Human Resource Blog

Education Verification Challenge

	Hiring and Staffing
Complete Business Forms Kit CD Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Employment Application Long Form Substance Testing Consent Form Pre-Employment Reference and Background Check Employment Offer/Acknowledgment Receipt of Employee Handbook New Hire Survey

I recently started a new job and for some reason, the HR department is having a challenge verifying my degree. I am willing to provide them with a copy of my diploma, the HR manager has now involved the entire executive team and I am rather embarassed by her methods of resolving this (she hasnt addressed me about the concerns, only my boss and CEO which is even worse!) I believe the whole thing has been handled poorly, but what do I do? Other than providing them with my diploma to resolve this, is there any action I can take against this HR person who has clearly mishandled and embarassed me at my new workplace?

The HR person is right to be concerned about verifying educational credentials. In these days of scanners and laser printers, anyone can whip up a convincing diploma.  She is simply doing her job.

This should be a relatively easy problem to solve. Simply contact your university, and have them send a transcript directly to the HR person. This is the same way you would get a copy of your college records if you were applying to grad school.

In this case it would have been nice if the HR person had mentioned the situation to you. But it’s entirely appropriate that she is discussing it with your superiors. After all, if you hired someone who was a fraud, you’d want to know, right?

It’s also a chance for you to take the high road and get things back on a friendly footing by saying, “Hannah, I understand you have some concerns about my time at State U. I’ve asked them to send you a transcript…”