I received a written offer of employment from Microsoft for a position that I interviewed for. I accepted this job offer. Microsoft told me that they needed to do a background check. This background check process took them about two full months from the date that I accepted the job offer. During the background check they asked me to provide them with information about my education. I told them that I didn't graduate college, that I told the recruiter that I didn't have a college degree, and that the job description did not list a college degree as a requirement. Apparently, this was a problem. Yesterday, they rescinded my job offer and barred me from being considered for any role at Microsoft again for the next 5 years. Some context: The position I applied for, interviewed for, was offered a job for, and accepted the written offer letter for clearly stated and still states in the job description that a college degree is not a requirement. Before I applied for the job, I told the internal Microsoft recruiter that I did not have a degree (in writing). She responded (in writing) telling me that this was not an issue. I also self-reported on the background check that I do not have a degree (I have the background check report from HireRight, and it notes that I self-reported this). What can I do? I really want this job. I'd prefer not to burn any bridges, but I have little faith that even if I made a fuss and they caved, I'd still be let go after some time for something vague and nebulous. I was planning on moving across the country for this job and will, at a minimum, be over $3k in the hole as a result of this (I had started to pay for the move already). Update 1: I reached out to MS HR, the third-party that did my background check, both recruiters I spoke with, and the hiring manager. No response yet. Update 2: MS HR responded, asking me for the email that I sent to the recruiter that stated that I do not have a degree. I sent them the email for their review. Update 3: A week has passed since I sent the requested email to MS HR. I understand that they may need more time. Thank you to everyone who has commented. I appreciate the honest advice, condolences, and appropriately blunt feedback. I am not planning on pursuing a suit at this time. On the bright side, the whole thing sums up to useful experience. Update 4: I reached out to MS HR for an update. They promptly responded. They politely told me that they had reviewed the communications I sent them between me and the recruiter. They told me that the recruiter is not a member of the background check team, therefore my communications with the recruiter would not be considered. They also informed me that because my resume and LinkedIn profile did not explicitly state that I had not graduated from college, but did show that I had attended college, they would not be willing to appeal the decision to rescind my offer. Good game, folks. TC: $150k #microsoft #offer #tech
This is sad. Sorry to hear this. Barring for 5 years sounds like they thought you were deceiving them, which is obviously not since you were up front with them. If you have the contact of the hiring manager, then it's best to reach out directly and clarify your situation.
Thank you for your sympathy and advice. As much as I don't like to admit it, I need both right now. I reached out to the Hiring Manager earlier today via email (he had previously emailed me congratulating me on accepting the job offer, so I just responded to the email). I guess we will see what happens.
This and it should work. Just worked last week for my friend who joined this Wednesday.
wtf.. if this is true then seriously sue them
This is what my close family/friends are telling me to do. I'm horrified by this prospect. I do not want to get into a legal battle with a tech giant; I just want the job that I was offered. Maybe it'll take this turn, but I really hope that it isn't necessary.
Is Washington an at-will state? If so, unless they didn't hire the OP for being in a protected class, they can hire/fire whoever they want.
There’s no way you were rejected for not having a degree. There’s something else that came up in your background check or somehow what you stated in your application didn’t match their background check results. Or worst case they got the impression somehow that you misrepresented your past.
OP should get a free digital copy of their background check. IIRC it's a law that candidates receive a copy of it if they request it.
I understand why you would think this. I thought this, too. I asked them to provide more information, but they haven't responded yet. They provided me with a report on the background check (before they made a decision). The only discrepancy listed in my background check was this: I self-reported that I attended college from Sept 2012 - March 2015, but my college transcripts stated that I was enrolled (not attended) from Sept 2012 - Aug 2015. This was not a purposeful misreport on my part, I just didn't think that the specific months mattered all that much.
This is really bad conduct. Possibly illegal, need to discuss with an employment lawyer. They should provide a free consultation. Also, reach out to the recruiter and hiring manager for help. Be upfront about the situation. Refer back to previous emails/phone conversations in which you clearly stated that you did not graduate college and they said it was not a problem.
Background check also includes credit check and if your number is too low, that is a likely reason for rejection also.
This could be. My FICO score is over 720, so I'm not sure that this was a factor.
Yeah it wouldn’t be credit unless you’re like in low 600s with high debt and in clearance position. Unless you have like a violent type misdemeanor charge or something I can’t think of a reason why. I would highly consider a lawsuit if this cannot be resolved. It was in writing
Log into HireRight now. You will be able to see exactly what element in your background check got you flagged. Good luck
Sounds like the hiring manager should be able to get this straightened out, someone without context screwed up, or you misunderstood something. Treat it politely as an error that is important, but is still an error. If something really eats it I’d say they owe you reimbursement for expenses accrued with receipts simply due to the optics.
If everything in your resume is correct (you didnt fudge a college degree) you may have a chance suing them but likely they will win. Its employment at will. But try, there are good lawyers out there and companies can budge and give you something
This seems very off to me. I was originally hired in 2005 with no degree. I properly stated I had no degree, no one cared. I later got it and an advanced degree. I came back as a boomerang in 2018 and had lumped together some freelance time with unpaid work I did to build my freelance biz and they manually cleared the background check because obviously I couldn’t verify some of the freelance time. Literally no one cared, it just took a few days for them to figure out what to do. I think you should pursue this with the HM, recruiter, and reach out to the recruiter’s manager as well. I just participated in a process to revise JDs to remove degree requirements, this is the opposite of the direction we’re going.
One more thing. Technically, you could sue based on reasonable reliance since you lost money due to preparations for the job. However, I’m about 99% certain the offer letter states it’s subject to a successful background check. So it wouldn’t be reasonable to rely on the job until after the background check, which is when you sign the employment agreement I believe. At any rate, highly unlikely you have a suit here. Even if you did, you’d pay more than 3k in fees.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I do not think I would win a suit. I also do not think that the suit would be cost effective for me. Lawyer's retainer would probably be more than $3k, anyway. I don't want to sue. I just want the job :P I noticed on the HireRight background check it states: "Adjudication Status: Does Not Meet Company Standards - General Guidelines" - does this provide any obvious reason that my employment offer was rescinded?
If it makes you feel better. People with degrees working in Amazon get PIP'ed for pretext reasons. And HR will not help them at all regardless of the truth.
What are "pretext reasons?"
Is that how you reached Expedia?