What’s in an employment background check?
These days, employers are being more cautious than ever about the people they hire. They don’t want to expose themselves to lawsuits for hiring employees with criminal records, nor do they want to get in trouble with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS) for hiring workers with false documentation. Today’s applicants know that they will likely have to undergo an employment background check for any new position they desire, but few applicants know what this really entails. Here’s a closer look.
The type of information that appears in an employment background check depends on how deep the employer wants to dig. Most companies that provide employee screening charge different rates for different levels of service. At the lower end of the scale, employers obtain a basic employment background check that includes details that are available in public record databases. This includes such things as moving violations, judgments and liens against any real estate possessions you may have, and similar details of a relatively minor nature.
A more in-depth employment evaluation will look for felony convictions, as well as any other types of civil or criminal litigation in which you may have been involved. Additionally, this type of employment background check will include your credit history, confirmation of your educational credentials, and verification of your past employment history to ensure you are not misrepresenting your qualifications.
If you’re applying for a position where you’ll be working with highly classified documents, you’ll likely be required to undergo a more extensive employment background check that includes a search of military records and medical records. In fact, some government jobs, such as FBI or Secret Service agent, require your neighbors, relatives, and others from your past to be interviewed before a hiring decision is made.
Most people have a relatively straightforward past and therefore don’t need to worry about what a typical job background check looks like. But if your case is different, it’s important to be prepared to answer questions about your past openly and honestly. The best way to do this is to know exactly what your records say, which is why some people choose to pay for projections and reports on their own before showing up for an interview. The biggest advantage of doing this is that you’ll see the same data as your prospective employer, and you’ll be able to come up with reasonable explanations for failures. Obviously, you won’t be able to just explain an armed robbery conviction or something of a serious nature like that, but you should be able to cover the smaller things.
In this type of economy, good jobs are hard to come by. You need every advantage you can get over your competitors, which means knowing in advance what kind of information your future employer may reveal about you. Be prepared by finding out what an employment background check says about your personal, educational, and professional history.