How Should My Friend Handle a Negative Background Check on Her Resume?

Hi all, I am writing on behalf of my friend. Six months ago, she got a job in an MNC, a CMM level 5 company. After four months, the company conducted her background verification. In the background check, she received negative feedback from her third-last company. In reality, she did not provide a proper resignation, so the boss of that company keeps stating that he will not rehire her and claims she absconded. Consequently, she was terminated last month. Moreover, this company will now provide feedback citing background discrepancy as the reason for her separation.

Seeking Advice on Resume Dilemma

Now, she is worried about her future. Should she include this company experience on her resume, or should she leave this five-month period blank? Please provide any helpful suggestions. She is in a difficult situation, with 1.8 years of experience in Java. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Youngsters are not understanding the gravity of making an exit from an organization without completing formalities, which in one way or another creates cascading adverse effects on their career path. Advise her not to hide the factual position and to show separation due to personal reasons. Showing a blank for a 5-month duration out of 2 years of experience may invite trouble.

Regards,
Pon

It's amazing to know that a software company would lay so much emphasis on verification just because the new employee left the last job from a previous company. The attrition rate in the software industry is among the highest, and it should not surprise anyone that employees keep jumping in that industry and have a short shelf life.

Now, if your friend is really a talented programmer, I don't think any company worth its salt will look into why the recent boss is giving negative feedback. There may be numerous reasons for the reporting boss to react in such a manner. Hypothetically, even if a notice period was served and then complete formalities were done, but then say that the company wanted to extend the employee's stay a bit longer. In that case, if the employee refuses to stay back longer, the reporting boss might also get back at the employee by using such negative feedback.

This is the drawback in the industry regarding verification. All verifications should necessarily be completed before taking the employee on board, no matter what. If the verification agency says it's going to take time, then give them a lead time before ruining an employee's career graph unnecessarily. All this creates a bad taste for prospective employees and their morale. Normally, basic verifications should be completed within 10-15 days (e.g., similar to credit companies and banks), and only then the employee should be taken on board.

In the background check, she received negative feedback from her third-last company. She has 1.8 years of experience in Java. With the assumption that your friend changes 3-4 companies within 2 years, it is necessary to suggest to her to take her career seriously. Technical skills alone will not help someone build a career; professional ethics are also a critical factor.

1. Suggest to your friend to go and meet with the 3rd employer. If your friend was responsible for the issues at that company, recommend settling the matter and apologizing to the former boss. Encourage resolving any outstanding dues and properly obtaining relief.

2. When your friend moves on to the next employer, advise her to be open and explain the details.

Don't assume that, as she has 1.8 years of experience in a single company, she was only working there. Before that, she was employed in two different companies other than in Java development. The third-last company has given wrong feedback.

The problem is that the third-last company was a very small organization, and they didn't provide any documents during the employment period. The mistake she made was showing that experience at this level 5 organization, and now she is facing consequences. This level 5 organization took almost six months to terminate her, and they will provide a Background Check (BGC) discrepancy feedback for that period, making it impossible for her to claim that experience. In the meantime, she has received offers from other prominent organizations by counting two years of experience, including those six months.

Is it possible for her to obtain an experience certificate from the small company she freelanced for? She wishes to present this certificate as six months of work experience, and the organization is willing to provide positive feedback about her employment. Please advise.

Forget about consultme's remarks but take his/her advice—point (1). Pon has rightly pointed out where your friend has gone wrong. The only way to streamline your friend's career in the long term is to do the clean-up act ASAP. 28677c5420521383353edc6e6 does have a very valid point, but that's in the larger perspective. I know of employers who resort to such dirty games—lack of plain ethics & immaturity. But until the IT industry wakes up & lays down practical/realistic rules of the game, I guess one has to suffer it.

By the way, what's your friend's total experience? 1.8 or 2 years or something else?

Regards,
TS