Questions for Human Resource professionals or Corporate recruiter specialists

[F82ny]

Hey all,

I have a question for those who work in Human Resources from the corporate recruiting perspective. I am exploring a new opportunity and received an offer contingent upon a successful background check. The background check was outsourced to a 3rd party and it took them 3 business days to complete. It’s been complete since this past Thursday. I am eager to submit my 2 weeks notice to my current employer but not before I get the all-clear.

I’ve been having a hard time getting an update from my prospective employer and they’ve had 2 business days to review what the 3rd party background provided. The only thing the employer told me is that once the 3rd party does their part it’s a very quick process for final approval. However, this is a large company and it looks like many different people from HR are involved in getting this particular role filled, so I’m not sure if the delay is due to that.

1- How closely to job titles need to match up when a background check is being conducted? For one of the jobs in my career early on I modified the job title on my resume to be a little more specific to what I did but did not change the seniority. My resume indicated “Product Marketing Specialist” and my old employer likely went by “Marketing Specialist”. It’s been 8 years since I’ve been in that role though so I don’t remember too clearly. In my opinion it’s all semantics and based on research online, it’s very common to modify titles slightly to more accurately reflect what you do/did so long as you’re not deliberately misleading the prospect. Some companies have internal and external titles as well. The duties I listed were all accurate. Worried that the employer might red flag this. Is this a non issue?

2- Once a background check is complete how long do (large) companies generally need to review it? Does it need to be circulated for signatures etc?

3- How often is it appropriate to follow up? I’m juggling timelines with a start date and giving two weeks notice. It seems like there’s little urgency on their end to wrap this up or at least give me an update. I know big companies are busy and I’m likely a small part of what they need to do but for me this has been a significant time spender. It’s been mentally exhausting as well since I’ve been checking my email every minute for an update.

Aside from #1 I have no real concerns…no crimes, everything else should match up, etc. I even called the 3rd party background check company and they said they noted no discrepancies, but really it’s the prospective employer that matches up the results to see if there are any issues.

I’d love to hear from any professionals in this area. Thanks!

[shoei]

Originally Posted by F82ny

Hey all,

I have a question for those who work in Human Resources from the corporate recruiting perspective. I am exploring a new opportunity and received an offer contingent upon a successful background check. The background check was outsourced to a 3rd party and it took them 3 business days to complete. It's been complete since this past Thursday. I am eager to submit my 2 weeks notice to my current employer but not before I get the all-clear.

I've been having a hard time getting an update from my prospective employer and they've had 2 business days to review what the 3rd party background provided. The only thing the employer told me is that once the 3rd party does their part it's a very quick process for final approval. However, this is a large company and it looks like many different people from HR are involved in getting this particular role filled, so I'm not sure if the delay is due to that.

1- How closely to job titles need to match up when a background check is being conducted? For one of the jobs in my career early on I modified the job title on my resume to be a little more specific to what I did but did not change the seniority. My resume indicated "Product Marketing Specialist" and my old employer likely went by "Marketing Specialist". It's been 8 years since I've been in that role though so I don't remember too clearly. In my opinion it's all semantics and based on research online, it's very common to modify titles slightly to more accurately reflect what you do/did so long as you're not deliberately misleading the prospect. Some companies have internal and external titles as well. The duties I listed were all accurate. Worried that the employer might red flag this. Is this a non issue?

2- Once a background check is complete how long do (large) companies generally need to review it? Does it need to be circulated for signatures etc?

3- How often is it appropriate to follow up? I'm juggling timelines with a start date and giving two weeks notice. It seems like there's little urgency on their end to wrap this up or at least give me an update. I know big companies are busy and I'm likely a small part of what they need to do but for me this has been a significant time spender. It's been mentally exhausting as well since I've been checking my email every minute for an update.

Aside from #1 I have no real concerns…no crimes, everything else should match up, etc. I even called the 3rd party background check company and they said they noted no discrepancies, but really it's the prospective employer that matches up the results to see if there are any issues.

I'd love to hear from any professionals in this area. Thanks!

I think you need to take a step back and chill. Your job history or background check isn't the red flag, you are. They completed it Thursday and you're ALREADY wanting answers? And you've reached out to the background check company?

They completed it Thursday and maybe they forwarded it on to the recruiter / HR, or maybe they're inundated with the 10501 other companies they might also be doing the same thing for? Maybe the recruiter / HR department took a long weekend. Maybe the report hasn't been typed up yet?

If I found out someone I tendered a job offer to is already hounding people for an update? After 24 hours? Huge red fucking flag. It's Saturday man, you think they're sitting there reviewing your file today?

Breathe. Chill. Go enjoy your weekend. If what you say is true and you have nothing to hide, why are you acting like Brian Laundrie? You already got the offer - you aren't the only person going through a background check currently. The 3rd party company is NOT your friend - they're paid for by your potential new company. Stop calling them or anybody for that matter before you shoot yourself in the foot.

[Bc2005]

You might be confusing the terminology, and also misunderstanding the slow pace in some corporations.

“Background check” usually means they are checking the typical reporting agencies (credit bureau, educational institutions, police, etc.) and verifying basic data about who you are and where you live, and maybe verifying where you have worked. Most background checks don’t get into actual job information, since that should be part of the review by HR (compare your resume to the job requirements, etc) and the department that put out the job offer.

Resume job titles are not usually that significant if the work experience is a proper match to what they need. Be more concerned about specific requirements in the job announcement and how they compare to the experience you listed in your resume. However, that should have already been done before they made any offer.

[2000cs]

They’re still reviewing your social media posts, including this forum.

I don’t see a problem checking in with the new employer on Monday afternoon. Let them know that you’re eager to get started with their team but need to provide the two weeks notice to your current employer. They probably won’t share the results of their background check, but if they now revoke your offer because of it, you’ll want to see it to make corrections (rarely, there can be issues with info on another person with a same name, etc). That said, don’t express anything but confidence that the background check will come back clean.

The resume thing is a non-issue. The titles are close enough, and often these days prior employers will only release dates of employment, no titles, whether you left on good terms, etc. Background check can have a narrow scope (arrests/felonies) or be broader (confirm degrees, etc.) depending on the company ordering it. The more it encompasses, the longer it will take. And yeah, never contact the company doing the check unless there is an error.

[DenverSteve]

What Shoei said. They're a large company which means they've got other irons in the fire. Possibly many more important than your position. They may have to notify someone of a raise, promotion, termination - any of which are more time-important than a not-yet-hired individual. They'll let you know when appropriate - to them.

[e90335e36m3]

Seriously calm down, if you're this anxious about getting onboarded, just wait til you have to deal with the bureaucracy of a large company. Nothing moves fast. Your desire for instant gratification really aligns with your choice of profession. Posts…10 seconds later…where are my likes, comments and subscribes, people aren't smashing it.

[F82ny]

Originally Posted by shoei

I think you need to take a step back and chill. Your job history or background check isn't the red flag, you are. They completed it Thursday and you're ALREADY wanting answers? And you've reached out to the background check company?

They completed it Thursday and maybe they forwarded it on to the recruiter / HR, or maybe they're inundated with the 10501 other companies they might also be doing the same thing for? Maybe the recruiter / HR department took a long weekend. Maybe the report hasn't been typed up yet?

If I found out someone I tendered a job offer to is already hounding people for an update? After 24 hours? Huge red fucking flag. It's Saturday man, you think they're sitting there reviewing your file today?

Breathe. Chill. Go enjoy your weekend. If what you say is true and you have nothing to hide, why are you acting like Brian Laundrie? You already got the offer - you aren't the only person going through a background check currently. The 3rd party company is NOT your friend - they're paid for by your potential new company. Stop calling them or anybody for that matter before you shoot yourself in the foot.

Thank you for the reply and input. I reread my post and I’m really not getting the sense that I overreacted and need to chill. I asked legit questions regarding the title and when to follow up. I really also am curious how things work on the HR side of things, hence why I asked HR professionals to chime in. I haven’t been emailing or calling them as often as you think. I followed up once with the prospective employer and that it was. I did call the background company once as well since they welcomed applicants to call them to inquire about statuses, etc. Once I found out their part was done on Wednesday I was curious why the employer didn’t respond by Friday evening, especially since I was told it was a fairly quick process once the report is done.

Originally Posted by Bc2005

You might be confusing the terminology, and also misunderstanding the slow pace in some corporations.

“Background check” usually means they are checking the typical reporting agencies (credit bureau, educational institutions, police, etc.) and verifying basic data about who you are and where you live, and maybe verifying where you have worked. Most background checks don’t get into actual job information, since that should be part of the review by HR (compare your resume to the job requirements, etc) and the department that put out the job offer.

Resume job titles are not usually that significant if the work experience is a proper match to what they need. Be more concerned about specific requirements in the job announcement and how they compare to the experience you listed in your resume. However, that should have already been done before they made any offer.

Aside from drug testing, it was a pretty extensive background check. Employers, education, Criminal record, etc, all that was checked. Credit was not checked as well since I’m not in the financial industry.

Originally Posted by 2000cs

They’re still reviewing your social media posts, including this forum.

I don’t see a problem checking in with the new employer on Monday afternoon. Let them know that you’re eager to get started with their team but need to provide the two weeks notice to your current employer. They probably won’t share the results of their background check, but if they now revoke your offer because of it, you’ll want to see it to make corrections (rarely, there can be issues with info on another person with a same name, etc). That said, don’t express anything but confidence that the background check will come back clean.

The resume thing is a non-issue. The titles are close enough, and often these days prior employers will only release dates of employment, no titles, whether you left on good terms, etc. Background check can have a narrow scope (arrests/felonies) or be broader (confirm degrees, etc.) depending on the company ordering it. The more it encompasses, the longer it will take. And yeah, never contact the company doing the check unless there is an error.

I’ll definitely check in Monday. Thanks for the feedback.

Originally Posted by e90335e36m3

Seriously calm down, if you're this anxious about getting onboarded, just wait til you have to deal with the bureaucracy of a large company. Nothing moves fast. Your desire for instant gratification really aligns with your choice of profession. Posts…10 seconds later…where are my likes, comments and subscribes, people aren't smashing it.

Check my reply to Shoei. I’m not asking for feedback right away. Instant gratification is always nice but again, that wasn’t the goal. I made the post from a genuine place of curiosity regarding how things work in HR, which is why I was asking for HR professionals to chime in, if there even are any on this forum. And I’ve only ever dealt with large companies FYI and I know things move slow compared to small companies.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by F82ny

Credit was not checked as well since I’m not in the financial industry.

Hah! That's what you think. Even your car insurance company checks your credit rating these days.

[shoei]

Originally Posted by F82ny

Thank you for the reply and input. I reread my post and I’m really not getting the sense that I overreacted and need to chill. I asked legit questions regarding the title and when to follow up. I really also am curious how things work on the HR side of things, hence why I asked HR professionals to chime in. I haven’t been emailing or calling them as often as you think. I followed up once with the prospective employer and that it was. I did call the background company once as well since they welcomed applicants to call them to inquire about statuses, etc. Once I found out their part was done on Wednesday I was curious why the employer didn’t respond by Friday evening, especially since I was told it was a fairly quick process once the report is done.

Aside from drug testing, it was a pretty extensive background check. Employers, education, Criminal record, etc, all that was checked. Credit was not checked as well since I’m not in the financial industry.

I’ll definitely check in Monday. Thanks for the feedback.

Check my reply to Shoei. I’m naturally an anxiety person with anxiety issues but I’m not asking for feedback right away. Instant gratification is always nice but again, that wasn’t the goal. I made the post from a genuine place of curiosity regarding how things work in HR, which is why I was asking for HR professionals to chime in, if there even are any on this forum. And I’ve only ever dealt with large companies FYI and I know things move slow compared to small companies.

Wow. So let's break it down a bit simpler then.

Thursday - background check was done
Friday - you've already reached out to not only the background check company but the prospective employer
Saturday - you're online with a novel of a story asking what gives stating - and I quote - "the company has had two days now…."
Sunday - you're now defending your actions after telling us you are a wreck and refreshing emails on the regular and everyone telling you to just breathe and relax.

If you don't see this behavior as problematic or concerning at the least, then god help the company that hires you. Not only is your sense of entitlement strong, you expect HR / employers to get back to you over the weekend. You've given yourself anxiety EXPECTING an answer by now. After 48 hours. Please don't include the weekends. It's 48 hours. There is no set timeline for companies to get back to you. There's so many variables it's not even possible to start speculating. What I do know is that it's not instantaneous.

You have multiple strangers over the internet basically tell you the same thing and you've decided to double down on your beliefs. Everyone's told you to just chill and don't stress yet here you are trying to prove your point like your behavior is normal. It's isn't. Said it before gonna say it again - you're a huge red flag for any company. Constructive criticism is essential for one to grow. How you take it shows a lot about your mindset and maturity level. "That's why I asked if there are any HR professionals - if there even are any on this board." Passive aggressiveness? Yikes. So now your mindset is they must not be HR because I'm not hearing what I want to hear.
I'll help you out with this one too. I used to consult for build outs at start up / tech companies, C level teams and? HR departments. Fast forward present day, I have my own businesses in multi states. I have final say on most hires, anything managerial and above. I trust my managers to build out their own hourly teams.

You don't realize the phrases you've written that are serious red flags. There's eagerness and then there's something else. You fall under the something else category.

If you don't like the advice given by complete strangers, then don't ask it. If you want to cherry pick the answers that make you feel better (which you've done by wanting to follow the one persons advice who said reach out Monday) then go talk to your family who will probably tell you what you want to hear. But I'm guessing there's a reason you're asking a car forum these questions and not your friends or family.

You have a lot of growth to do, but sounds like if the advice doesn't resonate with you, you don't want to hear it anyways.

[XutvJet]

Be patient and stop hounding people. Things move SLOWLY in a big business. There's no rush in submitting your 2 week notice either.

[F82ny]

Originally Posted by shoei

Wow. So let's break it down a bit simpler then.

Thursday - background check was done
Friday - you've already reached out to not only the background check company but the prospective employer
Saturday - you're online with a novel of a story asking what gives stating - and I quote - "the company has had two days now…."
Sunday - you're now defending your actions after telling us you are a wreck and refreshing emails on the regular and everyone telling you to just breathe and relax.

If you don't see this behavior as problematic or concerning at the least, then god help the company that hires you. Not only is your sense of entitlement strong, you expect HR / employers to get back to you over the weekend. You've given yourself anxiety EXPECTING an answer by now. After 48 hours. Please don't include the weekends. It's 48 hours. There is no set timeline for companies to get back to you. There's so many variables it's not even possible to start speculating. What I do know is that it's not instantaneous.

You have multiple strangers over the internet basically tell you the same thing and you've decided to double down on your beliefs. Everyone's told you to just chill and don't stress yet here you are trying to prove your point like your behavior is normal. It's isn't. Said it before gonna say it again - you're a huge red flag for any company. Constructive criticism is essential for one to grow. How you take it shows a lot about your mindset and maturity level. "That's why I asked if there are any HR professionals - if there even are any on this board." Passive aggressiveness? Yikes. So now your mindset is they must not be HR because I'm not hearing what I want to hear.
I'll help you out with this one too. I used to consult for build outs at start up / tech companies, C level teams and? HR departments. Fast forward present day, I have my own businesses in multi states. I have final say on most hires, anything managerial and above. I trust my managers to build out their own hourly teams.

You don't realize the phrases you've written that are serious red flags. There's eagerness and then there's something else. You fall under the something else category.

If you don't like the advice given by complete strangers, then don't ask it. If you want to cherry pick the answers that make you feel better (which you've done by wanting to follow the one persons advice who said reach out Monday) then go talk to your family who will probably tell you what you want to hear. But I'm guessing there's a reason you're asking a car forum these questions and not your friends or family.

You have a lot of growth to do, but sounds like if the advice doesn't resonate with you, you don't want to hear it anyways.

I really don’t want to argue with you man. You have valid points and my apologies if passive aggressiveness came across, that was not the intent. Every day is a learning day for me and I’m all for constructive criticism. You’re right on me giving myself anxiety over this. But, I don’t include weekends and I have NO expectation that I’ll get a reply back on Saturday and Sunday. I’m not trying to defend myself so I’ll say it once more, I was coming from a place of genuine curiosity on how things work on the HR side. I’m really excited and eager about this opportunity so yea, perhaps it is coming across as such or even a bit more.

[Darth One]

I'm not a corporate recruiter per se, but I rep/am the decision maker for my business unit on campuses and at career events.

I don't see anything inappropriate with your behavior. There's some natural eagerness and aggressiveness to be expected from job candidates. If you don't repeatedly and persistently hound them I doubt you'll piss them off.

And recruiters know how big a deal this is for candidates - some are unemployed, some have moves to plan, some have timings to work out with current employer…they expect to be hounded somewhat.

just be patient and don't keep calling if they tell you to wait - if they give you a timeline for things to get completed, then don't call until a couple of business days after that day if you don't hear from them, and so on.

[Gossypiboma]

Just chill. I've been through countless backgrounds checks and the response is high variable depending on a lot of circumstances. Just let the company do their thing and get back to you.

[Alfisti]

[DETRoadster]

Like the others have said, just chill. if they are investing in a thorough background check, they clearly want you for the job. People are busy. Hiring managers have their normal full time job to do and recruiting just gets lumped on top of that. Maybe someone who is critical in the approval chain was on holiday, or came down with COVID. You'll hear back from the company you are applying to this week, Im sure.

[RickFLM4]

Big companies can take a while to work through their process and there isn’t much you can do to speed it up. Don’t resign until you have formal clearance from the new employer in writing. Once received tell them you need to give 2 week notice before starting new job. Pretty standard and let it happen when it happens.

[TheWatchGuy]

Background check completed Thursday. Probably not sent to the company till Friday. They probably wont look at it till Monday. They then will have to get everyone to sign off on it and officially offer you the position.

I get being anxious and wanting to get in to the new company, but youve got to understand they work on their time, not yours. If you want things done on your time, probably best to not go to a large company, as they dont tend to work fast

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by shoei

I think you need to take a step back and chill. Your job history or background check isn't the red flag, you are. They completed it Thursday and you're ALREADY wanting answers? And you've reached out to the background check company?

They completed it Thursday and maybe they forwarded it on to the recruiter / HR, or maybe they're inundated with the 10501 other companies they might also be doing the same thing for? Maybe the recruiter / HR department took a long weekend. Maybe the report hasn't been typed up yet?

If I found out someone I tendered a job offer to is already hounding people for an update? After 24 hours? Huge red fucking flag. It's Saturday man, you think they're sitting there reviewing your file today?

Breathe. Chill. Go enjoy your weekend. If what you say is true and you have nothing to hide, why are you acting like Brian Laundrie? You already got the offer - you aren't the only person going through a background check currently. The 3rd party company is NOT your friend - they're paid for by your potential new company. Stop calling them or anybody for that matter before you shoot yourself in the foot.

This.

Also keep in mind that the 'H' in HR usually stands for helpless especially in large companies. State government is even worse.

[Tommy-G]

Maybe the hiring personnel took a day off

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

This.

Also keep in mind that the 'H' in HR usually stands for helpless especially in large companies. State government is even worse.

Seriously, never forget that HR works for the company, not the employees. In my opinion it is solely to prevent employee/candidate litigation, effect terminations and keep some degree of calm among employees. Although HR employees are usually friendly, they are never an employee’s friends.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by F82ny

Aside from drug testing, it was a pretty extensive background check. Employers, education, Criminal record, etc, all that was checked. Credit was not checked as well since I’m not in the financial industry.
.

My wife was in corporate recruiting. They absolutely will check your credit history, and that will not be part of the background check that gets farmed out to a third party. The credit check is almost as important, or sometimes more important, as the actual background check. My wife has had to let go applicants due to poor credit checks all the time, as they are a huge security risk. They do a credit check on every single possible hire, and the company has nothing to do with the financial industry. And after all the approvals have been done, and managers signed off etc, THEN the file has to go to HR for their approval.

And seriously. This shit takes time. At any one time, my wife was hiring for up to 40 different positions. You will get the call when you get the call.

[wtwo3]

I'm not in HR or a recruiter, but I've gone through the hiring process several times (both as the one being hired as well as the one doing the hiring). The nuances of the process really vary pretty widely by company, so there's no real one source of truth to how it does or is supposed to go.

My current company - the background check process was VERY involved. It was 2 weeks of back and forth with them requesting additional documentation/information.

Transitioning between jobs is always awkward... between giving your notice, the stress of timing for your background check to clear - it can be pretty anxiety inducing, so I can empathize with you.

Ultimately, it's very rare that you'd have some unknown issue on your background check. So even though it induces anxiety, probably irrationally, I tell myself it'll be fine. With my last transition between my old job and this new job, I decided to take a month and a half off. I would say the other's advice here is sound - just relax and let the process happen. It's fine to ask for updates, but I also wouldn't overdo it. Understand that these things take time, and some companies move faster/slower than others. My general rule of thumb has been - if it's radio silence for a week, and the delay is on their end (i.e. you're not taking extended time off), it's ok to follow up once a week. Following up more frequently than that, while likely won't be an issue, could be a bit of an annoyance to the HR rep you're working with. So just out of courtesy I like to keep follow-up communication to once a week.

To answer your questions directly:

1) In my experience, they don't pay too close of attention to that, and if they do, it's usually a follow-up clarification. And with something 8 years ago, it probably won't raise any eyebrows at all. I would chalk this up as a non-issue.
2) It varies WIDELY by company. Some will take days while others take weeks.
3) Once a week is my general rule of thumb.