The Hustler's Digest StaffBackground check is a strategy that employers use to learn about the commercial, employment, criminal, and financial record of a potential hire. Please keep reading to learn more about background checks for employment, what they check, what background check is, and a description of the information within one.
Employers want information while making specific hiring, retention, promotion, and reassignment decisions. However, regulations to process the related information vary from place to place and person to person.
Background check is a kind of analysis of various factors as employers want to know about the employee’s work history, education, financial history, criminal record, medical history, and even use of social media.
There are a lot of boxes that one must check on that will give a sense of satisfaction to the employers that they find a right fit for the role. Therefore, the pre-employment background check is essential to the screening process.
Nobody wants to commit the mistake of hiring the wrong person, as it could be a waste of time and money. That’s why employers are peculiar about their new hiring, and background checks can help them to satisfy themselves about the right choice, as it comes with a mental satisfaction that they chose the right fit for their organization.
What is a background check for a job?
A thorough background check comes with analyzing your record, including your previous behavior. Employers usually go for background checks to learn more about the candidates and to find the right fit for workplace culture.
Employers usually conduct background checks on job candidates before hiring them, and some conduct checks after hiring an employee. At the same time, some employers use a third party to check someone’s background.
There are some restrictions by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) on what a third party can check and how. Federal legislation sets standards for reporting about a person in various capacities, such as employment.
A background check is a screening to verify job applicant information through official legal records. Incorporating background screening is a part of the hiring process that will help employers avoid potential liabilities and bring clarity during hiring sessions.
Through background history, one can get to know the criminal record, including some felonies or any misdemeanors, to find quality employees. There should be an identity to ensure who they are, as pre-employment background screening also includes credit checks (spending habits and debt level) that will help gauge an employee’s financial responsibility.
Depending on the industry and organization, place of living, and regulations that can protect some information from background checks will help evaluate a person’s professional viability. Certain restrictions are related to medical and genetic information or specific personal information about the employee’s background.
One can use an applicant’s background information to make any employment decision; regardless of where you get the information, it should comply with federal laws to protect applicants from discrimination.
Moreover, there should be no discrimination based on race, gender, color, national origin, religion, genetic information, and disability; equal laws are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Background checks give an employer plenty of information to make a confident hiring decision. The data will help get the right hire for increased productivity or revenue, but a new hire also comes with unknown business risks.
What do employers look for in a background check?
During a job search, people usually consider submitting a resume, checking networking events, and perfecting interviewing skills, but they typically overlook background checks. Employers run background checks for numerous reasons and want to avoid adding up liabilities.
Employers can conduct inquiries independently, and legally, they do not need your consent to do such verifications. They can even call your former employer but must inform you if they want to hire a third-party investigator.
Employers want to know several facts about their potential candidates; usually, they consider the following checks:
- Identity and social security verification
- Employment check
- Credit report
Identity and social security verification
One can search an identity and social security verification by searching the Department of Homeland Security, and Social Security Administration records database to check the validity of social security numbers.
Online identity checks are also there to verify an address that one can cross-check with the information on a resume; all these procedures will help an employer to detect inaccuracies.
Employment check
Employment background checks are to know information from other companies and whether a candidate can contribute value to the workplace. Employers assess such evaluations to check various areas of a person’s life, including their social media, financial situation, drug screening test, education, and many more details.
Credit report
Credit bureaus prepare credit reports and collect information from various sources, including credit card companies and other financial institutions that maintain records of their customers.
Also, credit reporting companies usually have different information. Still, they can show something on background checks, such as credit inquiries and identifying information. Credit bureaus can provide basic information about name, date of birth, and address.
A credit background check assesses the financial history and determines how to manage the debt in the past. Generally, financial institutions use this type of check to make loan and account decisions.
Employment credit reports contain a list of credit card inquiries, identifying retailers and financial institutions, and
- Tradelines, which show the accounts established with lenders, can include information about opening date, type of account, loan amount, credit limit, current balance, and the borrower’s payment history.
- Public record credit reports if there is any bankruptcy, revealing any warning sign, that will help handle money and show financial irresponsibility.
Criminal records
Employers want to know about employees’ relevant criminal backgrounds as if they do not want to be responsible for negligent hiring claims. If there is information that shows some criminal background, that can safeguard business owners by revealing any criminal convictions.
The information an employer can obtain about criminal history can vary from state to state. Some states do not allow specific incidents due to the State Department of Labor. Criminal background checks for employment show criminal offenses at the country, state, and federal levels. Various crimes may include:
- Current pending charges
- Felony convictions
- Acquitted charges
- Dismissed charges
- Misdemeanor convictions
Employers take caution when evaluating background checks for employment, depending on the type of job employers. In addition, further searches include options such as motor vehicles, driving records, employment history, reference checks, education verification, and drug screening.
Pre-employment screening can cover many different important areas, including
- Education verification,
- Certification check,
- Driving records,
- Drug screening,
- Social media activity.
What is a background check for a job process?
As we are clear, a background check is a process of looking up an employee’s qualifications history before hiring them. All the screening things make better-informed hiring decisions that can protect their business reputation and employees.
According to a survey, around 96 percent of employers conduct one type of background screening. Several business owners want to precisely do this background check for employment to make the hiring decision right to save energy, time, and money.
How to do a background check?
To avoid bad hires in small businesses, one must follow the given steps to make the background check through.
- Inform the individual
- Learn state laws
- Check the applicant’s references
- Hire a background check company
- Conduct drug tests
- Review report
Inform the individual
Before completion of a background check, you must notify candidates first. As FCRA requires the employer to tell applicants, you must inform applicants that they want a review on them, get the candidate’s permission, and move forward with the background check process.
Remember to write down the background check intentions, provide a copy to each applicant, and ensure they know it in person or via mail before you begin the process. Ensure the candidate signs a background check notification document and gives written permission on record.
Learn state laws
Each state in the United States has its own rules, which ensure the protection of its citizens and prohibit certain background checks. It depends on the conditions whether they limit or not check their citizen’s backgrounds.
Some states, including Arizona, Ohio, and Georgia, prohibit employers from asking about criminal history on any job application. Some state laws about background checks include reviewing an applicant’s credit history.
In Colorado, employers can only get credit information; the employer is a bank or financial institution, and specific data is related to the job. Check out the laws and regulations by the state if you want to require a background check.
Check the applicant’s references.
According to some surveys, 85 percent of candidates lie about them on their resumes or job applications. To get the correct information, one needs to check candidates’ references. Although checking references takes time, lots of patience and dedication.
Reference checks are essential for the background check process, giving you another perspective on the applicant. While checking a reference, you must have a list of questions to ask. While contacting any candidate’s former employer, verify dates of employment.
Hire a background check company
If you want help from others to conduct a background check, you can do it easily by outsourcing the process. One must find an accredited background screener and complete the process on your behalf.
Generally, such recruiting companies are more accurate and faster, and professionals handle all the state, federal, and relevant background regulations. We will suggest you also research whether you hire a screening firm. Do a handful of research initiatives to ensure your use is secure, safe, and reliable.
Moreover, there are a lot of online applications and websites to check criminal, financial, credit, or employment records. One can also check relevant things like social media accounts and cross-check the resume information.
Conduct drug tests
Around 56 percent require workers to take pre-employment drug tests, which will ensure safety. However, this stage comes after the job offer, and they and the employees must successfully pass the drug test.
Most employers in the United States do not require drug tests by law. However, only some industries require drug testing, including all civil services jobs, school staff, maintenance crews, law enforcement, and Department of Transportation workers.
We can find the federal guidelines on drug testing in the Drug-Free Workplace Act. Review the outlines before drug testing and check out state-specific drug-testing rules and regulations.
Review reports
If you want to avoid conducting the background screening, overview the applicant’s results and make a decision. Under FCRA regulations, the employer must inform the candidate that your report contains information about their history.
The applicant has the right to challenge and explain the information. If the employer gets some negative results that prohibit hiring the candidates, they need to complete the following steps.
- Inform the candidates all about bad results.
- Applicants must know their rights under the FCRA.
- Applicants have the right to avail the opportunity to claim the information in the report.
Employment background check process
Background checks happen when employers are ready to make an offer to an employee. Many companies will perform a background check report to help make the right employment decisions. There are the following steps that can ensure compliance:
- Disclosure
- Consent
- Investigation and review
Disclosure
Candidates must be aware of pre-employment background checks and make them clear that it is a condition for an offer.
Consent
The employees must have written consent in return for the notification from the company or business they applied for. In addition, the employees must be aware of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Investigation and review
After receiving the employees’ written consent and sufficient personal details, they use all the relevant resources to compile the report. The final report will show the employee is transparent, which means you will consider them.
Benefits of background check
Background check comes with a lot of advantages in the long run. We will mention a few of them here:
- Avoid hiring worthless people
- Reduce employee income
- Improve the quality of hires
- Protect you and your business against inoperative employees
- Increased safety and security
- Save your time in the long run
What looks terrible about a background check in small businesses is that it could be time-consuming and expensive. However, most background checks have advantages over disadvantages.
How can an employee prepare themselves for a potential background check?
One can take various steps to deal with a keen observer type of employer who runs a background check on you.
- Get copies of your record
- Stay honest
- Keep the finances in order
- Social media search
- Let your references and friends know about investigation calls
Get copies of your record
Get a free report from a national consumer reporting company. If someone is applying for a driving job, they can request a copy of their driving record from the State Department of Motor Vehicles. Additionally, you must contact the courthouse handling the case if you want a civil lawsuit.
Stay honest
Remember to be straightforward while disclosing information about you, and do not hide anything from the employer. The employer could be doubtful about the false information and can find it anyway by making a background check analysis.
Keep the finances in order
Pay your bills on time; consistency will depict financial responsibility and improve overall credit scores.
Social media search
It never overlooks this aspect. The hiring procedure involves Google searches and social media investigations of the candidates. Take control of your personal search results and all social media accounts, blogs, and personal websites, and make sure it must be up to date and clean of all harmful material.
Be careful about the content you post on social media and other online platforms. There is a chance of finding information that can damage your career, so be careful what you post publicly and check your privacy setting thoroughly.
Let your references and friends know about investigation calls
Let your colleagues and friends know that anyone can approach them for specific queries about you about your life, job, and conduct. As a job seeker, you must educate yourself about the rights involving background checks and prepare yourself for the answer questions as it is part of the hiring process.
Why does background check information matter a lot?
According to the CareerBuilder survey, 27 percent of employers in the United States said one bad hire could cost the company more than $50,000. Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Labour report, the cost of a wrong hire can add up to 30 percent of an individual’s first-year earnings.
Depending on the offered salary position rate, an engagement can cost you thousands of dollars if you provide them additional healthcare expenses, and their termination allows them to claim litigation expenses that make the ex-employer take legal action.
Replacing a bad hire could be expensive enough, as you provide them with training courses, employment testing, some orientation services, and more.
Innovative measures by modern business owners to avoid a bad hire
We know how background checks verify employment; therefore, several pre-employment screening services impact hiring decisions.
A traditional background check company can provide a wealth of information with military records and license verifications. However, their services could be costly, time-consuming, and difficult for small businesses to pay for exhaustive background checks, which they do not even need.
People much into technology believe in a do-it-yourself form of background checks that will help you get information online. Employers can check candidates’ names by typing in the search engine and seeing the results on business pages and social media sites.
Search engine searches are usually free, but we need to find a way to rely on them as the given information may be insufficient, unreliable, out of context and needs an update.
For suitable hire offers, data must be reliable, trustworthy, and extensive to show the complete and comprehensive picture of the job applicant. With some intelligent background checks, you can access criminal reports, identity verifications, and credit history that will impact hiring decisions and help you determine whether the candidate meets the selection criteria.
What happens after a background check for a job?
After completing the background check, employers can get a handful of information to make informed decisions. Employers analyze information, checking out inconsistencies by comparing the data given on resumes.
If someone undergoes a background check in the pre-employment process, an employer has some interest in being a candidate. Employers need verification about the information you provide as impressive credentials; they want to analyze your experience and mentioned certification.
All the practice of analyzing data and finding the conclusive outcome is determining whether someone is a right fit for the job. You will receive a job offer if the employment check comes back clean while portraying your eligibility.
After completing the background check, how long can you expect a job proposal?
Companies use various background check processes; meanwhile, one must wait between submitting information and receiving results, depending on the company. Typically, it depends on the position you have applied for and the hiring procedure in the company.
Some essential and specialized posts require extensive background checks, whereas regular jobs only require basic checks. If background check includes various verifications, including drug screening, etc., it can enhance the timeline of the procedure.
It usually takes two to five days to conduct a background check screening; a hiring manager can then analyze the information and decide. Moreover, putting offer letters together could be time-consuming and take more days for the hiring schedule. Hiring schedules and background processes can take between one and two weeks.
What does a background check depict?
A background check indicates that the next step could be the interview process. Although a background check does not guarantee that the candidate has secured the position they have applied for. Nonetheless, the hiring managers may file checks on multiple potential candidates simultaneously.
Many hiring managers use the information during background checks to find the right hire. One may need to determine how many other candidates any company considers for the same role.
Therefore, one must hang in and wait for the announcement rather than assume that they will hire you if the company is seeking permission for background checks.
Background check privacy
We cannot include certain things in a background check, as there is some personal information that no one can disclose under any circumstances. This detailed information may include bankruptcies after ten years, civil suits and civil judgments, and arrest records after seven years.
Additionally, they need to keep the information private about paid tax liens after seven years and accounts placed for collection after seven years. Remember that such restrictions do not apply if the salary exceeds $75,000.
School and military records
Employers can learn about certain things with the candidate’s consent, as school records are confidential, and only the student can be permitted to reveal them. Military service also hides their records; one can only release them under certain circumstances.
The military can disclose the name, salary, rank, given assignments, and awards without the consent of the concerned persons.
Criminal records
Laws vary from state to state regarding background checks. Some states do not allow and feel it right to disclose arrests or convictions that happened in the past. In comparison, some states allow consideration of criminal history for particular positions.
Bankruptcy
There should be no discrimination if someone is facing bankruptcy; however, they have public records, and it is pretty easy for employers to get information about it.
Medical records
In several states, people consider them personal and keep them confidential. Some ethics and human rights do not allow employers to decide based on a candidate’s disability. Employers can only ask about the ability of the candidate to perform a particular job.
Conclusion
Performing screening during a pre-employment background check can help to confirm hiring decisions that eventually keep your business profitable and productive. Any employer can do it independently, do a background check, or outsource a screening company.
In a nutshell, background checks for employment, what do they check, is all about finding a capable, responsible, honest, and trustworthy employee to achieve a particular task. It helps to make better, faster, and well-informed hiring decisions with criminal reports, identity verifications, credit histories, and other related stuff to support.
What employers look for in a background check may include a person’s commercial, employment, criminal, and financial records. However, state laws vary regarding revealing the information. Employers conduct such checks to make wise hiring and the hiring process vigilant.
Employers must seek background information to make an employment decision but always remember to comply with the federal laws that protect applicants and employees from discrimination and understand all the rules of what is a background check for a job.
