Will consulting firms communicate directly with my current employer?

No. And in most jurisdictions they are not allowed to do so. But they might do so indirectly during the background check. There, a service provider will reach out to your current & previous employers to confirm the hard facts on your CV.

The background check will happen after you get an offer and you'll need to sgive them permission to do that. Note that if the conclusion is that you have provided incorrect information on your CV (either never worked at the companies you stated or in different roles), they have the right to revoke the offer.

Hello Anonymous,

It usually happens when you get an offer and then have to confirm that they can contact your previous employers for a background check.

Thus, I highly recommend you putting the correct information about yourself and your experiences in the CV.

Do you need any further help?

GB

Hi there,

No they will not. 

Your interview process will be completely confidential. Your current boss will not find out about your interviews until you yourself tell them.

They will not do so without your consent. Typically, in most geographies, they hire a third party verification agency (such as HireRight) for doing background checks. Once the consulting company tells third party verification agency to initiate the process, you will get an email from the agency for your consent, and mention all the disclosures (covering what all information they plan to check).  

Was this helpful? 

Hi, usually not. Sometimes, after the final offer, they can do background check

Best

Antonello

Hello!

Do you mean now, to give visibility that you are in the process?

No, or at least, they should not. 

However, there is a background check in case you are hired. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

No, they won't communicate directly. 

However, they may use a third party just to confirm you worked on those companies during the periods you mentioned, as well as title/rank (and that's all they check).

You will have to give permission right before they start the background process, so you will know when this is about to happen.