Background verification: what is checked, and how to prepare
After an offer, most companies verify what your résumé says. It goes smoothly when every date and title matches your documents, and you have those documents ready.
What is usually checked
Employment
Your previous employers confirm your role, dates and sometimes your last salary and exit status. Dates are what most often do not match.
Education
Your degree and marks are confirmed with the college or university, from the certificates you submit.
Address and identity
Your current and permanent address, sometimes with a visit, and your identity documents.
References
People you name, often a former manager, are asked about your work.
Other checks
Some roles add a criminal record check, a database check or a drug test. The offer or the verification form says which.
Keep these ready
- Relieving and experience letters from every previous employer
- Last few payslips, and the offer letter of your last job
- Degree certificate and mark sheets
- Identity and address proof
- Names and contact details of one or two references who know your work
Missing a relieving letter? The email to ask HR for it.
Questions people ask
My résumé dates are a little different from my relieving letter. What do I do?
Fix the résumé to match the letter before verification starts, and tell HR if the version they have differs. A small honest correction is ordinary; a mismatch found by the agency looks like a cover-up.
How long does verification take?
Often one to a few weeks, depending on how quickly your previous employers and college respond. Many companies let you join while it runs.
Can an offer be withdrawn after verification?
Yes, if something material does not match, such as a degree or an employer you did not work for. That is why every date and title on the résumé should be exactly what your documents say.
A résumé that matches your documents
BananaJobz tailors your résumé to each job using only what is on it, so nothing appears that verification could not confirm.
General guidance. Each employer and verification agency decides what it checks.