PwC Pre-Employment Vetting rejection

Hi Wagwan,

Haven't personally heard of anyone failing the vetting process, but at AC the HR person said they have had to withdraw offers in the past. They've apparently got quite a strict forensic team who look into your background, but as far as I'm aware they tend to only check the most relevant/recent employers. I didn't give them any contact details of past employers in my application, but I got an e-mail directly from someone in the vetting team asking for the name and contact details of my manager in my most recent place of employment.

hi, KK_2008,

so when did their vetting team start to do the backgroud check? immediately after you passed your ac or after you actually start to work in pwc's office?
how did they contact your previous manager? by telephone or post? my friend is worrying about her previous manager can't handle the vetting team's question properly.

Hey, they start the checks once you have accepted the offer. Amongst the several forms you have to fill in there is one that asked you to give permission for PwC to carry out the checks. I listed my most recent employer as my referee and have not as yet been contacted by the vetting team.

So how do they actually check your academic records, do they really verify the results in every module?

I recieved an offer from PwC buts declined it so i guess it starts after you accept it?!

As i understand it this is a very very strict process. they verify your academics with your schools/colleges/universities and your employment with your most recent employer. The Academic side of things they are strict on.

When i was in my assessment day, another candidate brought this up and HR was going through it saying in the last few year they retracted over 30 offers. A huge amount i know but thats what she said. Its what they call "discrepencies" I.e mistakes in your form. Also, if they retract an offer on this basis you are unable to apply to the firm again at any level.

When she was talking about what type of things they retract offers on.. It was people not achieving the UCAS points or a 2.1. She also went on to emphasise how your Application form "needs to be one of the best pieces of work you do"..

A bit sharp i know but i can only relay what i was told at my AC! Also, theres a chance that she was overdoing it a little bit but that was my experiance with them. If you do have mistakes on your form inform them as soon as possible!

As glockenspiel said, when you accept your offer you give PwC permission to verify all the information in your application.

Within two weeks a couple of my previous bosses emailed me to inform me that they had completed reference requests for me from PwC. So they check everything pretty quickly!

As far as I know they also check all you university module grades, they can get a transcript straight from the university.

As glockenspiel said, when you accept your offer you give PwC permission to verify all the information in your application.

Within two weeks a couple of my previous bosses emailed me to inform me that they had completed reference requests for me from PwC. So they check everything pretty quickly!

As far as I know they also check all you university module grades, they can get a transcript straight from the university.

Hey do you think they just verify the grades on the appliction form? Or all grades included any other(s) outstanding? I didn't put down all the A Levels and a couple of university modules. Do you think this will be a big problem? Any advice would be much appreciated.

If you fail the vetting checks then they can withdraw your offer but they tend not to unless it's something really serious e.g. a fake employer or saying you finished with a 2:1 (and you finished with a 2:2 instead). As long as everything is pretty much okay, you should be fine. Any problems with the vetting process will be referred back to your recruitment office who will probably contact you directly before any action will be taken so don't worry about anything unless they get back to you.

@jobhunter123, it's not as bad as it sounds, that's why they asked you to explain it to them. In the email they sent you, there's probably a contact person and phone number. Give them a call and explain it. If the difference is just a mistake between two grades and not the overall grades, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's not a direct violation of their requirements (even though they do need people to pay attention to detail). They have already invested a lot in you so far, I doubt they're just gonna withdraw the offer over one or two modules.

I'd agree with the above. It doesn't sound anywhere near serious enough to withdraw an offer over. Just explain the mistake and you'll be fine.

Someone I know got an offer from PwC and of course they do background checks on everyone that accepts an offer with them. During the checks, they found a 'discrepancy' on his app form. For one of his uni modules he put down a 53 instead of a 63, so in other words, a typo easily made when filling out loads of these app forms.

PwC snottily explained that they had doubts over his 'moral character' because of this and so withdrew their offer! Even though this discrepancy was a lower grade than what he actually got.

Surprised? Don't be, that's PwC for you..

after reading the09's post above that scares me alot!

In my application I put down that i took 10 gcse's rather than 11. My eleventh one was french which was a 'G' and although I sat the exam at school technically I never thought I would get even that. Had I got a 'U' it wouldnt have even appeared on my certificates and now i cant friken get rid of it. DO you think they will fail me on that??

I dont want that bloody french gcse!!! yes in hindsight I wish i wasnt so narrow-minded at secondary school, but will that come back to haunt me??

stevie, I'm in the same situation as you, I recieved an E for GCSE french and have not put it on my application form for Deloitte. I have been told that it doesnt really matter if you don't include it because it isnt really relevant to the postiion applied for...Technically its not lieing, is it?

So long as you have truthfully declared the degree and exam passes required to apply then you are not lying.
You are all putting the wrong emphasis on this. What would you all be commenting if the ommission was an A* in Russian and an A* in Mandarin?
No-one is lying. You lie on an application when you say you have a 2.1 and you only have a 2.2.
You lie when you say you have B in GCSE English and you only have a c.
All you guys that got the odd rogue martk in a subject which clearly was not in your comfort zone, well done for trying something even if you end up with a lousy mark. So what. It's an extra exam.
Sometimes you know, it's refreshing to see that some folks don't get straight A's and that maybe the over indulgence in some sport etc caused the poor grade.

Very quick to comment guys, appreciate the response. BTW Topcat, I omitted the french gcse from deloitte application, but they did not say anything when i submitted my gcse certificates on the assessment day. However, PWC does state that it looks to make sure that a candidate hasn't omitted any exam results.

For me i think this is silly. I simply did not take secondary school seriously and whilst I admit I was immature, I came from a relatively poor background with few role models to point me in the right direction. In any case AQA should allow us to remove gcse's we do not wish to have in our name for crying out loud. Let me know how it goes for you Topcat.

Cheers Guys

jobhunter,

I just spoke to my friend, I got it wrong, he didn't put down a wrong module mark on his form. In fact, he very mistakenly omitted a module grade (which was 63, so it obviously wasnt a result he was trying to hide) and PwC threw the book at him for this.

They called him up and didn't really give him a chance to explain and withdrew the offer there and then. PwC was also kind enough to do it just weeks before the start date which completely wrecked his plans. It was for a summer internship in London.

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Hello,

Does one have to mention a 'U' obtained for AS Level? Is it ok to leave that out? Would this kick up a fuss later on?

Many thanks

Any advice would be appreciated......

See PM

jobhunter123, saw your post before it got scrambled, no my friend was predicted to get a 2.1 so whether he omitted that grade or not, he still would have been on track for a 2.1. He would have had nothing to gain from hiding that module mark, if he did it deliberately.

We were cynically speculating and saying maybe PwC had taken on too many interns than they could afford and were looking for any excuse to get rid of a few people, without damaging their 'we're always recruiting' image that they have carefully built up over the years.

I guess despite their CSR 'we care for our employees and knit sweaters for dolphins in our spare time' blah blah in the end it comes down to money really.

OK. We now move into the realms of needing to establish exact facts here and not rely on partial information. I would be interested to hear the PwC side and to this end intend to have a conversation with HR to try to find out.
It's all very well venting some personal attack against PwC (suggests possibly you have some reason too for disliking them) but what are the full facts etc?
On the other side of the coin I know one graduate who deliberately lied about his Uni degree, was offered the job and then when discovery was made PwC accepted that the 2.2 (not 2.1 as stated) was from a top uni in a very difficult subject and had susequently been superseded by a D.Phil in the subject. Personally I believe that situation should have called for outright withdrawl of offer, yet it did not.

Has anyone with a September 2010 offer heard from their referees or university that PwC has asked for a reference? I wish this was all done and dusted so that I can plan the year! There is always an uncertainty...I also need a work permit arranged and this is another pain! Anyone who knows more...please post!

Has anyone with a September 2010 offer heard from their referees or university that PwC has asked for a reference? I wish this was all done and dusted so that I can plan the year! There is always an uncertainty...I also need a work permit arranged and this is another pain! Anyone who knows more...please post!

Has anyone with a September 2010 offer heard from their referees or university that PwC has asked for a reference? I wish this was all done and dusted so that I can plan the year! There is always an uncertainty...I also need a work permit arranged and this is another pain! Anyone who knows more...please post!

Has anyone with a September 2010 offer heard from their referees or university that PwC has asked for a reference? I wish this was all done and dusted so that I can plan the year! There is always an uncertainty...I also need a work permit arranged and this is another pain! Anyone who knows more...please post!

Has anyone with a September 2010 offer heard from their referees or university that PwC has asked for a reference? I wish this was all done and dusted so that I can plan the year! There is always an uncertainty...I also need a work permit arranged and this is another pain! Anyone who knows more...please post!

Hey, i got offer also for september and after accepting haven't received any info. I'm fine with those checks because all marks, jobs can be verified by official documents however. does anyone know when they contact u?
i hate such uncertainties...

Hey, I have been offered a position at PwC starting in august.I received a mail from them mentioning that I would be contacted for information on background check .So, I was just curious to know that do they contact all the employees or just the employees/people whom I would mention as references on the form.

Hiya

Im starting at PWC in Sept 2010 and I know at least some of the vetting process has started for me. PwC hasn't contacted me but I studied and worked abroad and my university and previous employer have contacted me saying PwC has contacted them and could I help translate what it is PwC wants to know! At the uni they asked for a complete breakdown of all my modules and exam results and from my employer they asked him to confirm the details of when I worked there, what I did etc.

Apart from signing the contract and thereby confirming it was ok for PwC to perform vetting I didn't hear anything from PwC. They have all the details you need about previous employers and where you studied from your application form. I think that unless there is some problem contacting previous employers/ places of study, PwC won't contact you.

@sushantmajithia, PwC contacts your references on the form (for a proper reference) but they will also contact your past employers (which you stated on the form) to confirm the dates that you worked there.

Well, talk about snotty, my offer has just been withdrawn because of a 1 month difference in employment (!!!) I finished work on 31/01/2010 and indicated 02/2010 on my form...
They gave me the same speech about 'moral character', 'integrity' etc etc etc

Petrean,
That is really harsh. Are you honestly saying that they withdrew the offer because you put the wrong date?
Which PwC office was it?
I know applicants who have done far worse (See my post above) and yet did not have their offer withdrawn.
Why did you put the wrong date?

I find that very hard to believe Petrean. Are you sure that was all they based their decision on, or was there other discrepancies?

Does anyone know how long the vetting process takes, I read somewhere 4 weeks but im not sure where. The wait is not nice!

I find it really hard to believe that this happened Petrean. This is really harsh! What did they say to you? Which office was this and what service line did you apply to?

On a separate note, when do you know that you have a confirmed place?

The question we all want to know is why did Petrean put the wrong dates for employment??
You must tell the truth on these applications. You are applying to train as auditors!!

but did he put the wrong date? He said his contract finished on the 31/01. That means he was employed on the 31st. So he was employed until February 1st, at which point he became unemployed. I cannot believe any firm would fail to see that it could be argued both ways when the final date was the last of the month.

However, the 31st of January was a sunday, so did your contract actually finish on friday 29th? If so, it's still petty but you have to give all the correct details.

@ Petrean: I know you may be seeking other avenues to get yourself a job now that your offer has been withdrawn. I am still finding it incredibly hard to believe that PwC would do such a thing...i admit that you should not have put the end of your employment in Feb.

I am baffled that they will withdraw your offer in this basis...Can I ask that you provide more details because it seems to me that you have just mentioned this without providing more details.

Thanks

@ Petrean - I dont think they would withdraw an offer just because of this as I made the same mistake on my form, and when I asked the HR about this , they told me that they dont consider this to be an issue during my background check

Well, it is very harsh indeed, but not to worry, I received an offer from one of the other big consultancies and thanks to PwC's 'heads up', I managed to call them and correct that oversight in time - on top of giving me an offer, they said they did not care about petty discrepancies like these ones as - as someone mentioned above - the date could be argued either way !!
Thanks for your messages !

Anyone recieved their start dates from PwC? Or any news post offer?

I've been told that I'm starting on the 13th September in Assurance

Starting on august 23rd in advisory

how did you guys find out your start date?

by letter in the post?

thanks