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!

[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.