How To Look Up My Own Employment History

Many of us forget to update our resumes until we absolutely need to, and sometimes that means years have gone by. Other times, you may need proof of employment or proof of employment history for other reasons. Regardless of your requirements, you can locate your own employment history with a little bit of time and effort.

1. Look at your past tax returns. W-2s from those tax returns can help you to piece together company names and approximate dates and time frames. If you do not have any or all of your past tax returns, you may need to try something else in order to get your most complete employment history.


2. Contact the Social Security Administration for a copy of your Social Security Summary Report. This report lists all of the places you have worked since your very first job. You will need to fill out a form called the "Request for Social Security Earnings." You will also need to pay a fee to have the report requested. The report can take weeks or months to be mailed to you, so it makes sense to continue to do your own research while you wait.


3. Conduct a background check on yourself. Most background checks use public records to find your past employers. If you use a private background check service, this can become expensive. You can also find online services with which you can perform a background check on yourself. Different services offer different levels of background checks, so be sure before you pay for a service that you will be getting the information that you need.