Previous Employment Verification

The former employer is another animal entirely. Previous employers may fear lawsuits or may be more than happy to see this bad egg moved along to someone else’s carton. Some want to give ‘name, rank, and serial number,’ which, besides being highly annoying, doesn’t help in the slightest. You may need to remind the employer that this information is considered “qualifiedly privileged” in most states. This means that what they share is privileged unless:

• the information is knowingly false
• given in bad faith
• or with reckless disregard for the truth

When considering someone for employment, you’ll want to cover these points:

• Position held
• Dates of employment
• Salary
• General information concerning job performance
• Reason for termination and eligibility for rehire
• Job description/job duties

The last employer may want to see their former employee rehired, fearing unemployment claims, so check at least 2 previous employers. Watch for discrepancies between starting and termination dates. Some folks try to cover job-hopping by extending times on an application. Also pay particular attention to salary/compensation. Someone may purposefully misstate previous salary hoping that the new employer will make an offer to match. Besides being underhanded and sneaky, this is blatantly dishonest.

The person you ultimately speak to on the phone may be reluctant to answer open-ended questions. Some companies are adopting a scaled system for ranking such things as attendance, punctuality, initiative, and other intangibles. We found that a 1-5 scale yields  plenty of all 3’s or 4’s which doesn’t tell much. A scale of 1-10 works better, giving wiggle room for reluctant ex-bosses.

Sometimes all attempts to contact previous employers fail. Be sure to note each and every time you try, whether by letter or phone, and keep a copy for your records.

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