[quote=bjack73]

I was wondering if anyone knows how long it takes for a company to do all of the background checks(education, credit, work history, etc) they need to do when looking at a candidate. I  went through a "headhunter" and i thought they do the checks before recommending me to talk with one of their clients (employing companies).

[/quote]

I can tell you a case that I saw where it wasn't completed until after the guy was hired and passed the Series 7. Only then did a prior criminial matter surface. 

Whatcha you worried about?

Hey, in this business you should not want (or have) to hide anything.  Clients deserve squeaky clean people.  Not saying you are not, but if you are not--quit now.

mikebutler222:

I can tell you a case that I saw where it wasn't completed until after the guy was hired and passed the Series 7. Only then did a prior criminial matter surface. 

----------------------------------------

Ditto here, but this involved a federal tax lien filed against the broker. What we (brokers) were told was he was let go, not because of the tax lien, but because he didn't disclose it before being hired. It was a shame because he appeared to have good potential.

Anyway, he goes indy with a firm called Roundhill Securities and sets up shop in Hilton Head, SC. He produced a short, end of the day radio blurb about what the market did that day; stuff like, "Wall Street had a sale today!", etc. Then his business seemed to take off.

The guy had a nice eight room office, with CNBC showing on a monitor in every room. He had an assistant, a receptionist, someone to handle compliance, an assistant broker, and someone to handle marketing. His office was wood paneled and decorated with yachting stuff, along with pictures of him taken with some cinema & political celebrities. He seemed to have landed squarely on his feet, after the Dean Witter incident.

Then it happened. He was busted for "sharing" in the profits (on stock trades) with his clients.

The apple does not fall far from the tree.

A person who lies about little things will lie about big things too.

Cream and a**holes rise to the top.

When I was going trough the background check I was sweating bullets.  I was worried about a long list of sins from when I was a minor.  Fortunately for me all of that was sealed. 

Basically, they will find anything that is on your adult record.  Mine is squeakily clean.  I was a bad kid but a responsible adult.  That’s what matters.   

Shmer33

[quote=Shmer33]

When I was going trough the background check I was sweating bullets.  I was worried about a long list of sins from when I was a minor.  Fortunately for me all of that was sealed. 

Basically, they will find anything that is on your adult record.  Mine is squeakily clean.  I was a bad kid but a responsible adult.  That’s what matters.   

Shmer33

[/quote]

For most firms running a background check is a time consuming and occasionally costly effort.

The deal is the NASD expects the employer to check out the information on the U-4. It, the U-4, is sent to the NASD so that the information it contains may be entered into the CRD system--but the employer is responsible for checking what is reported.

The industry is filled with stories about guys who were already in production getting called into their manager's office to either explain a discrepency, a negative report or an outright lie.

One of the oddest I ever heard of was a guy who indicated that for two years he lived at a certain address--without bothering to say that it was a state correctional facility.

Sometimes the organizations who have the information may take a long time to get around to checking--it is not uncommon for things like criminal records to show up after many months have gone by.

The best approach is always to just tell the truth.  I used to ask applicates, "Have you ever been photographed holding numbers?"

If so I want to know about it.  It may be as innocent as getting picked up for being drunk at spring break--but I want to know because I am going to look bad too when that turns up.

THANKS EVERYBODY!!!...the reason i asked the question was not based on past or present criminal activity. I have no criminal record and have been NASD licensed for the past 6 yrs. The reason i asked the question is because i am applying at other companies and i never finished my degree. I interviewed recently with ML and they seemed very interested in me, but i know they are under the impression that i finished my degree. During the interview, i only mentioned what i studied, but never mentioned that i never graduated. I am wondering that if i clarify that i never finished school, that will end my chances with them.

[quote=bjack73]

THANKS EVERYBODY!!!...the reason i asked the question was not based on past or present criminal activity. I have no criminal record and have been NASD licensed for the past 6 yrs. The reason i asked the question is because i am applying at other companies and i never finished my degree. I interviewed recently with ML and they seemed very interested in me, but i know they are under the impression that i finished my degree. During the interview, i only mentioned what i studied, but never mentioned that i never graduated. I am wondering that if i clarify that i never finished school, that will end my chances with them.

[/quote]

ill bet that if you knew how to communicate like an adult it would make a big difference, but then who knows because lots of people like to read run on sentences in addition i bet that if they asked you for your transcript you would schidt little green marbles  why in the world would you be a dropout and then hope that you could get a real job.

[quote=bjack73]

I was wondering if anyone knows how long it takes for a company to do all of the background checks(education, credit, work history, etc) they need to do when looking at a candidate. I  went through a "headhunter" and i thought they do the checks before recommending me to talk with one of their clients (employing companies).

[/quote]

You didn't lie to the head hunter, did you?

[quote=bjack73]

I was wondering if anyone knows how long it takes for a company to do all of the background checks(education, credit, work history, etc) they need to do when looking at a candidate. I  went through a "headhunter" and i thought they do the checks before recommending me to talk with one of their clients (employing companies).

If you're going to use a head hunter remember that they are putting their own reputation on the line when they recommend you.

If you turn out to be a liar that head hunter may never get another chance so not only did you screw up your own life, you very well may have ruined somebody else's.

That really sucks.

Thanks...i'll just do what i was going to do and let the interviewing mgr know that i never finished my degree and see what they say.

As far as NASD's comments, no sir, i did not lie to my headhunter. My education was never brought up. They asked what licenses i have and how long i had been in the business. On that note, i will say this to you SIR.....

I was taught to respect my elders and i can honestly say that i have felt bad for you at times on here because after you make some pretty harsh and extremely opinionated comments, people slam you pretty hard. I can honestly say that you DO deserve them.

You only want to come on here and put people down because obviously your wife got sick of you like the rest of us and left your stupid old a$$. I am sure you have spent the better part of your semi-retired bitter years trying to figure who is the REAL father of your kids. 

You always like to give such wise and experienced advice that probably comes from one of suzie orman's books. For one time old man, do us ALL a favor and take some advice instead of giving: either say something nice and helpful, or just shut the hell up. WE are tired of your brash comments. If you have done so well as an advisor and are so accomplished, please go take some of that money you've made over the years and buy yourself a nice, expensive hooker. It seems like you only need a good @#$%. Then again, at your age, buy some viagara first so you can make it last longer than your usually pathetic comments.

[quote=bjack73]

Thanks...i'll just do what i was going to do and let the interviewing mgr know that i never finished my degree and see what they say.

[/quote]

What you are is a quitter.  A Gen X slacker whose motto is, "when the going gets tough I quit."

You're going to live your entire life with that shame.

Why not go back to school and finish, then with your head held high you can walk into any place in The Street and present your credentials?

Or would that require more effort than you're willing to make?

[quote=bjack73]

As far as NASD's comments, no sir, i did not lie to my headhunter. My education was never brought up. They asked what licenses i have and how long i had been in the business.

[/quote]

You obviously feel that the lack of a degree is a negative.  Why did you not give the head hunter a head's up?

Failing to disclose important information is just as wrong as lying about it.

Not telling the head hunter that you're a quitter is like not telling a defense attorney the truth about the crime he's defending.

Do you think you'll look cute in those brown Bermuda shorts as you jump on and off your very own brown truck?

ay dios estoy tan cansado de este viejito que no tengo la inclinacion de responder mas a sus comentarios  tan bobos. Viejo, no me juzgas sin saber la razon porque no termine la escuela. NO me hables mas canto de idiota!!!

  Bjack you are ok and you are more truthful than all of them, just posers. NONE of them would ever disclose the type of information you disclosed. they throw stones and their roofs are made of crystal.

They don't teach you to sell in graduate school.

DON't WORRY ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING JUST GO AFTER SEVERAL FIRMS I GUARANTEE YOU THAT SURVIVING THE LAST 6 YEARS COUNTS MORE THAN A COLLEGE DEGREE.

[quote=bjack73]ay dios estoy tan cansado de este viejito que no tengo la inclinacion de responder mas a sus comentarios  tan bobos. Viejo, no me juzgas sin saber la razon porque no termine la escuela. NO me hables mas canto de idiota!!![/quote]

No cuido si usted no puede hablar inglés o no, esto soy América donde no está una excusa el ser analfabeto para la falta.

Usted va a ser un perdedor para su vida entera.

Bjack:  About 15% of our candidates are successful FAs without degrees.  Unless your resume or application is written in a miselading way, they probably already know that you are degreeless and don’t care.

Regarding your reasons for quitting college: nobody’s going to jump to concusions there, either.  Just in case somebody asks, be ready to discuss the reasons why you left (financial, family, you got your girlfriend embarazado) briefly and without emotion.  If you partied too much and flunked out, then hopefully you have the stones to admit you made a mistake and talk about it as a character building experience.

To be perfectly frank with you, I’m not too confident that you DO have the stones to be a successful FA.  If you lose your cool after a little flack from the likes of NASD Newbie, then you’re probably too tempermental to make it.  It takes a lot of courage to work with difficult customers, lawyers, managers and prospects while maintaining a professional demeanor.  And things only get worse in an uncertain or correcting market.

Always keep your head about you, even when those about you are losing theirs.

thanks…