What is employment history?
Employment history refers to an individual’s previous work experience. Elements of a person’s employment history usually include:
- The companies they’ve worked for
- The location of those companies (or whether a job was remote)
- The dates of their employment
- The job titles they held
All of this information combined creates a picture of a person’s prior work experience. Reviewing these details can help you make informed hiring decisions about who is the right fit for your team.
Why it’s important to look at applicants’ history of employment
The history of employment is valuable to you during the application process because it provides information about applicants’ skills and responsibilities as well as how long they typically stay in a position. An applicant’s employment history also gives you insight into their accomplishments and education, providing talking points if you meet them in an interview.
By examining a candidate’s employment history, you can discern:
- Their educational background
- Their strengths/skills
- Awards or achievements they have earned
- Their career trajectory
When reviewing employment history, it’s important to know what to look for to screen applicants effectively.
6 tips for screening applicants using employment history
Use these tips when reviewing employment history to better screen applicants by ensuring they have the necessary relevant work experience, education and commitment to succeed at your company.
1. Check for relevant experience and transferable skills
Start the screening process by reviewing the employment history on an applicant’s resume in search of relevant work experience. If the job you’re hiring for requires a specific professional pathway to qualify, look at whether the candidate has held previous positions that prepare them to succeed in the role. If they have limited professional experience or haven’t held another job that is considered relevant in this field, look at whether they possess transferable skills that could make them valuable.
For example, if their employment history indicates they worked as a manager in the service industry and they’re applying for a project manager position at your company in an unrelated field, could their managerial skills make them a good fit?
2. Look at dates of employment
Besides looking at an applicant’s previous relevant experience, it’s also critical to look at their dates of employment. These should be provided on the resume by month and year. How long a person works for a company before moving on offers insight into how committed they are to a job and how many months or years you can expect them to stick around if you choose to hire them. Someone with only a few jobs on their resume who’ve held each position for 1-2+ years may be a more reliable asset to your team than someone with several relevant positions where they only stayed for a few months.
Of course, the duration a person stays at a job varies by industry. In some creative fields where people work on contracts, like graphic design or film editing, an individual who has more credits to their name with shorter contracts may possess a better portfolio and breadth of experience. Look at the duration of employment through the lens of your industry and consider whether the level of commitment you hope to see from a new hire is reasonable to expect from this applicant based on their employment patterns.
3. Verify their resume matches their online presence
In the digital age, it has become much easier for employers to verify the information on a resume by looking up candidates online. If you’re unsure that you’re reading a truthful employment history or simply want more information, turning to social media profiles is a great way to dive deeper. Some of these sites essentially act as a digital resume detailing employment history, connections, educational backgrounds and skills. Looking at a candidate’s social media also helps you get a better picture of who they are as a person and whether you want them to represent your company.
4. Ask about gaps in their employment history (but be open-minded)
If you review an applicant’s employment history and discover gaps, it’s best to address these directly. Gaps in history of employment mean that there’s unaccounted time between positions where it appears the person was unemployed. However, this may not always be the case. Don’t make judgments based on gaps in employment history or write off a candidate for this reason. If they have the necessary skills and experience, bring them in for the interview and ask them about the missing time on the resume.
You might find that they took a gap year to travel, learn a language and gain valuable life skills that make them a more valuable employee than another candidate with a flawless employment record. It’s also possible that they worked on a contractual basis and took months off at a time between contracts due to no paid vacation time during a contract job. You won’t know the answer to these questions without asking the candidate, so remain open-minded and acknowledge that a gap in employment isn’t always a negative attribute. In some cases, it’s an advantage.
5. Call their references
Screening applicants through their employment history may require you to speak to their former supervisors directly. During the interview process, you can ask the candidate to provide 1-3 references of former employers they don’t mind you contacting for information about their performance in those roles. Typically, you call these references and speak to them directly for the most accurate depiction of what the applicant is like in the workplace. By contacting a person’s references, you not only verify that their employment history is correct in terms of dates, location and job title, but you also confirm what they’ve told you about their skills, responsibilities and strengths.
6. Perform a formal background check
In some cases, you may want or need to perform an official background check on an applicant to verify their employment history. This is usually necessary for sectors where employees work with vulnerable populations such as older adults or children. Performing a complete background check on an applicant gives you a wealth of information about their employment history and education and confirms everything they’ve told you during the hiring process so you can be confident they’re a trustworthy addition to your team.
FAQs
Does employment history show up on a background check?
Yes, as an employer, you can perform an employment history verification background check that provides a detailed history of an individual’s employment. This can be a useful option if you’re looking to validate the information provided on a resume and ensure all the data listed by an applicant is true. Performing a background check on an applicant as part of your prescreening process will also turn up information about their education history and any criminal records.
How can I verify an applicant’s employment history?
As a potential employer, you may need to verify the employment history presented to you via a resume or cover letter. To do this, you can contact the applicant’s references and speak to them about the candidate’s time working for that company. You can also use a professional background screening service or another form of employment verification.
