What is a Proof of Employment and Verification Form?

Proof of employment and verification form is a document that certifies the employment status of your employee. Commonly, this is a letter testifying the name of your previous or current employee and their employment status or history with your company, their employment period, job position, assigned department, pay rate, as well as their performances. You forward this document upon the request of your employee for their loan application or when another company requests for your previous employee’s employment history.

Common Red Flags During Employment Verification

Whether you are a lender, a seller, a landlord, or a hiring manager, you want what’s best for your business, so you screen your potential clients and candidates before further transacting with them. Performing a background check and requesting employment verification is normal and is already a part of your pre-employment screening and loan application process. But before hiring your candidates or approving your client’s loan application, there are a few things you need to check to avoid complications in the future. Here are a few common red flags you need to take note of during your verification process.

Employment Gaps: Having a large employment gap on your employee’s employment history is not enticing for employers like yourself. Still, you need to understand the reasons behind the long period of your applicant’s non-employment. However, if you noticed that there are recurring employment gaps in your applicant’s resume and that each of its employment periods doesn’t even last for at least six months or a year, then there is something wrong with the applicant. And this poses as a red flag for you, stating that your applicant’s work ethics may be unreliable. Inconsistent Educational Background: Although some companies accept applicants who weren’t able to reach college, nor were they able to finish a degree, seeing that your applicant is faking his or her credentials is a major red flag to you. The moment they show inconsistencies with their educational background, it is clear enough even for you that your potential candidate is lying, and this can pose a threat to your company if you hire them. Salary Rate Discrepancies: In applying for a loan or a rental, it’s easy for anyone to fake their earnings statements and salary history during the interview. In some cases, your borrowers may even create a fake paycheck slip or a bank statement to qualify for a loan. When you review their application, you have to be thorough with the process, checking every last detail on their salary rate, loan history, as well as their payment history. Once you notice that there are discrepancies with their salary rate and other financial statements, then it is best to automatically reject their applications until they are sorted by the applicant to avoid future complications.Abilities and Skills Discrepancies: How many times have you encountered applicants exaggerating their abilities and skills just to impress you during the recruitment period? As the hiring manager, you have to be very keen on checking and evaluating your applicant’s resume, application letter, as well as their answers during the interview. Once you notice discrepancies on the way they answer your questions regarding their abilities from the ones they wrote in their resume, then that is a red flag to your company.Drug Test and Criminal History Discrepancies: Having a criminal record is not a good image for your applicant. But sometimes, you can just keep a blind eye to it if you think he or she is reliable and trustworthy enough to be part of your team. However, if you notice that there are any discrepancies in your applicant’s criminal history and drug tests, then that is another story. This is one of the red flags you need to take note of as these types of people may serve as a threat to your company and may be considered as a negligent hire on your part, which may impact the image of your company.

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Importance and Uses of Employment Verification

Data fraud and misinformation are a growing issue in the world of business, and many companies are trying to avoid them, especially that you are now in the information age, where information overload is rampant. As a business owner or a hiring manager, you want to protect your assets and your business’ reputation by hiring the best employees and by transacting with reliable clients. And one way to do it is to perform a background check on your prospective clients and candidates during their pre-employment period or your business transaction.  

Some of the importance and uses of your employment verification includes the following:

How to Write an Employment Verification Letter?

Having proof of your employee’s employment from your company is a crucial requirement for them to qualify in applying for a mortgage, a rental, and even a job transfer. For security purposes, lenders, landlords, and other employers would like to verify the credibility of their prospective client or candidate to pay or to work for them before accepting their applications. Respond to their request on your employee’s proof of employment and create your employment verification letter with these few simple steps.

Step 1: Place the Recipient of Your Letter

Your employment verification is commonly used when one of your employees wishes to apply for a loan or has applied for a new job. When their lender or current employer requests for proof of their employment from your company. Respond to their request by making a letter of employment verification. Normally your recruitment manager is the one who shall make the letter. Start by placing the name of your recipient, then insert its job title and business address at the top left area of the document. 

Step 2: Write the Needed Information for Employment Verification

As stated earlier, your letter of employment verification is a requirement for various transactions. Depending on where it’s used, you need to disclose the required information regarding your employee’s employment status in your company. Consider the purpose and scope of your letter. Check the status of your employee for verification and state whether they are your current or previous employees—State the duration of their employment term, their job title, and their annual salary rate. Lastly, if applicable, state whether they were terminated or resigned upon leaving your company.

Step 3: Use a Business Letter Format

Be professional in writing your employment verification letter and consider your audience. If the employment verification’s purpose is for a loan application, then focus your content on the financial status of your employee and its annual salary rate. However, if the employment verification’s purpose is for a job application, then focus your content on the job description, position, and performances of your employee. Keep it brief but understandable for your readers, and as much as possible, use a business letter format in writing your content. 

Step 4: Add Your Contact Information

At the very end of your letter, make sure to add your contact information, such as your email address and telephone number, so that your recipient may contact you anytime for further clarification and verifications. If you want, you may specify a particular time when they may contact you. Then, you may close your letter with a “Sincerely” or a “Respectfully” before signing your name as the employer. 

Step 5: Review the Content of Your Letter

Lastly, it never hurt to review your document before submitting it to your recruiting head or director for approval. Check for any grammatical errors and data errors in your paper, then provide the necessary corrections. Once your done, have it approved by your human resource director before forwarding it to your recipient.

FAQs

Do all employers respond to employment verification requests?

Some companies, landlords, and lenders may require employment verifications to process the job or loan application of your employee, and these verification processes may come in a written or verbal form. Still, no law requires you, the employer, to respond to the employment verification requests sent to your company. However, you cannot ignore your government request for an employment verification once they provide you a notice that requires your cooperation.

Who can verify employment?

Commonly, the employers are the ones who will verify the employment history of your previous employees during their job application. However, for some companies, they prefer to outsource the services of third parties to handle their employment verification tasks. Some of these services include the use of websites and automated voice response systems to work their verification processes.

What do companies look for during employment verification?

When companies request employment verification, they usually want to know whether the person applying for a mortgage loan, a vehicle loan or perhaps applying for a vacant position in their organization is being truthful with their employment history and income. Hence, employers and lenders alike wish to check and verify your employee’s employment period, their job description and position, their pay rate, as well as their work performances in your company.

How long does an employment verification process take?

There is no particular period when an employment verification process may take place, nor will it be completed. Depending on how fast your company responds to the request as well as the unforeseen circumstances your company may encounter, the verification process varies and may take longer than your expected date.

What are the different methods of employment verification?

Usually, a simple letter of employment verification sent through email or a character reference phone call responding to the employment verification of your company personnel is enough to complete the verification process. However, there are still other ways to verify your worker’s employment, and this includes them presenting their employment contract and agreements, payroll slips, and third-party services references to their landlord, lender, and new employer.

Overall, employment verification has a great impact on your employees to qualify for a mortgage loan, a rental, a job transfer, and other types of applications. With data fraud and misinformation becoming a significant problem with most organizations, agencies, and companies, requiring verification forms has become more of a necessity than a want nowadays for security purposes. Now that you have a good understanding of employment verifications, are you ready to make one today?