Dear seniors,
First of all I thank you in advance for investing your time in reading and answering my query. I sincerely solicit your advices on my problem. Many of you might have experienced this situation...or must have seen others go through it ….one advice from experts like you may help thousands like us….
This is kamal. I am an MBA with 10 years of experience in content management [print and web]. I have worked for three companies during these ten years. The second company is the world's second largest market research company and the third is a British media giant [I am currently working here].
My first employer
The first firm I worked with is a really small firm - a home-bases proprietary publishing firm [sole proprietorship] that publishes almanacs [a book on Hindu religious traditions, etc] and travel guides [for four different cities] in our regional language [Telugu]. On and off, it published travel guides in English. I worked here was Editorial Assistant from October 2002 to August 2007 [5 years]. I worked for Rs 6,580 per month [CTC: Rs 78, 960/ annum]. There were no deductions for tax, PF or anything. There were no payslips. I was paid cash in hand.
The publishing firm was not registered under the companies act, 1956. However, it was registered with Registrar of Newspapers of India [RNI], which is like a license to run a publishing firm. The firm had a total of eight employees - 6 contracted & commissioned sales boys, me and the proprietor. The proprietor had a single room office setup at his uncle's huge house. He outsourced all the printing and designing work. We had total sales of 5000 to 8000 copies a year. It was out of the bracket of commercial tax. However, we still maintained our bills or receipts given to our clients [highly reputed public and private sector clients] who placed advertisements in our books. Please note: my proprietor alone has contacts with the concerned personnel from these companies when dealing in ads.
Issue with background check
Having worked with the proprietor for such a long period - 5 years, I have a good relationship with the proprietor and have been in touch with him till now. I am aware that he is still running the firm. He told me recently that moved to another city, where he is running the business in an apartment [single office room setup] with just a nameboard [his name, proprietor, publishing firm's name]. He also stopped publishing the travel guides after I left the firm. He is now solely dependent on almanacs. Also, his RNI license is now expired – he says he is going to renew it. It was valid when I was working for him. The proprietor issued me both offer letter and experience certificate.
I am now getting calls from big players like Accenture, Google and TCS. The HR teams of my second and third employers contacted the proprietor via phone and confirmed my details. However, practice with big companies is different altogether. They send background check agencies to locations and get the employee details verified.
It’s a small firm with no big name boards. So, people around would not know it well. The address on my offer letter and experience certificate is old. Also, the landline number is not functioning anymore. The proprietor’s mobile phone is functioning. I am anyways going to provide the prospective employer with the new address of the firm. But am still worried as to what would the third party agency view it as if the business or office is such a small one and is running at home? Would they mark me as a red flag? I am 33 years old and at this point I can’t afford to lose good offers…Why is it a problem to prove something that is genuine and legitimate?
Kindly help me with this issue….
Awaiting your replies / advices…
Kamal
First of all I thank you in advance for investing your time in reading and answering my query. I sincerely solicit your advices on my problem. Many of you might have experienced this situation...or must have seen others go through it ….one advice from experts like you may help thousands like us….
This is kamal. I am an MBA with 10 years of experience in content management [print and web]. I have worked for three companies during these ten years. The second company is the world's second largest market research company and the third is a British media giant [I am currently working here].
My first employer
The first firm I worked with is a really small firm - a home-bases proprietary publishing firm [sole proprietorship] that publishes almanacs [a book on Hindu religious traditions, etc] and travel guides [for four different cities] in our regional language [Telugu]. On and off, it published travel guides in English. I worked here was Editorial Assistant from October 2002 to August 2007 [5 years]. I worked for Rs 6,580 per month [CTC: Rs 78, 960/ annum]. There were no deductions for tax, PF or anything. There were no payslips. I was paid cash in hand.
The publishing firm was not registered under the companies act, 1956. However, it was registered with Registrar of Newspapers of India [RNI], which is like a license to run a publishing firm. The firm had a total of eight employees - 6 contracted & commissioned sales boys, me and the proprietor. The proprietor had a single room office setup at his uncle's huge house. He outsourced all the printing and designing work. We had total sales of 5000 to 8000 copies a year. It was out of the bracket of commercial tax. However, we still maintained our bills or receipts given to our clients [highly reputed public and private sector clients] who placed advertisements in our books. Please note: my proprietor alone has contacts with the concerned personnel from these companies when dealing in ads.
Issue with background check
Having worked with the proprietor for such a long period - 5 years, I have a good relationship with the proprietor and have been in touch with him till now. I am aware that he is still running the firm. He told me recently that moved to another city, where he is running the business in an apartment [single office room setup] with just a nameboard [his name, proprietor, publishing firm's name]. He also stopped publishing the travel guides after I left the firm. He is now solely dependent on almanacs. Also, his RNI license is now expired – he says he is going to renew it. It was valid when I was working for him. The proprietor issued me both offer letter and experience certificate.
I am now getting calls from big players like Accenture, Google and TCS. The HR teams of my second and third employers contacted the proprietor via phone and confirmed my details. However, practice with big companies is different altogether. They send background check agencies to locations and get the employee details verified.
It’s a small firm with no big name boards. So, people around would not know it well. The address on my offer letter and experience certificate is old. Also, the landline number is not functioning anymore. The proprietor’s mobile phone is functioning. I am anyways going to provide the prospective employer with the new address of the firm. But am still worried as to what would the third party agency view it as if the business or office is such a small one and is running at home? Would they mark me as a red flag? I am 33 years old and at this point I can’t afford to lose good offers…Why is it a problem to prove something that is genuine and legitimate?
Kindly help me with this issue….
Awaiting your replies / advices…
Kamal