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Background checks
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Dunno if this is the right forum or not, but anyway...
I'm in the process of appling for a new job/career type thing, and as part of the application process they need to do background checks on me. Now I've had a counselling session when I was at uni when I was 17 (had issues with my ex and being away from home etc) but I only had the one session and I've not had any counselling for anything since then.
Is this the sort of thing that would show up? I did say I hadn't had any mental health issues but then I remembered this, and they've said before that they reserve the right to reject my application if any information I provide is false, so I'm shitting it a bit now.
Is there a database somewhere with all my medical history on it then? Is there not a confidentiality issue with that too?
I'm in the process of appling for a new job/career type thing, and as part of the application process they need to do background checks on me. Now I've had a counselling session when I was at uni when I was 17 (had issues with my ex and being away from home etc) but I only had the one session and I've not had any counselling for anything since then.
Is this the sort of thing that would show up? I did say I hadn't had any mental health issues but then I remembered this, and they've said before that they reserve the right to reject my application if any information I provide is false, so I'm shitting it a bit now.
Is there a database somewhere with all my medical history on it then? Is there not a confidentiality issue with that too?
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Comments
If it was say the police then it may well come up.
Liek Tweety said, it depends what sort of job it is that you're going for as to how deep they will delve.
It would also depend on what sort of counselling it was that you had - without asking for all the details, if it was a chat with your Uni councellor about all the pressures you were facing, and things that were getting on top of you, i imagine this would be different to being referred to a councellor by your GP, the latter being the most likely to be recorded.
I think "mental health issues" is open to various interpretations too, and you could no doubt argue that you didn't feel that one session with the uni councellor equated to any scale of mental health problems.
I don't think most background checks look in to your medical history any way, not unless something gives them reason to, perhaps an attempted suicide that is logged by the police etc...
(I have to stress that i'm only assuming with all of this, it's by no means fact, if in doubt perhaps send an annoymous email to the recruitment officers!?)
I'm assuming (be it rightly or wrongly!) that you were to see a uni counsellor off yuor own back, in which case there is absolutely no way in a million years it would come up in a background check.
Even if you were referred to a counsellor via your GP you would have to sign release forms for them to get this information and then you have the right to see the report your GP fills in before they send it.
Seeing a uni counsellor does not mean you have mental health problems. It means you had a problem. It could have been that you were a suicidal raving loony or it could mean you had trouble coping with death of a loved one or just wanted to spout off about the lack of support you were getting from the uni about coursework. Uni counsellors are not just there for those with mental health related problems.
Hope this helps Bri.