Behaviour check during background verification?

There was a conflict with one of my female colleagues around 8 months ago. I was rude to her, even shouting at her. The whole matter was related only to verbal conflict; there was no physical or sexual abuse involved. She complained against me, stating that my behavior was rude, and this occurred 3-4 times. As a result, she requested to work separately.

Could this type of conflict affect my career during a background verification process for a large MNC? Do companies inquire about previous behavior with past employers? It's a power sector company based in India.

Dear Elite,

Workplace fracas, affrays, or at least scraps are common across companies. What is the guarantee that people in your future company do not fight in their workplace?

Nevertheless, every company expects a candidate to have sound interpersonal skills. The company is expected to assess these skills during the recruitment process. They cannot rely only on feedback from the candidate's past employer.

Most of the time, background verification is conducted to assess the veracity of the information provided by the candidate. Secondly, verification is also done to find out whether the separation of the employee had a negative connotation.

Yes, a few companies do take feedback on the behavior of the candidate as well. But the replies are nothing but the perception of the reporting manager. Therefore, to what extent the company gets influenced by the verification report remains to be seen.

From hindsight, you can learn a lesson on the importance of mastering interpersonal skills, conflict-handling skills, negotiation skills, assertion skills, and so on. It is time for you to invest your time in mastering these skills; otherwise, when you change your job in the future once again, possibly you might have to grapple with similar worries.

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

It's easy to forget the past. Be ready for the current task.

Arguments are common in the workplace, and it doesn't mean that we are bad in character. Nobody expects behavior as a 'Saint'. The company verifies our last CTC, date of joining in the last company, date of exit, and pending dues. Our relieving letter is also cross-checked during background verification. Hence, do not worry about arguments.

The BVG company just sends out emails and sometimes (for senior positions) calls to speak personally. The call will go to HR and not to the person you worked with. What is the possibility that they will remember you for your abusive behavior or even bother to mention it in a BVG call? I think the likelihood of that is low.

On the other hand, the chance of you being dismissed from the company due to abusive behavior towards female employees is higher, and that will likely be included in your termination letter.