Is It Common for Emplyers to Request Transcripts?

<p>After graduating from a university out west with degrees in Accounting and Finance, one of my friends is applying for a job in financial services. </p>

<p>For one of the jobs to which she is applying, the employer is requesting official transcripts from all schools attended. </p>

<p>I found this peculiar because I didn't think that employers usually ask for transcripts. I thought that the only employers who request such information are federal agencies, educational employers (like teaching and professorships), and law firms.</p>

<p>Has an employer ever asked for your transcripts, and if so, how did you feel disclosing such information?</p>

<p>Feel free to PM me.</p>

<p>Yes, though usually an unofficial one suffices for applications with an official one requested if you accept the job offer.</p>

<p>It’s perfectly reasonable on the part of the employer to see your transcript. After all, how else do they know you didn’t falsify your GPA on your resume?</p>

<p>Yes. Many employers request transcripts to prevent the hiring of people with fraudulent degrees and college graduates who have inflated their GPA on their resume.</p>

<p>In accounting and finance in particular, employers want to verify that you took specific courses that have prepared you for the job. </p>

<p>If the job requires a degree and you were hired because of your course of study, it is a legitimate request. If you try and cite invasion of privacy, your application will end up in the deleted file. If you are hired and do not submit the requested documents, you will be fired.</p>

<p>How often do they do this? </p>

<p>Out of all the jobs applications that you filled, what percentage requested a transcript along with your application?</p>

<p>I work in a large bank and all applicants for professional jobs that require a degree are required to submit a transcript. If they do not, we suspect fraud. </p>

<p>What are you trying to hide?</p>

<p>for the first 4-5 years of my career all of them</p>

<p>Most required an unofficial, afaik all will require one at the point of hire.</p>

<p>I have never been asked for transcripts and I’ve had many jobs.</p>

<p>My son was asked for either an unofficial transcript of a copy of his diploma. He provided both.</p>

<p>The thing about official transcripts is that some schools charge a fee for these and if you’ve taken courses at other schools or took dual-enrollment courses at a number of universities, it can get expensive at the application stage. If it’s a case of the employer making an offer and then requiring a copy of the transcript thereafter, then I don’t see an issue. If it’s for the application, then it seems to me to be a little onerous.</p>

<p>My older daughter was asked for an official transcript for her junior summer internship. She was offered a permanent job after the summer internship, but it was contingent on her graduating, so she she had send in an official transcript end of senior year.</p>

<p>My firm does background check on all employees, which includes verification of all employment and education.</p>

<p>I have been asked for unofficial transcripts for every job I’ve been offered since graduating. I see nothing wrong with it since that’s just another way to verify what I say in resumes, cover letters and interviews.</p>

<p>Wow, I’ve been working full-time for almost 30 years, at 6 different companies, and have never been asked for a transcript. I’ve also been a finalist for other jobs and have never been asked in those cases, either. </p>

<p>I’m in Marketing. Maybe each field is different.</p>

<p>That’s because it no longer matters for you. Same for BC, who I think is an older member (forgive me if I’m wrong there). Asking for transcripts is fairly common at the entry-level now. Probably the result of some embarrassing stories of fraudulent resumes getting into top firms several years ago.</p>

<p>@ThereseR: lol, are you worried? Don’t lie on your resume! Most companies ask. Even if they don’t with the application, chances are they will sometime in your 1st year.</p>

<p>“My firm does background check on all employees, which includes verification of all employment and education.”</p>

<p>Does anyone know how picky these are? For example, on my resume I included volunteer experience in my “relevant experience” section. I also guestimated my hourly pay and start and end month’s of positions. If say, on the applications, I said that my hourly wage was $9/hour but it was really $10/hour or said that an old position (that was a couple years back so I don’t remember) ended in July but it really ended in May, is that grounds for dismissal?</p>

<p>I think it depends on the situation. If you were fired from an internship in July but claimed to have worked until the end of August, that shows dishonesty and would be grounds for dismissal at many companies. If, however, you worked at a coffee shop from 2009 until 2011, nobody is going to care whether you ended in May, 2011 or July, 2011. The same thing goes for pay - if you had a job last year where you were paid $9.00 an hour but claimed $10.00 an hour, it might matter or it might not. If you are applying to another job and are using prior wages to justify wage requests, and if you are requesting, say, $11.00 an hour, that difference of $9 v. $10 is important. If you are applying to a job that will pay salary (say, $40,000 on average), that difference of $1.00 an hour is completely meaningless.</p>

<p>It comes down to intent. If you intentionally misrepresent yourself, you are opening yourself up to being dismissed. However, there is no reason to intentionally misrepresent yourself when that misrepresentation gives you no advantage. If you’re applying to a job now and forget whether you ended a job six years ago in May or July, it is not a big deal… at all.</p>

<p>CollectiveSynergy: Of course transcripts don’t matter for me now, I was thinking more of my first one or two jobs after college. I know things may have changed - it’s been a long (way too long…) time!</p>

<p>Employment verification - call your old firm’s HR, ask about your start and end date, that’s all anyone can ask. If they want to verify your pay, they will ask for your old pay stub, but only for the previous job. A lot of company ask third party to do verification now. With the on boarding, it may include drug tests.</p>

<p>^Thanks chris! That’ll make me sleep a little better at night. </p>

<p>That sort of stuff tends to all blend together, especially if you’ve had 8 or so jobs over the last 10 years that all paid similar wages and the application is asking you for 10 year’s worth of detais.</p>