# HR requests academic transcripts



## jagger (Jan 12, 2011)

Okay, had a 3 person panel interview for a job. Developed a good repertoire with the two people from the department, but not so good with the HR person asking standard interview questions.

Now I've been offered the job, but the HR person wants me to submit my academic transcripts from courses I took a decade ago. I'm not one of those 4.0 GPA students, I've had my ups and downs in school, so I don't know how the transcript will be interpreted. Plus the job being offered is not related to the courses I took. In fact I'm working in a completely different field from what I studied in college.

Having to produce proof of a degree, license, or credential is one thing, but an academic transcript is too broad. Why do they need to know about every single course that I took?

I think the HR person knows that I won't produce the transcript, so he has an easy way of eliminating me, and moving onto someone else. Has anyone been in a similar situation, what's the right thing to do?


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## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

Wait, if you had an offer, then just go through the process, and go get the job. Unless the offer is conditional on certain grade point average ...

Sounds like you're just embarrassed about your grade?

Tell them that you will be happy to provide transcript and other materials upon receiving their offer letter. It cost money to get an official transcript, I think it's reasonable.

If they don't give you an offer letter, then you're probably not that close anyway. Move on. 

EDIT: They should reimburse you on the cost of getting the official transcript anyway. If they don't, that's another red flag.


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## DanFo (Apr 9, 2011)

In my experience the marks mean very little if your already offered the job think of it as asking for the transcript being the same as checking a reference..... just providing proof you got the education you stated. In my current job I was able to just give the transcript to HR after I had already started.... reason being the time to obtain it before my start date...would be simpler if a copy of the diploma was all that they needed.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I know at my current workplace, they do required proof of education qualifications. Usually a copy of a degree is good enough. I would ask whatnthey a looking for specifically, and if the degree is good enough.


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## jagger (Jan 12, 2011)

Plugging Along said:


> I know at my current workplace, they do required proof of education qualifications. Usually a copy of a degree is good enough. I would ask whatnthey a looking for specifically, and if the degree is good enough.


Well they want the transcript, not just proof of a credential. My gpa is nothing to brag about, some courses I barely passed.

Plus the industry I'm working in has nothing to do with what I studied in college. It's like studying chemistry, then working in finance, now the financial company wants to see your chemistry transcript.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I needed a transcript for a job before.

I got one, and then they didnt even bother to really look at it. They asked me if I had it, they skimmed it over to check the courses were actually there, and that was it.

I don't think they mind if your GPA is 4.0 or 2.75 or whatever. I think they just want to see you've attended.

If I were you, I wouldn't even make a big deal out of it. I would have just been confident and went ahead and did it. Shows you believe in yourself, anyway.

If its not related to your job, I don't see why grades would have much relation.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Do you want the job or not? That is what you need to decide here, not whether or not to supply a piece of paper.

Give them what they have asked. They are perfectly within their rights to ask for proof of the education you claim you have. I've had to provide this a few times now, usually a copy of my diploma is sufficient but sometimes they want to see an actual transcript.

Seriously, if I was hiring and you gave me this much misery at this stage you would be disqualified. Are you going to make this much of an issue over everything?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

^Agree... if you want the job you'll give them what they ask for. It's not illegal or discriminatory or anything. If you haven't already done so, you may be able to say, that 'It will take the colledge a little time to get them to me. In order to expedite this, would my diploma suffice? " If they say no, then you decide if you want the job or not. 

Who knows what they are looking for specifically. You MAY get screened out if they don't like what they see on the transcipt, you for sue will get screened out if you don't give it to them.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

Give them the transcrips???... You can get them from your school for a low cost. Photo copy and keep the original for next time. If they don't hire, move on. Why back your self out when you don't know the decision?

I did have to give transcrips for some interviews, and my grades were bad. I had to explain why. I just said that it was a learning process where I started to grow and improved. Then I used some examples and better grades to show that.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Yes, I meant a copy, not the actual. I wouldn't give them my degree, just a copy.


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

I've worked in places that have strict policies that anything you declare on your resume, application, etc has to have official copies provided no matter how long ago it was. This, because of former healthcare providers saying they had courses etc that they did not.


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## Dmoney (Apr 28, 2011)

The worst that can happen is you don't get the job... Which will be guaranteed to happen if you don't give them the transcript. If it comes down to it, be able to explain away your poor grades and highlight/accentuate the attributes that got you the offer in the first place. 

If the job's worth it, pull out all stops.


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## ddkay (Nov 20, 2010)

The worst thing that could happen is that you get the job, then your bosses photocopy your transcript a thousand times and hang it around the office like a Picaso painting.

Nah, I agree with Dmoney here. If you don't get the job, chances are your interviewers and the HR person will forget everything about you a month from now. You say you've been working for 10 years, so it sounds like you might know a little about recruiting processes and stuff.

I get where you're coming from. People like TRM need to turn it down a notch. The *worst* type of hiring managers are those that use prejudice. Correlation != causation.

HR might have a policy to collect transcripts in order to protect the hiring managers integrity down the road. Did you mention grades anywhere in your resume or during the interview? It looks like they just want more validation. No biggie.

I remember the HR department at the bank I worked at hoarded transcripts of people that quit eons ago, I could never tell if it was because they were massively disorganised or there were legal reasons behind it.

If I were you I would just fulfill their request, they will probably glance at it once then bury it deep into a database or filing cabinet.

Good luck!


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

I'd submit it. It's a stupid formality, but then again, so is so much of life.

Sure, the HR manager may use it against you. But if you don't submit it, they'll use that against you as well. 

Paperwork like this is extremely important for some HR managers who love to collect useless crap, but with the real decision makers, it doesn't matter. If they like you, they'll hire you, regardless of what the paper says.

And this is clearly a case of where the HR manager is not qualified to make the decision on their own, and the other two will be making the call. Otherwise, they wouldn't have attended. The HR manager will have some input, but not final say.


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## LondonHomes (Dec 29, 2010)

If the department heads want you, then it's not like the HR department can stop the hire because of your English 101 mark 10 years ago.

Send your transcript, make the HR department feel like they are contributing.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

Some questions or requests like that could be aimed to see how you react to criticism.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Can the OP please respond?


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## jagger (Jan 12, 2011)

I've sent in the transcript, apparently they're having trouble interpreting it, since it's from a foreign institution. It's a piece of paper with course titles and letter grades. How hard can it be? After all, they requested it.

Now HR wants a certificate from the institution, which I'm looking for.


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## jagger (Jan 12, 2011)

Update...

Provided certificate few days after the transcripts. The HR dude sat on it for a few days, I guess he didn't know what to do. This week mysteriously I see an email from the HR department asking me to get a letter from the institution proving I attended. He also wants me to go to my country's embassy and obtain my criminal record, prior to emigrating.

This is getting more and more absurd every week. Instead of letting the company hire me, this HR idiot is finding every reason in the book to stall the process. I've been in Canada for almost 15 years, are these normal procedures for employment? This is just an office job I'm applying for, not a high risk position or whatever.


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## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

Haha, your intuition that the HR guy is being a douche was correct. This is call, "raising the bar". If one set of criteria was not enough, he'll raise it to another level, until you give up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts

Next, you'll be required to provide a letter of recommendation from the head of state of your former country.

If you had alternative job opportunities, you should consider staying away from that work place. That or talk to the other hiring managers to find out what the heck is going on.

If things don't work out, do you mind sharing the name of this company as a warning sign to all?


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

I wouldn't say they're "normal" procedures but depending on the province and the type of job, they are often quite legal to request.

I'd probably contact one of the other managers and speak with them first. Say that you feel like you're getting the run-around from HR, they ask for one thing, and when you provide it, they ask for another, and when you do that, it's another, rather than asking for everything required at once. 

I'd communicate clearly that you have nothing to hide and you're happy to do so, but it's been several weeks now and there are various costs associated with obtaining all these different records and if the HR manager is doing this as a means of dissuading you, you'd appreciate the heads-up so you're not continuing to spend money on these records and waste your time. Maybe they can intervene and twist a few arms.

Also, while I wouldn't mention it at first, you might joke about how silly the request is since you already had to submit a criminal background check as part of your immigration paperwork and how you've already been vetted by Immigration Canada. Maybe don't mention it if you're not that comfortable joking around with the manager. But it is getting pretty ridiculous and I'd think I'd want to work somewhere else anyways since even if you get the job, the HR manager will probably be gunning for you.


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