How to do a Background Check

At a time when security is becoming a concern for many companies, it is important to recognize that you may be subject to a background check before receiving an offer of employment. When filling out the application during the interview process, you should be up front about your criminal record and reveal any legal problems you have had in the past. Many companies will allow you to explain any felonies on your record, but if they are discovered during a background check you will likely never get that chance.

You can be subject to different degrees of background check according to the importance of your job. If you will be handling sensitive information such as financial records or social security numbers, the check into your background will be quite thorough. Also, most state and federal jobs require a background check regardless of the type of work you will be doing.

A more thorough background check may involve a third-party company that contacts the people who know you or that you have known in your life to find out about more about your character.

For example, one evening I opened the door to an FBI agent who wanted to talk to me about my next door neighbor. My neighbor may have been in the process of applying for a government job or he may have been up for a position that required a security clearance. In this case, the background check will involve more information than a social security number can reveal because a person can be shady without having a criminal record.

More on pre employment background check.

Most information you can find in a background check is publicly available if you know where to look. But there are companies who charge a small fee to perform this service, and many corporations will use their services to save themselves the time and effort of performing the check themselves.

In the case of a corporation who does a high volume of hiring, contracting an outside company to perform the background check is more cost-effective in the long run.

If you are concerned about the information that may be revealed about you in a background check, you can contact a company who provides this service to get you the information. Like obtaining a copy of your own credit report, it is helpful to know what you are dealing with so that you can address any issues that may come up during the hiring process.