Reference and background checks when starting a new job

[Thejennell]

I’m starting a new job at an international corporate in the next two weeks. They have sent the final paperwork through about pensions and health insurance and then at the bottom of the pile was an external company who will do a background check on me which includes my education, character and previous employment.

One of the qualifications I have listed on my CV (which is irrelevant to the job i’ve got itself - ie it’s not a vocational qualification) was one essay short of completion. This is back in 2007. That essay made up 3% of my mark, so in the end I did not receive the qualification, even though I attended all the lectures, am part of the alumni, scored well in all the other modules etc.

What should I do about this? How do background checks work? What kind of questions do they ask? Or do they just want to know you were at the place at the time you said you were?

Just to add, the qualification I listed is not my BA hons or anything, it is a postgraduate diploma

Did you state that you had the qualification or just that you were studying for it? I would imagine they will want to see the certificate.

If you haven't listed the institution where you were studying the postgrad, just say nothing. If they want to know more then send them the explanation you've posted on here and say you didn't finalise the qualification, but you can evidence the work completed and the marks attained for the modules you did.

If it was anything like my postgrad the institution gave me interim marks on a transcript sheet, so you could offer to send that to them if it lists all your modules taken.

If it is not relevant, I would keep quiet, cross my fingers and hope they don't ask for a certificate!

And then take it off your CV for next time, you do not have this qualification.

take it off your CV for next time, you do not have this qualification.

This. In my industry, this would be mean you'd fail the background check as they'd consider it lying. Either take it off your c.v. completely or include the experience but make it clear you don't have the final qualification.

I did similar to you with a post grad and always put something like 'attended post grad course in....' rather than claiming I have the qualification.

Sorry, but if your CV suggested that you had actually got this qualification, you may well fail the background checks.

Where I work, fraudulently claiming a qualification that you had failed to complete would automatically result in the job offer being withdrawn. It wouldn't necessarily be about the qualification itself, it's more a reflection on your integrity and trustworthiness.

Keep your fingers crossed that they don't check this particular qualification, and if you don't get caught this time, make sure that your CV is accurate for the next time.

I've never been asked for proof of qualification certificates, but at my current job (v large corporate) the 3rd party screening company did ask for very detailed information about my degree so whether they then did some verification of that, I don't know.

Why is it on your CV if you didn't obtain the qualification...?

Take things off your submitted CV that are irrelevant to the job; change to "95% completed course work but had to withdraw for Reasons" if it ever is relevant to the application.

Think you're gonna have to come clean if confronted that you 'may have explained that badly'.

”Sorry, but if your CV suggested that you had actually got this qualification, you may well fail the background checks.”

This.

If they are employing a company to do background checks including on your education, then the basic fundamentals of that check will be to make sure you actually have the qualifications you claim to have.

It all depends how far they go. I have withdrawn offers before due to this because it raises questions about honesty if they have listed the qualification as being an actual qualification rather than incomplete.