[Anonymous]

Curious, how do employers go about verifying information on a candidate’s resume?

Say someone from Big 4 has worked on a large multi-billion dollar manufacturing company and is applying to a new position, but has only worked a few small tasks and doesn’t really even grasp the nature and standards of the industry (enough to BS their way in an interview), or say someone started a bookkeeping business and claims they have X amount of clients/revenue and has brought in a substantial amount of work which allowed them to gain exceptional experience (when really they only have a few clients and overall has done poor or sloppy work).

How would an employer verify this? Surely if they are hired and unable to perform on the job, it would indicate they fluffed their experience, but otherwise, how would an employer know what they were getting out of this candidate?

On paper they look good, and a quick interview can easily be rehearsed, but is there really any drawback for candidates to fluff/exaggerate a bit on their resumes? It doesn’t seem so and I think it must be quite common.

[Missy]

The big 4 will likely only verify job title and dates worked. The drawback to exaggerating is if hired and an employee can't do what they claimed to have already done they'll be gone in the blink of an eye. We had a guy who claimed to have advanced excel skills and when he couldn't format a header he was promptly shown the door.

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Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Because I am looking at it from both the employer and employee perspective. I have been advertising for freelance bookkeeping work and surprised how many potential clients are out there. I wonder if starting my own company and adding it on my resume would look favorable on a resume for a Big 4 position.

But also if I were to hire someone for extra help, I wouldn't want them to overstate their qualifications.

I have no intentions of overstating my resume, but as I contemplated whether a prospective employer would like that kind of experience, it crossed my mind of the type of experience I (or anyone) can add on a resume just by doing freelance work. If I were to reach up to a certain level of revenue, I would definitely evolve the business into an S-Corp or LLC to save on self-employment taxes and consider hiring/managing employees as well.

Anyone ever went this route and have experience obtaining a position with an employer after owning their own business?

[Pete]

Most employers won't do this and I feel it's a bit unethical; however, they could ask to see tax your tax return. The theory being your less likely to lie to the government. Again though, this isn't a common practice (possibly more common, if you're self-employed).

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[iputaspellonfar]

@BrikellCPA I think it's a good move for you to start your own business. I think some employers can see it as you being a self starter and a motivated person but some may think you won't be focused on the job as much. A big 4 employee I think would prop think the latter. Just because of the time committment you have to make to work for a big 4. If you were to work for a start up or a smaller business I think they might think it's a definitely plus. that's just my two cents. Just curious, how did you go about advertising? I have been toying with the idea of doing consulting or freelance work but not really sure how to start going about it.

[Anonymous]

@iputaspellonfar

Yea I think it would look favorable to employers, but if I were to obtain a B4 position, I would probably end up sending my clients somewhere else. Still haven't completely figured out whether it's something I want to pursue or not right now.

For marketing, I set up a simple website advertising accounting/consulting services for local businesses. I state my background and experience and basically advertise really low fees. I also respond to job ads seeking to hire an accountant and post a link to my website on various other sites. Oh, and I have a group on linkedin that I admin of over 5,000 people and have had a few leads there as well.

My plan is to work from home, but the goal is to obtain a few small clients to supplement income and eventually get a virtual office once the business is a bit more established. Since I have about 6 years public and private experience, I think I can pick up a few steady clients on the side while I finish the rest of the exam.

Start up expenses are literally under $500 (accounting software, a bit of marketing expenses, and miscellaneous).

Charge a single client $200 per month for simple bookkeeping services and break even within 2.5 months…not bad for having to put in only a few hours a week. Multiply that by two clients and that is easily $400 per month in pocket for only 2-3 hours a month per client.

This doesn't even include potential consulting services where it could easily double the income.

[smoothiezguy]

@BrickellCPA – have you had any regrettable clients yet? You know, the kind where you're charging a few hundred bucks a month, but their records are such a mess that it winds up taking you hours and hours to get them straightened out? I'd have several side clients right now if it weren't for the fear that I might get a doozey. 😀

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[Anonymous]

Not yet, I am just getting started out. But I don't think I will have much of an issue since I have seen quite a bit when I was working at different public accounting firms.

As long as I am able to obtain a copy of their tax return or previous financials and their monthly statements, then it won't be very difficult to recreate the year-to-date financials and move forward from there. I might have a few questions regarding certain transactions (which could be handled with a few conversations or so), but other than that I don't see many obstacles for simple bookkeeping services.

I plan on sending out client intake forms for potential clients to complete so I can get a better understanding of their needs. If they have more complex needs such as job costing, weekly cash reports, or payroll and bill payments, etc., then I will charge a higher fee.

[iputaspellonfar]

@BrickellCPA Thanks for sharing your experience! Good luck with your business if you try to grow it 🙂

[Anonymous]

No prob, thanks 🙂

[Author]

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