Definition - What does work history mean?
Work history relates to specific information about an applicant’s previous job experience. This includes skills, previous positions, and often education relevant to a particular job that a person is now seeking. Work history is an integral part of the hiring process, conducted as a preliminary assessment during which applicants supply employers with valid documentation on an application in conjunction with the prospective employer doing their own due diligence as to history validity. Some methods of checking the validity of supplied information include background checks and contacting past employers. Requesting a person’s work history allows employers to determine quickly if the applicant already has experience applicable to the requested position.
SureHire explains work history
Employers routinely use a person’s work history to gain a clear understanding about the applicant's existing work skills, previously performed duties and responsibilities, and duration of time an applicant held a job. Traditionally, employers follow a set protocol throughout the hiring process from the initial phase of an application form to the intermediate phase of performing background checks, contacting previous employers and personal references to confirm documentation is factual, and then deciding on whether or not to hire the applicant. While every employer can be different in terms of information requested, there are laws that do restrict certain aspects of information and employers must be familiar with current regulations.
Working within regulations, a work history can be valuable in determining both an applicants skills and their job habits. For example, by looking at the time an applicant spent in each job it is often possible to determine the reliability of a worker.
