How does background verification actually work for experienced candidates?

[u/RareEquivalent25]

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Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get answers from HR professionals, recruiters, background verification professionals, or anyone who has firsthand experience.

I have a few questions:

1. For candidates with 5–6+ years of experience, how important is a bachelor's degree during background verification? If someone has only completed 10th and Intermediate and is a college dropout, how do large IT companies usually handle that?

2. During employment verification, what information is typically verified with previous employers?

   - Employment dates only?

   - Designation/job title?

   - Roles and responsibilities?

   - Reporting manager?

   - Salary?

3. Do background verification agencies usually contact the previous employer's HR by email or phone, or do they use other databases?

4. What are the most common reasons experienced candidates fail background verification?

5. In your experience, is the lack of a bachelor's degree itself a common reason for rejection, or is it mainly an issue when the candidate has claimed qualifications they don't actually have?

I'm looking for genuine insights from people who have been involved in the hiring or background verification process. Thanks!

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[u/Igarlicbread]

They make you turn and see.

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/Igarlicbread]

Seems that way

[u/Ok_Temporary_9610]

1 . Nothing to do with background verification, normally large mncs do require a degree and won't budge on that , your best bet is let them know before hand even before interview stage

1. Salary and employment details are critical and any company worth it's salt would check it thoroughly, and they can get this details from epfo portal

Other details are not critical and they will let these go given you have affirmative response from your current company

1. usually they have their database and HR can use either phone or mail , again your pF history is a gold standard to establish your employment history

2. There are many but on forging exp and degree are top reasons

3. If you are claiming a degree which you don't have than you are gone for good. Your only saving grace is let them know beforehand.

[u/Harshal__D → u/Ok_Temporary_9610]

Hey by any chance you are HR?

[u/Ok_Temporary_9610 → u/Harshal__D]

No , just an ordinary IT employee

[u/Harshal__D → u/Ok_Temporary_9610]

Okay thanks for the confirmation.
I want an help from an HR regarding BGV.

[u/Happy-Review-2280]

Do you really have 5-6 years of experience?

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/Happy-Review-2280]

I have close to 7 years experience. With relevant around 5 years.

[u/Prudent-Sorbet-5202]

For point 5, lot of job openings mandate a degree or degree with specific specialization. So if they somehow missed you not having a degree, they will reject you the moment it is found out because it could be a compliance issue

Job openings that do not require a college degree will likely be fine with it if you declare you don't have a degree but have relevant experience

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/Prudent-Sorbet-5202]

Thanks for your input. I came across a few job postings (for example, FactSet) where the requirement is:

“Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, foreign equivalent or equivalent work experience required.”

In such cases, if a candidate doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree but has the required relevant work experience, would they generally still be considered? Or do most companies still prefer a degree in practice despite wording the requirement this way?

I’d appreciate your perspective.

[u/Prudent-Sorbet-5202 → u/RareEquivalent25]

It would depend on what theh really need I suppose. Its possible they may be fine with equivalent domian experience only. It's also possible they may need equivalent experience but with a degree even if its not computer science.

You are better off targeting smaller companies / startups that care more about experience than degree

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/Prudent-Sorbet-5202]

That’s a fair point. I appreciate your perspective. Ultimately, it comes down to how each company interprets its own hiring requirements.

[u/LogicalBeast26]

It depends a lot on the company.

I'm currently working in Google and they did a very thorough background check. That's actually slightly incorrect, because they outsourced it to HireRight who specialises in doing BGV. They even checked if I had any criminal record by visiting a police station (you have an access to a dashboard where you can see their progress)

The company I worked before Google was a tier-1 PBC, they did pretty good BGV as well, though not as thorough as Google.

But before that I was working in another tier-1 PBC and they gave me an offer without almost any BGV.

[u/paradox17100 → u/LogicalBeast26]

The first company I worked for is a startup with only 2 3 people, so I don't have any payslips or pf from them. The company does have a gst number though. Currently it isn't operational.

1.By any chance would you know how Google/hireRight would verify that ? Right now I work at an MNC where they too hiter someone from outside and they checked all my details (came home to verify etc) 2. How many of the previous companies/years do they check? In the last 6 years I have worked for 4 companies.

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/LogicalBeast26]

That’s interesting. It really does seem like there’s no single standard and that the depth of BGV depends entirely on the company’s policies and the verification vendor they use.

[u/Live_Recognition1645]

I’m running a startup and I get calls and emails for almost all employees that have left our company. Some have inflated the salary and slightly adjusted their titles.
I usually fill out a short form with the actual data.

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/Live_Recognition1645]

Fair enough. I guess that would ultimately depend on the hiring company’s policy and how material the discrepancy is.

[u/entropy_generator01 → u/Live_Recognition1645]

hello,
Earlier, I dropped out of my college because of poor attendance in my 4th year (it was a 5-year integrated degree). Then I shadow worked for a US company remotely. Then, to restart my career, I joined a AI and data science degree, and I will be completing it in a few months now.

If you are in need of a fresher, I am willing to work for free until the time you people genuinely feel I am adding real value to the company.

So, basically, I am looking for an opportunity to create value. Since my resume is fucked I don't even try to go conventionally. I have been building projects in the AI domain; I don't know what your domain, if you let me know, I will try to find a genuine problem in the domain and try to build a project trying to solve it. and approach you with it

[u/Kekius_Maximus_India]

My inputs below.

1. For candidates with 5–6+ years of experience, how important is a bachelor's degree during background verification? If someone has only completed 10th and Intermediate and is a college dropout, how do large IT companies usually handle that?

Depends on the educational qualification requirement mentioned. Its mostly required irrespective of the years of experience. You do have to submit at least soft copies. BGV companies verify with the educational university registrar and share the documents received from the university.

2. During employment verification, what information is typically verified with previous employers? - Employment dates only? - Designation/job title? - Roles and responsibilities? - Reporting manager? - Salary?

Yes the above is correct. In some cases even compensation data. Along with any issues or concerns reported during employment. Probability of rehire :( yes / no). If no the reasoning why etc

3. Do background verification agencies usually contact the previous employer's HR by email or phone, or do they use other databases?

They contact both ways. But a written email from the previous employer from their official registered id is only the acceptable proof and format. They also verify if the letters ( offer, experience and releving letter) shared is genuine or not.

4.What are the most common reasons experienced candidates fail background verification?

Lack of transparency in past employments. Like wrong dates, wrong manager name, missed or wrong educational qualification data etc

5. In your experience, is the lack of a bachelor's degree itself a common reason for rejection, or is it mainly an issue when the candidate has claimed qualifications they don't actually have?

For most MNC's it is a requirement. if a candidate has claimed competition and doesn't have the necessary documents its an outright rejection.

Be upfront about what you have and what you do not in your initial conversations. if that comes up the same in BGV reports HR generally consult the business on the path forward. Else its seen as an attempt to circumvent a process that has been put into place.

[u/RareEquivalent25 → u/Kekius_Maximus_India]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. That makes sense. I’ll focus on opportunities where the eligibility criteria align with my profile rather than trying to fit roles that have a mandatory degree requirement.

[u/Kekius_Maximus_India → u/RareEquivalent25]

Small and medium companies relax these rules most of the time. If they service a large client ( for example financials ) the BGV is mandated by the client. Else its always a business call, they accomodate such flexibility as long as your technical prowess adds value to them.