Do employers want to perform a background check before hiring someone? Absolutely, because no matter how good a resume sounds, there’s always a chance that people want to cheat their way towards a great-paying job. And that’s the thing, as an employer, you can’t risk hiring someone that sounds good on paper, but it’s terrible at their job. That’s why background checks are very common these days, especially when we talk about higher-tier jobs like CEOs and department managers.
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Why is it important to conduct a background check?
Realistically, a background check is mandatory if you really want to double-check the credentials of a person. Plus, the chance of someone using a fake degree can be very high. That’s why you can never be too careful. A check like this can also do the following:
- It gives employers a peace of mind, since they can verify how honest people are. And, of course, they can easily catch cheaters and ensure that they don’t have a very easy time finding another job in the niche.
- Many niches are highly regulated, and a background check is mandatory. Finance, education and healthcare are some of the main examples. In general, they require a lot of attention and skilled professionals, so they will always double-check degrees, just to be on the safe side.
- Plus, companies have a reputation to protect. They can’t just allow anyone to enter that realm. And that’s why you always need to be very careful when it comes to protecting the reputation, figuring out when and if people lie, etc.
- A background check helps reduce the risk of dealing with workplace violence, fraud, theft and other problems. Unskilled people always tend to bring trouble into the mix. So, by doing a background check, you get to eliminate at least some of those potential issues.
What types of background checks do employers use?
Every employer wants to be certain that a new employee doesn’t have a fake diploma. And that’s why, depending on the niche, you might be doing a different type of a background check. It’s important to double and even triple check everything to ensure there is no misunderstanding. And in the end, the more you learn about everything, the better it will be.
- Identity verification is common, as the employer wants to see that the person in front of them is exactly who they claim to be.
- Another background check involves education verification. Here we mention things like certifications, degrees and diplomas. These are checked for accuracy and for potential forgery, where necessary.
- The same thing is valid when it comes to employment history checks, those are necessary to confirm the person actually worked where they claim.
- In most cases, a criminal background check is crucial as well. It depends on the niche, but a lot of the time, companies don’t want to hire someone who had major problems with the law.
- Credit history checks are made as well, to see if the credit score of the person is in good standing. For some financial positions and not only, these are indeed very important to consider.
- Reference checks matter, people can easily claim a lot of things in resumes. But it’s up to a proper background check to see whether the recommendations are real or not.
- Some companies will also check the online presence of their potential employees. They want to see how you present yourself online and if it’s a good fit for the company or not. A lot of the time, that might not be the case, but in other situations, it could be problematic if you spew a lot of random things online.
- The background check can also have a checkup for certifications, professional licenses and so on. That’s particularly necessary in niches with a high degree of regulation, such as engineering, law or medicine.
These background checks are necessary a lot of the time, because companies want to be 100% sure that they are hiring the right person. And that can be rather difficult, but there are new tools and ways to improve how background checks are being done.
The way employers perform a background check
Usually, the background check is not done behind a person’s back. Instead, they are asked for a written consent, and they have to understand this is mandatory for the company. After that, the company will work with background check agencies, use specialized software and so on.
Some of the verification is still performed the old-fashioned way, by calling universities, getting in touch with previous employers and so on. Even references could be interviewed, so there are a variety of different options to consider in this situation. Integrating technology can always be a very good idea to consider for these companies, as it helps streamline the process and make it a lot quicker.
Red flags that companies are looking for
Whenever a company does a background check, they always try to find red flags, if possible. These can appear in a variety of ways. For example, someone might have discrepancies in work dates. Or they could have degrees for a fake/unaccredited institution. They might lie about their criminal history, or they have inconsistent, poor references. And the same thing is valid when it comes to suspicious gaps in employment.
That doesn’t stop there. Employers will also check social media, so if someone is rather problematic on social media, that can always end up an issue, which is a thing you want to avoid as a company. Instead, you want someone that aligns with your values. And you can’t know that unless you do a background check. Sometimes it can be very comprehensive and too detailed, but it’s necessary more or less.
What job seekers want from applicants?
It might be obvious, but the last thing an employer wants to see is that someone is lying to them about their credentials. That breaks trust right off the bat, and it doesn’t start a proper business relationship. If anything, it lowers the credentials of that person, and it will lead to problems in the long run.
Honesty goes a long way, and you also need to consider focusing a lot on documentation. The same thing is valid when it comes to having a clean online presence. Understand your rights and know that you need to offer your consent in order for the employer to do a background check. They could do one in the background, but that’s not legal. Since background checks take a while, you will need to wait for results. The complexity of a background check will differ, but the higher the position is within the company, the more that checkup will take.
Conclusion
Once you apply for a position within a company, there is a chance that they will do a background check. That’s especially true when it comes to highly regulated industries and positions. But for the most part, you always want to avoid any rush and truly focus on pushing the boundaries to the best of your capabilities. We recommend making sure that you always have the right credentials and ensure everything is easy to reach and verify. That will boost your credibility, establish transparency, and just convey better results in the end!
