Reference Checks: Does SG HR really check them??
 

I am wondering if it is a practise here to really check on your listed references??

I do not think that I have ever had my references called up before and wish to know your experiences. I reckon that they probably only do reference checks for Exec level and above.

I am in the job hunt again and gotten two rounds of interview for a gahmen job. Does the public sector check on your references??? Any experiences?

If your position is of enough importance, then the interviewer probably already know you enough. Otherwise your position is probably not of enough importance and no one will bother to check references.

OK now for the "engineer" view.

If you read enough news, you will SEE some ex-con got back to working and steal AGAIN!! Then the company will say they duno, hmmmmmmmm. Really?!?!

So you think they check?

Trust me i am an "engineer".

Some MNCs do check. when i joined a bank, they found out that i have a 15-year-old unsettled case of traffic accident lodged with the magistrates' court.

my relative's company also found out that a person they previously employed had forged his payslips using the company's letterhead. they got to know because he's interviewing at a company that did a reference check. and this is for a junior exec position (<$5k).

The thing about reference checks are:

Even you kenna caught... then what?

The reference check are usually at the mid stage of interview, means they like you liao, they may still hire you and use this to press lower pay.

Ar bo at most get kick out of interview and black listed from the company lor.

What else they do..?

...Report police meh? Really?!?!?! Then the whole thing goes out of proportion liao, not nice for both parties even though lying is outright wrong and cb.

I would not suggest anyone to actually fake references, but I would have to logically agree that it is advantageous to do so.

So you honest engineers out there, DUN FAKE REFERENCES hor

Trust me I am an "Engineer"

i just got hired by a us mnc, yes they did. they engage 3rd party to do a background check. inform your referee first before you declare and sign the document.

I think banks do checks on references due to strict MAS requirements and MNCs do so too.

What about the civil service??? Anyone had their references called up when applying for a gahmen job???

I think I better call up my references and invite them for kopi just to be safe. Never did anything wrong but I have to admit I was not the most motivated of workers sometimes. :p

After my second interview, I was told that they would be calling one of my listed references before the offer. They just picked one and asked me to notify him that they would be calling. BTW it is a SME.

My friend is now is this dilemma, that his current company has found out him forging this previous employment payslip.

He's thinking of leaving before they ask him to, but he is still worried they will still ask for the required docs......

any advice?

how they found out?!?!?!

i always call up and ask for permission from my references first before putting it in my resume. it is just common courtesy.

I think the payslip they figured that the cpf contribution was abit odd, and the figure eceeds the ceiling contribution.

Hi, Big companies like Apple and Adobe do conduct background checks.

They will hire a professional background verification firm to do the checking. H******** is the firm.

If you ever get selected to work for any of those firms, don't be caught off guard by how detailed the verification report turns out. But if you have no serious variances in your resume, should not be a problem.

Just my 2 cents :)

Oh ya, Remember to write the truth in your resume whenever an external expert is checking your resume. :)

i tink in this case he's there in the company for about 1 month already, and the are some quires.

so he suspects that hr has already found out and just tink if he should leave 1st before being asked to

37.7 liaions
 

spot on!

Maybe his performance was not up to how stellar his résumé is..

In this case does it constitute to fraud? My friend quite worried for such a stupid decision..

what kind of things do they check for? straight forward things like education and employment tenure/pay/title?

or things in grey areas like personality etc? what if they want to check for these and requested for superior who actually dont like you...

It's actually the payslip that was provided is altered that why my friend is worried whether it will constitute to a fraud in additional to termination.

Not trying to sound negative. I think altering the pay slip is quite serious as it concerns money. It suggests he has the tendency to do such things even when he starts work..

If it was something like job title. Actual is temporary officer but he wrote office admin, is like basically the same thing. So should not be a problem.

Btailess survey,
 

And c'mon dude. They are not so unfair to check for personality traits. They check this during the interview itself. They will drill and grind you with 3 interviewers.

In this case, should he take his leave before the screenings come to light?

Never leave before getting a new job, i would highly recommend him to go actively find a new job now! Change payslip is a serious, non-disputable offense, even if he can stay, HR wouldnt trust him and this might just come back and haunt him later in the career progression.

change payslip is one of the most serious employment offences. similarly, faking a job you had with a company is also another top serious offence.

salary checks
 

How can you be so certain about your HR not disclosing all these data? Sure, there are some "between you and me" conversations. HR is powerful. They can find out about anything they want.

reference checks are typically more about when you worked at the company, your position, your salary, etc. its not really about how good an employee you were or details about what you actually did.

companies won't really disclose such information due to potential liability issues.

so, if you didn't lie about anything on your application, there's nothing to worry about. its one thing to exaggerate what you did on the job, its another to lie completely about stuff like your grades, whether you really worked at a company, etc.

So far my experience is that only about 1 in 10 checks.

As a professional with 10 yrs exp and 7 job / company changes. Refernce checks are real.
Typically there are 2 kinds. Reference checks with HR to ensure you have no bad records like terminate.. disciplinary issues.
Another is a reference check with your choice of supervisor or past clients. Normally I put in 2 previous supervisor as my referee. HR or headhunter will call both or either and ask many personal qns, esp if you have some promotions in between. Of cos, they always end up well, I would have listed referees which I can trust to deliver good news to my future employer.

Also, to the subject of pay alteration, I have not done it, but have seen a high profile CIO from an MNC did it. in a short stint, I worked with a recruitment company for few mths. The said culprit altered her current salary on resume and when offered the job, refused to show payslip. This move is really shoddy. Most if not all HR will get your last pay slip or tax statement. So cannot siam this. No point over stating. You can however state the dividents/perks to justify your high expected salary though.

But putting in a gross annual salary which include perks, bonus and basic is quite safe. Unless HR ask isit really so high, and ask to see your pay slip, then you can start to itemize your "perks"

I was ever in a job where I was paid good dividends and as such, my basic salary I inflat to show this perk. I simply could not take a minimal increment on top of just basic, as it would mean a pay cut as a whole.

Salary history
 

Is it possible for prospective employer to check salary history through MOM?

background checks
 

MOM, IRAS, CPF, etc, never disclose this information to prospective employer, unless the prospective employer is Singapore government itself.

reality of reference and background checks in Singapore
 

Hi,
read the story of Ramesh Krishnan who got adverse reference checks from AXA. He sood them and got some money.
What is the lesson for Singapore employers?
Do not give out reference checks recklessly.
Be careful of what you speak for you may one day be sood.

Hmm unlikely to be known for previous salary, usually when previous company will indicate that salary is confidential and cannot leak out if the ex company HR leak out mean...???

if apply govt job, high chance they will contact

when my fren applying for stb, their hr contact me as i was one of my fren's listed ref

i wud out of courtesy ask the person if i can list him/her as my character ref when i am in midst of applying - so in a way wont stun that person if he suddenly got a random call from company HR asking abt this person

Hi all,

May I know whay about health checks? Is there anyway the employer can check your health history vs what you declared on a health form? If they send you for tests, what do they test for? Hope someone experienced.can enlighten me thanks!

health checks
 

Maids are sent for health checks. They are examined for pregnancies, TB, and other diseases. For cooks also there are health checks. What are you being tested for?

Hi samantha,

So far no test, just a health questionair to fill up. Asked alot of direct and sensitive questions like whether I have high blood, diebetes, hiv/aids and whether I am taking any long term medications. I feel this is a breach of privacy and they should not be asking such private question, especially when the job is desk bound. My question is, am I obliged to declare if I have any of the above? If I dont, can they find out? Thanks

If you feel so strongly that its a breach of your privacy, you can refuse to answer the questions and ask for clarifications from your employer. You can then later decide whether the history you seek to withhold is worth the opportunity cost.

Wilfully false declarations are grounds for immediate termination of employment and if its a govt linked job, illegal.

This info is usually used as a baseline for the health checkup and group insurance underwriting.
You cant expect the company appointed doctor to know if you have underlying medical conditions on the first time seeing you right? Or even so, why waste resources reinvestigating when you could easy just declare it honestly.

handling background checks
 

If there is no medical checkup involved, just say that you do not have any of this conditions. This is what I do as well.

Are they able to check? Any experts can share their knowledge

honesty is the best policy
 

Never lie about these questions. They will find out in due course.

Health is a sensitive topic, and as long as it doesnt affect thr job performance, shouldnt the employee be allowed their privacy? This isnt as bad as lying about employment or education isnt it? It is simply to avoid workplace discrimination and I think individuals should have the rights to protect themselves in this aspect.

Anyway, how will they find out?