References and checks > how far back is normal ??

[Clippy]

Perhaps this is where Linked In could come in.

In future, when you are about to leave a gig, you connect with your manager and ask him to write a recommendation to act as a reference for you against your profile.

[nomadd]

nomadd, I presume you are on contract at said IB? How did they validate your last 5 years ? From the Director of your Ltd (surely not), former agencies, former client manager ?

Telephone, email, snail mail?

One of my former long-contract sites has long since become bankrupt and likewise the agency.

Another 2 year contract had the entire IT department outsourced/offshored. Nobody left to my knowledge. The agency went tits up.

Another site almost popped but cuddly Uncle Gordon stepped in and saved the day. I'm aware there has been a major shakeup in IT and I've no idea if any of the old people are still there. My former manager and potential reliable referee has moved on.

My first ever contract client was bought by a competitor and promptly shutdown. I don't remember the name of the agency and maybe they don't exist.



The upshot is that I wouldn't advise buying any stock at my current gig and more importantly some of my past work is rather difficult to verify. I'm worried that this could kibosh my next plan or Investment Bank work.

Yep, it's always a problem.

I kinda got off the hook for most of it, as when the "vetting agency" asked me to fill in their form I filled in the "self employed" section. I just said I'd been with the same company for the last 21 years, which is true; mind you, it is my company...

I gave them a couple of managers details from a couple of contracts back (one of them from 7 years ago, in fact.) The agency said that if they wanted to check more - and I had no contacts from prior roles - then a quick check with the agency I worked through would be enough.

TBH, it all seemed to waltz through OK in the end. Only sticking point was them insisting on a copy of my degree, which was at my mum's place (and she's 75, so doesn't know what a scanner, printer, email, The Internet, etc., etc. actually are... ) Got my Bro-in-law to scan and email it to them in the end.

All the rest of the stuff was done via a few emails. Mind you, I'd been on-site for a month before they started doing all this stuff. Pretty pointless, really, but the Banks do like to think they've covered themselves, somehow...

[darmstadt]

In Germany they really rate these things highly. No serious qualifications= a problem or you will get paid low.
Maybe similar in other countries.

Really? Never been asked although after a few months into contracts and conversations with people there they find it quite incredible that I went straight into computing from school at 17 and never studied it. Possibly they might want these things for newcomers but with over 25 years experience they probably think twice about asking for this type of rubbish. (And I definitely don't get paid low but people doing newcomer stuff like Windows, Java, etc. do)