11 Aug Background Screening – What You Need To Know….
So you passed the intensive interview process and you were made an offer but it’s contingent on a background check. You become anxious because you do not know what it entails or what the new company is looking for. Let us ease your mind.
The background screening process is a tool for employers to make sure that your resume and application can be trusted. Most likely during the interview process you were also told that a background check would be done. Don’t fret. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has strict guidelines about how an employer through a CRA, or a background check company, can request a background check.
Let’s take it a step further. CRAs source information through different channels such as calling previous employers, contacting universities, looking up public records, and even physically going to courthouses to retrieve information. The CRA works as quickly as possible to gather all the required information in the shortest amount of time.
Some of themost popular types of background checks include identity verification, employment verification, education and professional certification verification, criminal records check as well motor vehicle records check and substance abuse screening.
- Identity Verification
The search may reveal a simple clerical error, or a more serious problem such as identity theft. If the search does not reveal a valid social security number, the remaining search elements will be held until the social security number can be verified. - Employment Verification
With your consent, your future employer can contact past employers. A CRA will contact the employers listed on your resume or application to verify the dates you worked and the positions you held. They may also contact references you have provided to ascertain performance and character. - Education/Professional Certification
Like verifying past employment, the CRA will contact the educational or licensing institutions you have listed to verify your course of study and degrees earned. They will also research any professional licenses to ensure that they valid and up to date. - Criminal Record
Criminal records can be searched at the county, state, and federal levels.There is also a database for registered sex offenders. - Motor Vehicle Record
If your role involves driving or the use of a company car, your future employer will likely check your motor vehicle record (MVR). - Substance Abuse
If your future employer requests a drug screen, you will go to a collection site (a clinic or a lab) and provide a sample (urine, saliva or hair). The drugs the lab will screen for are dictated by your future employer.
So what happens when something comes back on your background screening that might impact you being hired?
Our best advise is to be honest. Maybe you worked somewhere a decade ago and accidentally listed the duration of employment as a year when you only worked there for 6 months. We suggest explaining the honest mistake to your recruiter as it may not adversely impact your offer.
If you feel that there could be an error in the background reports you can request a copy of it. If an employer finds misrepresentations or negative elements in your background check, it’s up to your future employer to decide what to do with that information. The background screening company does not decide whether you are hired, nor does it make recommendations. If the negative aspects of your report do impact your offer, your prospective employer has a legal obligation to inform you of the potentially adverse action and give you the opportunity to dispute the accuracy or completeness of the findings directly with the CRA. Within 30 days, the CRA will then investigate the disputed information with the source and will notify you of the results.
Remember, the interview might help you land the job but background screening will help you seal it most of the time. More and more companies see the process as a way to minimize the risk of making a bad hiring decision. Information in an applicant’s background can give evidence to the person’s work ethic and honesty. A successful background screening process allows employers to hire the right person for the job.