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International
Employment Verification


What is an International Employment Verification?

Prior international employers are contacted to verify an applicant job title, tenure, and salary claims. Reasons for leaving and eligibility for rehire are requested. The prior employer is asked if there are problem areas that a prospective employer should be made aware of.

What are the Sources of an International Employment Verification?

We contact international employers directly wherever possible. Most international employers verify employment through their Human Resources or Payroll Departments. A few use the office manager, owner, or former supervisor.

What are the Benefits of an International Employment Verification?

Prior history is a good predictor of future performance. This search verifies title, tenure, and salary claims. Reasons for leaving and eligibility for rehire are confirmed. Potential problem areas may be discovered. An International Employment Verification helps confirm whether an applicant has the experience needed to succeed in the job. It also provides an opportunity for prior employers to share their views of the applicant as an employee.

Because of the frequency of exaggerated and fraudulent international employment claims (see Background Check Statistics), this search is a good test of an applicant’s honesty.

Even where prior employers only verify minimal information, employment verifications are a critical element in building a defense against negligent hiring claims.

What are the Weaknesses of an International Employment Verification?

There are no guarantees that a prior employer will respond to a request to verify employment or will respond in a timely manner. Those employers who are willing to respond are often not willing to answer every question. Many organizations have policies governing what information may be disclosed regarding prior employees, while others have policies not to disclose anything.

Because employer contact information provided by the applicant may be fraudulent, employment verifications are best done "through the front door." Contact information for prior employers should be located independently of the contact information provided by the applicant, ensuring that the employer claimed is actually the employer being contacted.

Contacting international employers is often complicated because of difficulty in locating the employer, inadequate communication systems, or language barriers.

How Long Does an International Employment Verification Take?

Most International Employment Verifications are returned in three to four business days. However, because these searches depend upon the prior employer, they occasionally take much longer. Some international employers are very difficult to locate, and some simply respond very slowly to requests for prior employment verification. Time differences and language barriers can also cause international employment verifications to take longer than domestic verifications.

Patience is important when doing International Employment Verifications because turnaround time can vary so much. On occasions, requests for prior employment verification must be mailed. In these cases the searches are marked complete in our tracking system with the note, "WILL UPDATE WHEN INFORMATION ARRIVES." We will continue to attempt to contact the prior employer, but we will not hold up reporting the rest of the background check for this search.

What is Our Recommendation for an International Employment Verification?

International Employment Verifications should be conducted when screening prospective employees who have been employed outside of the United States. International employment history may be critical to help confirm whether the applicant has the experience and training needed to succeed in the job. International Employment Verification provide an important element in the defense against negligent hiring claims.

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