toward allaying your fears that your lie is going to be exposed. It may still be exposed in a number of different ways but I’ll simply say, knowing whether a firm is going to ask for a credit report at the end of the job search will go a long way toward heading that off.
