Worrying about Background Checks

If you have been offered a great job with a great company, that kind of offer attached to background check services. You have nothing to worry about if you don’t have any criminal records, but what if you didn’t list an employer where you only worked for six months. Do you have to worry? Is this something that can harm any job offers in the future?

Types of Background Checks

There are usually two types of background check services. The first one is a reference check which is a check made by the employer or the human resources staff by calling every the previous employers that you listed in your job application or résumé so that they can conform to the exact dates of employment and your salary. Your potential employer will ask your former supervisors and references about your weaknesses and strengths and your work performance.

The second type of background check services is more about your personally and less about your work history. These background check services are mostly done by firms and agencies hired by your potential employer. This includes information about your credit, criminal record history and it will be thoroughly checked depending on the level of the job being offered to you. If the job available is dealing with finance, your potential employer will likely conduct any kind of background check services to know if you have any crime that involves money or if you have a bad credit.

Workplace violence is also a concern for employers, as well as preventing sexual predators and child molesters who apply for jobs that deal with women, children and others who are vulnerable. If you were not accepted because of the information based on the background check services report, it is the employer’s duty to let you know, but you also have the right to correct any inaccuracy from the background check services report.

Knowing your Rights

For people trying to find a job, what are the chances that employers will run employment background checks on you?

The chances are very great, there are 96 percent of employers and human resources professionals say that their companies and organizations do background check services on all of their potential employees and new hires.

What are they looking for? Some employers use credit checks to screen their applicants while others verify the claims that their job applicant made on their résumé and in their job interviews and they also look at the criminal records, news reports and even the sex offender status.

 As a job applicant, the questions that pop up in your mind like what should you know about background check services and what are the preparations to face one?

The First thing to know is that they can’t do any background check services on you without your permission. Employers need to tell their job applicants that they intent to do background check services and they will ask you to send a written permission if you agree to their terms.

If you were not accepted because of something from your background check report, they need to let you know and give you the name of the firm that offered the background checks services and the report.

Dealing with Background Checks

Employees will always ask why they are always asked to fill out any background check services. Are they not trustworthy enough for the company to go out of their way to conduct background check services on them?

No need to worry! Being asked to do it is a very good thing, which means the companies you’re interviewing with are professionals. Even though it is a good thing, employees should always know what they’re dealing with and how exactly it does work.

• What are in Background Check Services?

It is the information that will show up if there were any background check services which includes the Social Media Profiles, Records of Properties, Address History, Phone Numbers, Relatives, Neighbors and even Lawsuits of the person being checked.

• Why Is It Such a Big Deal?

Maybe it’s not as important as what you think, but to employers of major companies with high statuses or even a starting one at that point, they are a very big deal. The backbone of every company is their employees, which should always be trustworthy and loyal. If not, companies will always crumble left and right.

Even household employees, people won’t just trust a stranger and let them into their home, even if they say they are kind, caring people. You should always make sure the safety of your company or home, this is important and needs to conduct every time when hiring.

• Protecting a Business

Employees should know how important this is. Businesses have high standards, mostly. Limited resources are a challenge to them, they need to move fast when it comes to hiring, and applicants don’t come in and is immediately hired after coming in the door. Employees have to know that hiring people like them, it adds more to the security risk bar even though they think they are a great candidate for the job. Fortunately, background check services are a thing, a very essential and effective way to secure safety and discover potential problems that could affect businesses.

Pros and Cons of Pre-Employment Screening

There is a dilemma about Pre-employment screening which is controversial among businesses. There are arguments on both sides; some employers feel that they have every right to test applicants for illegal drug use for the safety of other employees while in the workplace and others think it’s not important to hire the right kind of staff for the job.

PROS in Applying Pre-employment screening

Workers who use illegal drugs shows a safety risk in the workplace while businesses face exposure to liability because of workplace accidents that relates to drugs. 20 percent of workers were in fatal workplace accidents and tested positive for illegal drugs and alcohol.

Recovery programs which came from the cost of the company, employers use these to place their employees to recover from drug abuse. Experienced employees that have completed a recovery program are helping the employer without having another applicant to do a Pre-employment screening and without having to train them. Employees who are free from drugs and alcohol are financially, spiritually and emotionally rewarding.

CONS in Applying Pre-employment screening

Random pre-employment screening may foster resentment among the applicants who feel that this is violating their right to privacy and it negatively affects productivity and lost revenues are costing businesses. Workers who are against Pre-employment screening in the workplace are saying it is a violation and they often threaten or sue their employers.

Even if the employee loses the lawsuit, the company will still lose time and money such as attorney fees which also need downtime. Adding a random Pre-employment screening program will cost a lot of money, and results of the employees may end up all negative.

Employment Background Checks Misconceptions

Applicants who have recently been interviewed by a company for employment has been probably asked for consent to conduct routine background checks on them. Background Checks in Pre-Employment are important to do in order to avoid the risks and it has been a pivotal part of the hiring process. Many applicants still think about countless background checks misconceptions and how it really works.

If you are still thinking about getting a job, you should probably get these kinds of misconceptions out of your head before you go to your next job interview.

Background Checks Can Be Controlled and Changed with Great References.

Your employment chances could definitely go up if you hand over professional references in your job interview, but references are only one small part of employment background checks. Even if your references praise you are almost perfect, it does not mean the rest of the background checking will stop. They will still check other information about you like credit history, criminal history, etc.

All Companies Who Do Background Checking Share the Same Information.

A giant storage in the center of the earth where all the information about every person on the planet is unfortunately is just figures of imagination, but in reality, there are a few registries out there scattered through cities, counties and states throughout different countries. Information like driving history to court records are also scattered, which means employment background checks are different from other search and every firm does it in a different way.

What to Expect in Pre-Employment Screening

“This is an offer that is contingent upon completion of a respectable and successful pre-employment screening.”

 The sentence that you see above is often heard when you receive a job offer. So does it work and what do what are the things you should expect when uncovered?

Leaving a short-term job, not putting it on their résumés and not mentioning that they don't have the said job anymore will leave many people concerned and it will show up in a pre-employment screening. This is very unlikely, it’s not like your life is open for all to see. Remember that your résumé is a marketing document and you are not required or put anything negative on them, but if asked to write a list of all the jobs, you should do as asked.  Dishonesty is one of the reasons for being fired from a job if you don’t.

What Can We Expect?

• Criminal Records

This is always the first on the list for employers. What kind of crimes, how many counts and what are the possibilities that they might do it again? All of these depend among the different state laws. Along the pre-employment screening process, it will put together a document that will explain what exactly happened and supported by the evidence. But don’t write up your version of the events that happened, we also have to include court documents. Employers who put too much emphasis on criminal backgrounds are also being checked, so expect employers to have some considerations.

• Education

Don’t lie about your educational attainment and never fake your certificates and diploma. Even if you are short on credits because your employer will always find out about it.  Library Fines and other things that can cause a denial of your claim that you received a degree from that school, so fines and other things that need to clear up before you apply for a job. The Public Records includes most Certifications and licenses, they are easy to verify. You can’t just go claiming your driver’s license was not revoked or it hasn’t expired yet.