seems odd to me. Your work should speak for itself. Visa is a legetimate question, but something your friend should mention (and since she doesn't need one, then she doesn't need to mention it!).

There's lotsa scum bags out there and being a boss allows people to let the ugliness surface that most suppress.

Keep looking if you don't get a good feeling.

That seems very strange. Honestly, I graduated last spring and have been looking for jobs in a completely different city so I think I might have miss placed my diploma somewhere in the move. I guess I would have been screwed then.

Bottom line, its not a very common practice. I can only imagine one scenario where you about to begin work in a very very corporate office and the HR person needs to fill out information about your degree and needs copy of it or something. That's just about the only excuse i can think of.

If the employer is such a duce about it, I wouldn't even bother trying to work there. It's a waste of everyone's time, because no one will be happy.

Asking to see a diploma is strange, especially since that really doesn't prove anything. A diploma is easier to counterfeit than a drivers license.

If she is enrolled in IDP that's a better way to determine she does have a qualifying degree, since they check transcripts.

Regardless, it's odd that an employer would be so skeptical. Not a good sign that he has such large issues with trust. Shows a great lack of confidence in people too. Not good signs from an employer.

Obviously this guy isn't that eager to hire your friend. Tell her to keep looking...there are far better employers out there that will trust her from the begining. In the long run that will be much better.

All depends.

I once had a grand interview lunch (expensive) with a friendly and trusting guy who asked for no verification of anything I claimed. Great guy. Turned out to be a horrible job.

Conversely, my current employer contacted my university, my previous employers, and every single one of the references I listed. I had to prove EVERYTHING. It was a confrontational interview -- borderline suspicious. Turned out to be the best job I've ever had.

My opinion? Relax. Learn to roll with it a little.

I can tell you from experience that firms that do a little back ground checking as calling references and asking about your educational experience most likely are looking for some one to invest into and keep for along time. If they see some initial design talent and learning potential they are willing to invest the time it will take to bring resent graduate up to their top performance with in the firm’s culture. Some other firms wan to know you have a pulse speak English and will due what you’re told.
Take it as a complement, if you’ve nothing to hide roll with it, if you see and feel there is a benefit to be working in such an environment.

rim joist-

How did you know your employer contacted your university.

and could a university give out a student's info to anyone? yikes!!

i am pretty sure questions about ethnicity and the like are illegal, but i could be wrong.

it's generally easy to verify whether a person earned a degree from a particular university and the year it was awarded ... generally, all you have to do is phone ... or, in some cases, they make you send a written inquiry on company letterhead ... what they won't tell you is whether the individual was a good student or any other information

universities have a legitimate motivation to stop people from claiming a degree that they didn't earn

at our firm, we verify degrees and we always check references ... the degree thing is just a matter of policy, because we have obligations to employ qualified people on projects we are doing for clients ... the reference thing is mostly about understanding the candidate and how we might best work with him/her once at the firm ... once in a blue-moon we'll actually get a bad reference ... really calls into question the candidate's judgment

Firms do get sued, reported to their state boards for disciplinary action, reported to the AIA ethics committee for "censure", etc. for misrepresenting/overstating their collective qualifications. A lot of of the cases in the AIA's archives seem to involve this issue, and it often revolves around the information on their employees' resumes (as used in project proposals, marketing materials, etc.) So, it's in the best interest of the firm to attempt to verify degrees, registrations, etc.

FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) allows schools and universities to disclose "directory information" without a student's specific consent. This information includes: student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. The schools do have to allow students to specifically request that directory information NOT be disclosed - but if you don't request this in writing then the school can give this information to anyone.

Determining whether a potential employee is legal to work in the US (either a citizen or holder of an appropriate visa) is required by law. If the potential employer does not do this in an interview he still must do it before he allows this person to start working.

Asking a person's ethnicity or age in an interview is surprisingly not technically illegal. Using this information for hiring decision purposes is illegal, which is why these questions should really not be asked. The potential employer in this case may have thought that he was merely making small talk in asking about the interviewee's family and background - but the questions are definately inadvisable/inappropriate.

What if you decide to not put in any references?

considering you had previous bad experiences

Wouldn't that seem suspect?

You can say you've never worked in your entire life? What are your chances of getting a job if you put in bad references as to not put any references at all?

...background checks.....
I guess that''s only in the corporate world....if they can afford them.....
However, I may have totally misunderstood. If you are referring to giving a potential employer a list of references so they can call in regards to your character, etc....then duh, of course you do not want to refer them to your boss who doubted your every move. However, I think to not put ANY refernces says...you have either not developed decent relationships with coworkers,, etc. or you're hiding something. Remember, references do not necessarily have to be people you've worked with in past jobs (professors, etc.). I just figure if they were to look deeper (which I seriously don't know how serious architecture firms can be) and find that you had worked, having no references would leave too much to the imagination.

- "What are your chances of getting a job if you put in bad references as to not put any references at all?"

This is a very bad situation ... any firm that's reasonably well managed is going to ask for references and most will check those references ... there's a good reason for doing this ... namely, to weed out difficult, non-productive or incompetent employees ... i would be very reluctant to consider any candidate who could not, or would not, provide at least 3 professional references ... and, i ALWAYS check references very carefully

i see employment candidates from time to time who seem to have approached their early career as Sherman's army approached the south during the closing days of the Civil War - i.e. they scorched the earth as they passed through ... this leave adverse - and longlasting - effects

for those of you who are just entering the job market or who may be emerging professionals, be cautious about the way you conduct yourself in your early jobs and avoid burning bridges (no matter how emotionally satisfying that might seem) ... SuperGlue illustrates in spades who this sort of behavior actually injures