Not sure if I’m in the write message board but here goes:
I recently got offered a job with Accenture and after completing the background check I got an email from Accenture HR about employment gaps in my background verification. It actually caught me by surprise but after researching it I actually made a mistake on my end date from a previous position. I put 08/2013 when it should have been 03/2013. My next job was on 11/2013. I told them I was unemployed during that time and it was an honest mistake.
I’m just a bit nervous that they will rescind the offer. Everything else was correct in the background check. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences on this?
If they ask you for information and you give correct information, that’s more of what they care about. If you were trying to slide a lie past them, that’s something to worry about. Since you got an actual job offer, then they have far more invested in you than you think. They did all the interviews, selected you, you accepted an offer. They want to get this out of the way and get you on board, if you have not already started the job. At this point, they would be looking for something which is a red flag and consider how the economy has been, having unemployment on there isn’t as big a deal as it use to be. Make sure you make it easy for them to talk to former supervisors you are on great terms with.
A friend of mine recently got a job offer and they wanted him to start very quickly. They were still working on the background check a week after he was working there. Still e-mailing him questions, because he did a copy/paste on the application and ended up with the wrong employment dates for one of the jobs. He came back and said he had made a mistake and this was the correct information. Another comment back said they had a hard time reaching a former employer to verify previous employment, so he give them the cell phone number of a supervisor who had glowing things to say.
I agree with your logic. I was definitely not trying to lie to them, it was just an honest stupid mistake. Yup, I have given them all the contacts and made sure all my contacts were aware they would get a call. I’ll find out tomorrow, hopefully everything will be ok!
Having previously worked for Accenture (although mine was through being acquired by the company when I was at another firm rather than starting from the outside), they STILL made us go through background checks. Because apparently our company was good enough to buy, but maybe not all the employees that made the company great.
What everyone else said is correct. By the time you have made it to the point where they are doing the background check, a minor date being wrong is nothing other than a red flag that they want to correct in the application for administrative purposes. That is particularly the case if it relates to getting a security clearance for the first time, or getting an inactive one turned back on. It sounds like nothing to me and I wouldn’t sweat it at all. The background check is really more about looking for a felony or other issue embarrassing to the company rather than a concern about dates of employment.
As a former Accenture employee, I’ll just toss this out there… if you get the job, never pass up an opportunity to develop or demonstrate leadership skills. Past a certain point, it’s the only thing Accenture recognizes, rewards, or promotes people for.
That said, it can be a great company to work for, good pay, good benefits.
