The employer is screening for integrity, judgment, and compliance awareness, because a recruiter who ignores background discrepancies can expose the company to bad hires and client trust issues.
Pause the offer first, confirm the facts with an official source, give the candidate a fair chance to explain, document everything, and escalate with a clear recommendation rather than hiding the issue.
Start by pausing the offer, but do not present this as a crisis or a personal failure. Say plainly to the hiring manager that you have verified a six-month discrepancy between the applicant's stated employment dates and the official record, and that you recommend holding the offer until the candidate provides a corrected certificate of employment or a written explanation. Frame it as a standard compliance step, not a judgment on the candidate yet. Then reach out to the candidate in a neutral, respectful tone, ideally by phone first, and ask for their version of the timeline before you assume intent. In the Philippine context, remember that COEs from previous employers can sometimes be delayed or contain clerical errors, so give the candidate a concrete deadline, usually 24 to 48 hours, to submit supporting documents. Document every exchange, including the date and time of your calls and the exact wording of the discrepancy, because this protects you and the company if the issue escalates. When you go back to the hiring manager, lead with your recommendation, not the apology, and offer a clear path forward, such as a conditional offer pending document verification, so the decision stays with them but you have done your due diligence.
A common mistake is to report the problem in vague, over-apologetic Taglish like, 'Sir, may sabit po sa background check, sorry po.' Instead, state the exact discrepancy and your recommended next step in professional English, for example, 'I verified a six-month date discrepancy. I recommend we hold the offer until the candidate submits a corrected COE.'
Situation
In my previous internship as a recruitment assistant for a local agency, I endorsed an applicant for a customer service account after three interviews. The final reference check showed he claimed an extra six months as a team leader at a previous BPO.
Task
I had to confirm the actual dates, update my supervisor and the hiring manager, and make sure we did not release an offer based on inaccurate information.
Action
I called the previous employer's HR to confirm the official start and end dates. I then invited the applicant to explain the discrepancy and to submit any document such as a COE or payslip showing the claimed period. I documented the difference in our tracker and recommended to the hiring manager that the offer be held until the applicant could provide proof. I also informed the applicant in writing about the pending verification.
Result
The applicant could not provide any supporting document for the extra six months, so the offer was not released. My supervisor used my documentation for the internal audit, and the team added a pre-endorsement date check to our process.
Verify employment dates before endorsing a candidate so the offer decision is based on confirmed facts.
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