When a thorough Employment Background Screening is going to be conducted, many prospective employees tend to become a little nervous. The fact is, more and more employers are conducting checks these days and are using them in large part to make hiring decisions. Knowing the kind of information that is looked at in a background check can be useful to any prospective employee, especially when the job market is as competitive as it’s been lately.
There are a number of different reasons for why employers might want to know what potential employees have in their backgrounds. For those who are thinking of working for the government, where a security clearance may be involved, the need for a background security investigation will be obvious. In fact, this is probably the most common reason for checks in government hiring.
Nowadays many civilian employers are engaging in this practice for a variety of reasons. For one, an employer may want to verify that the information provided on a resume is true. Several studies have demonstrated that almost 50% of all resumes contain errors of fact. Employers want to make sure that the employees they hire have resumes that are factual and have not been embellished.
Background checks performed in this arena usually involve looking into such things as college education and whether or not a degree was really obtained. Another area that is scrutinized is whether or not previous employers listed on the resume actually employed that person. There have been more than a few cases where potential employees have been caught with deliberate education and employment history errors on their resumes.
When it comes to background checks, employers must follow federal government rules and regulations for such checks, as these are considered in a legal sense to be consumer reports. Because they are consumer reports, there are only certain aspects of a person’s background that can be examined. Additionally, employees must be notified in writing that such an examination is going to be conducted.
Additionally, after notification in writing, the prospective employee must give authorization to the potential employer in order for that employer to obtain a background check. If a decision on hiring is negative, and is based on information found in the background check, the employer must notify the prospective employee in the form of what is called a “pre-adverse action disclosure”. In addition, a copy of the prospective employee’s rights in the situation must be provided.
At a minimum, most basic background checks consist of verification of the person’s Social Security number. The most detailed Employment Background Screening can include a thorough look into work history, interviews of people who know the prospective employee, and a full and deep background credit check. Along with that will come a look into any past criminal history, driving records and credit payment histories on the part of the prospective employee.
A Employee Screening is one tool among several that a potential employer may use to fully assess the qualities and background of someone the employer is considering hiring. Knowing a bit about the Background Check can help in coping with one when notified that it is going to be conducted.