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This is nuts!

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Anonymous

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This is nuts!

Note: I’ve put terms in brackets [ ] instead of using the ugly language this woman used.

I accepted my dream job with an amazing company last month. I’ve been trying to get into this organization for 4 years. I knew a full 10-year background check would be run in every state I’ve lived in. I log into the portal daily to check the progress. Everything is checking out; criminal, credit, work history, job gaps… all good. Then, I start seeing notes for verifying my HIGH SCHOOL diploma from 1999. I understand this is necessary because I listed it on my application so they must validate it. I also have a Bachelor’s Degree in my field. Anyhoo, the notes show they called the school district and left a message 3 times. The 4th time they reach the district AA and the notes say she could not verify my diploma. I freaked out, went into my basement and found my diploma. I scanned it and uploaded it to the portal. They call the district again and leave a message. No update for 3 days. HR cannot help me here because all they get from the background org is pass/fail. If I fail on anything, they assume I “provided false information” and I cannot apply again for 3 years.

I call the School District myself and the AA (who was named in the notes) answers and proceeds to tell me the background org is lying and she is “sick of these [non-US ethnicity] calling her making no sense” ALSO “I don’t know why [my company] doesn’t hire Americans who speak [American English]”. I was in shock and let her go on for too long. I LOST IT. I called her some things I regret but are also true. I called my hiring manager; he calmed me down and told me not to worry. We decided on a start date. He says he will talk to HR on my behalf

This freaked me out badly. That someone so hideous could stand between me and my dream job. I’m still waiting for my final background check to be released/approved. I’m still waiting for her manager to call me back. Should I go up higher? She is the only one listed for transcript verification for the entire district in the large city I grew up in.

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  1. Anonymous

    Sure, go as far as you can possibly go.

  2. Anonymous

    I would 100% bring up

    her comments to someone at the district office. If you don’t hear back from her manager in a day or two, go higher up. Racists don’t belong in schools.

  3. Kelley

    I would definitely go above her and report her. That kind of language is terrible and has no place in a school district or anywhere.

  4. Danna Furnace-Grimes

    Call the school district office and speak to someone. I’ve done this a few times in the past with great success. Also, I know tensions are high and the lady was WAY, WAY out of line with her comments, but kindness is in very short supply these days. Please try to hold your tongue when dealing with folks like that, it doesn’t make your path easier and all it does is spread the misery which should have stayed contained in that one unfortunate human..

    Good luck with your dream job!! I’m so excited for you.

  5. Crystal Howell

    Wow, go higher. If that doesn't work make a trip in person!

    Get your dream job, only comes once in a lifetime!

  6. Anonymous

    Wow. Completely inappropriate on the AA’s part. Definitely report her. If she is the first person parents talk to on the phone, imagine the liability for that school!

  7. Anonymous

    This is a case where I'd pull a Karen, for sure.

    That said, I would be surprised if new employer doesn't just accept your diploma for something that they can't verify.

  8. Orlagh Costello

    I can't believe someone is checking you finished high school when you had a degree, that's strange! But yeah, I'd be reporting that wan as high as I could

  9. Anonymous

    I had the same thought. Why wouldn’t confirming your BA be sufficient? You couldn’t obtain the BA without the diploma or an equivalent.

  10. Lisa Olson Tilly

    Actually, my niece graduated with her AA degree 2 days before she graduated high school - she was taking classes while in high school

  11. Michelle S.

    A lot of us did but you can’t get a full degree without a high school diploma

  12. Anonymous

    She may have taken the classes and had the graduation ceremony but the degree wasn't issued until her high school diploma was. There's no wiggle room there.

  13. Anonymous

    I'm not optimistic you'll get anywhere with the school district. I'm guessing your hiring manager runs into this sort of issue all the time so if he says don't worry, then trust him. If he wants you working there he will clear the background check roadblocks.

  14. Joycelyn M. Siame

    Please call the school district and speak to someone higher. She needs to be reported ASAP. Who knows how many people's job prospects she has ruined because she is an ignorant, vitriolic imbecile. Make sure to mention that he attitudes towards foreigners could be the reason why some people are not getting jobs and it is a conflict of interest to have her working there. And, if she is just an AA, there HAS to be someone higher there, who should have been handling this in the first place, not her.

    Next time, just leave your high school diploma off of your resume. If you have a college degree, they should already know that you have your high school diploma or something equivalent... What are they going to ask you for next, your 8th grade diploma? Lol.

  15. Anonymous

    To be the contrarian, the parochial attitude is not uncommon. The background check organization erred. The caller should have known to go to the school district office after the first two fail to reach calls. Easy to find online. To continue to call and then report as not verified when failure to communicate/language barrier SHOULD have been reported— that’s on the background checker. This should be escalated with them, not the person making minimum wage answering the phones at the local high school. You have no idea how that conversation went —. If we’re honest we know we’ve all struggled through calls with offshore staff. The background check is a service to your company and their field caller nearly ruined a fantastic new hire. They hold 90% of the blame.

  16. Wendy Knowles

    Contact a school board member. We moved from one state to another between my son's Junior & Senior years of High School. He was applying to college and the transcript from our previous state kept getting sent with no Junior year information. I tried the school several times & got nothing but excuses. Contacted a school board member in desperation & it was fixed and provided correctly from then on out within 48 hours.

  17. Nanette Winder

    Yes that’s crazy! Definitely would contact someone higher! With that said- it’s not unrealistic for background checks to come back with an item that can’t be verified- especially if it’s been a long time, business is no longer in business, etc.- typically it would be acceptable for the candidate to submit proof.

  18. JC Lindquist

    This makes me frustrated but mostly sad that this is our country. We have such ‘rugged individualism’ in the US that we’ve lost all of our moral humanity to simply be professional, kind and a good citizen. People are so self indulgent they have lost complete control of what it means to be a citizen, a neighbor or a good member of a community.

    This behavior is barbaric and it’s happening all over the place. ?

  19. Joanna Poe

    That is nuts, but I find it just as weird that your dream job (background checker) has to call your high school.

  20. dori mondon

    Me too. I graduated in 1991. I can't imagine why it's even important anymore (especially since I'm about to finish my BA next spring and that is EASILY verifiable).

  21. Anonymous

    I had this too at the highest ranked hospital in my county. Seems pretty pointless as I don't believe my colleges would have taken me without it. And they were trying to get that high school diploma during spring break when the offices were closed. It was last minute, day before my start date that my mother found the original. Fortunately they accepted that until the district reopened and could verify.

  22. Anonymous

    Yeah, that is weird. I’m in HR and we just verify highest degree obtained. I mean, if you have your BA/BS, wouldn’t that automatically mean you have a high school degree or equivalent? That’s so much unnecessary extra work on the company’s time and resources.

  23. Cheryl Wilburg

    Depending on security clearance, it is done often

  24. Kathy Sterner

    I am with you; we verify the highest degree obtained. We would overlook the issue the background company may have had with the high school diploma.

  25. Kitty Breed

    Agree. I didn't graduate from high school but have a master's degree due to obtaining a GED. Who cares if I left a substandard public school early to pursue higher education?

  26. Rosa Goes

    I agree with you Joanna! Also seems there's no common sense.

  27. Jennifer Taylor

    Did you call the superintendent of the district? I would file a complaint against that woman. How many people has she succeeded in NOT getting hired?

  28. Anonymous

    A company I used to work for was bought by a different company. But the HR records were not merged. (I didn't know this. )We I was applying elsewhere, I listed the new owner with the combination of employment dates. I was told that I didn't pass the background check as my employment was not verified. It turned out that the purchasing company only had me working there from the date of purchase. The original company maintains a tiny HR separate from the new owners which had my employment record. I learned that they had a separate number that needs to be called. I have learned to talk about this with the recruiter after I have been told I have a position, pending my background check. I give them the information then. I've been told this type of thing occasionally occurs in the business world. My story is very different from your experience. But you are not alone in experiencing background check problems.

  29. Stephanie Springer

    Please call the school district. As a parent, as a taxpayer, I would not want someone using this type of language or this attitude working here.

  30. Kitty Breed

    Personally, I'd call the Superintendent's secretary. I'm a retired teacher and districts have minimally trained/paid/supervised people doing the jobs of three people. The district needs to handle its personnel problem and it needs to verify your information asap. I'd request the district official call the company and confirm your graduation plus follow up with a confirmation e-mail copied to you.

  31. Audrey Kirsch

    Thankfully you have an understanding hiring manager. As to the AA at the school district, she needs to be gone. Please continue to follow up and make sure that her supervisor and school board know what kind of person is working in the district. A person with such discriminatory beliefs should not be working in an environment that should be nurturing diversity and inclusion. If you have to have any future dealings with them, make sure to record the conversation.

  32. Communication Coach

    You might consider contacting the mayor of your town and ask that they refer this issue to the school board. The person behaving for unprofessionally is representing the whole area/County/ town/school system. Their comments are bigoted get close to a hate crime. It's not just a PR problem. You possibly could have lost a job!! Congratulations on getting your dream job!

  33. Anonymous

    Call the District Superintendent. S/He needs to know about this person who is working with the District's children.

  34. Kitty Breed

    Who cares if you graduated from high school f you have a graduate degree anyway?

  35. Anonymous

    This Is nuts and it isn't unheard of, sadly. I had the same experience with the Temp agency trying to verify my High School diploma (I'm 57 years old, so people who worked at the school when I was there & got my Regents Diploma are no longer there).

    Company doing the background search came back with answer like yours - unable to get answer, unable to verify. I don't have anyone's name to call. Temp agency somehow went ahead and allowed me to take the contract based on the copy of the Diploma I provided, but this is bound to come up again with another company and I just don't know what to do.

  36. Liz Milne

    In the UK we have a word for people like her: jobsworth. Small, petty, living with their own crushed dreams and exercising whatever petty power plays they can manage to be in charge of, they make life miserable for everyone who comes into contact with them... :/

    Hope you manage to get sorted soon!

  37. Steph Reiley

    I would file a complaint with your hometown school board. If it impacted you it will impact others. And I feel for the people trying to verify attendance through her.

  38. Anonymous

    UPDATE from OP: My background check was completed and my hardware to start has been shipped. I took the advice here and contacted the Superintendent and a few city officials I know through family (I live in another state). We are working to help this lady retire. She's been at this for nearly 40 years.

  39. Anonymous

    Your "solution" is ageist. She should be assisted to meet the expectations of the job. She would probably decide upon her own to retire.

  40. Cheryl Wilburg

    It's a nice way of saying they plan to get her fired, which she deserves

  41. Anonymous

    Just remember that we've only heard one side of the story. No one should be fired on this type of "evidence."

  42. Anonymous

    I think whoever that woman reports to needs to know. Is there a school board trustee or some other elected official you can contact? I am in Canada so not sure how it works in the US. Regardless, she does not get to say such things and not have consequences.. People like that are intolerable and need to back under the rock they came out from under. My two cents,

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