new job prospects contacting current job

Just was curious does anyone know or have experience with knowing what are the general questions a possible new employer would ask your current job for verification purposes.

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drkat

Generally prospective jobs do not contact your current employer, but they will contact previous ones

Essendon

General stuff like - how long you've worked for, perhaps what your daily responsibilities were, what your job title is, whether you've been punctual, whether you're good enough be hired to again. The questions may vary, but they'll be along these lines. These are the questions I was asked when I've provided a reference for others.

Legacy User

@drkat but what if the previous job had no relevancy to the current job you are applying for?

Iristheangel

Most employers will only give you dates of employment unless they receive a written notice signed by you to disclose your salary. They usually don't like giving out character references for legal reasons but if you ask your manager to do it, he/she might.

Legacy User

@iris so they would only ask for employment dates? Thats not much verification... I mean what if the applicant is lying out there teeth on there responsibilities at the current job and aces the interview?

drkat

Yeah that's a tough one.. I've never had a prospecive employer contact my current. If they did however they can only verify dates of employment, HR isnt allowed legally to give out information regarding salary, disciplnary etc

Iristheangel

It's been my experience that they will not give character references or descriptions of job duties. They'll give your job title and dates of employment but that's it. Usually it's the HR department that gives this information over. If you're good with your manager, you can ask him to do a character reference and just give them his/her direct number. If not, then just give them your employment verification line number or ask your HR department who verifies employment

the_Grinch

Iris is correct, every company or entity I have dealt with have had very strict rules of only wanting to give out dates of employment. Even that was like pulling teeth and really a royal pain. When my background investigation was going on, my investigator contacted my college and one of my professors. As he was pulling into my professors driveway he got a call from the colleges in-house counsel. For 15 minutes the in house counsel ripped him a new one for having the nerve to request information about a student and for contacting a professor on top of that. Further more they did not care what government agency he worked for he would receive no information. They then instructed him to put my professor on the phone and the counsel told him he was not to speak to him under any circumstances. My professor calmly told him what it was for, that I was aware, and that he would have me contact the in-house counsel to clear it. They still didn't like it, but finely let him get on with his work. Believe me, this is what you want in this day and age.

Legacy User

If thats the case then what stops ppl from bsing there resume? Stating they have more responsibilities then they do and just showing up with cert knowledge and just talking out of there ass?

J_86

If someone is bsing their resume, it will come out eventually. They will run into someone that will call them out on their "knowledge" and show them the door

NetworkVeteran

..and just showing up with cert knowledge and just talking out of there ass?

An good phone/in-person interview can determine whether a candidate has practical knowledge. One of my red flags when I'm job-hunting is a company with poor interviewing skills.

dmarcisco wrote: »

Stating they have more responsibilities then they do..

That's not determined via employment verification. As Iris says, employment verification covers only your title, date of employment, and occasionally your salary or rehireability.

They can determine what sort of employee you were via--

1. The Grapevine. Yes, people move between companies, and friends talk outside official channels.
2. Your References. Sometimes companies choose who you must ask for references for less glowiness.
3. Awards, News Clips, etc. - These can be provided or are publically available.

petedude

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

1. The Grapevine. Yes, people move between companies, and friends talk outside official channels.

. . . and in this day/age, "The Grapevine" includes Social Media. They may look you up on Facebook, LinkedIn and the like.

Iristheangel

You can't very well say that you were a network architect when your former employer confirms your job title as a janitor.

Legacy User

@iris lol that's some stretch

drkat

You can if you put your former employer down as your best bud

but we wont get into all that stuff lol

Legacy User

lol but wouldnt they check your work history in the background check.

Iristheangel

Background checks usually consist of checking your criminal history, (sometimes) credit score, and the references you provide. They also might check things on the backend such as social media or verify that the phone numbers you provided for your company are actually listed for that company and not just your buddy's cell phone.

There are always ways for people to lie and ****, but in the real world, you'll be caught. Getting the IT job isn't the hardest part; Succeeding is. Most mid-level and senior IT pros can tell the difference between someone with no experience and someone who knows what they are doing. They can do more than just regurgitate what they studied for a test.

Wilson502

Credit checks for employment in California thankfully have been outlawed as of Jan. 1st, 2012 for most jobs except for a few circumstances (like finance or Bank related industries, or dealing with lots of money)

DB Cooper

Dates of employment, position, and are you rehireable. They can't ask for details, if they were go give the wrong information they would be liable. So most companies avoid answering any detailed questions. That was the policy of my last two companies.