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A couple years ago I was hired at PwC. Everything was fine, but the company doing my background check hadn't checked in yet, but management decided to go ahead
by OhMeadhbh 3y ago
A couple years ago I was hired at PwC. Everything was fine, but the company doing my background check hadn't checked in yet, but management decided to go ahead with the hire anyway. A week later, after spending $2400 on travel expenses I was assured were to be re-imbursed, the background check company called in to say there was something fishy about my background. They could not find academic records matching my name. I had disclosed to PwC that I had academic and work history under an additional name and they said they were fine with it.
It turns out that the background check company had a field that said "additional last names used" -- clearly this is for people (mostly women) who take their (mostly husband's) last name after marriage. But I had not taken my spouse's last name. I had legally changed my first name and gender marker. I noted this in the "other" space in the paper background check form.
I eventually got a call from them apologizing. There was no way they could do a job or academic search on my old name. They could only type in the data as I entered it on the form and hit the submit button.
This went up to our division's managing partner at PwC who apologized and said "My hands are tied. I can't hire you without a background check." I understand that, but maybe they could contract a firm that was capable of performing a proper search. I also didn't get my travel expenses re-imbursed.
I learned two things:
1. PwC is a company staffed by morally repugnant individuals who, though they bill themselves as guiding companies through "digital transformation" are flummoxed when one of their business processes requires a minor change in a third party's business app.
2. Y2Trans is also a thing.
- dinkleberg 3y agoDamn that is all around a shitty experience. And some serious incompetence.