Check Before You Hire

Background checks are becoming more common as more employers use them to ensure they are hiring a trustworthy individual. Especially positions that entail handling money or being privy to inside information that could harm the company should it fall into the wrong hands.

Daycare centers and schools use background checks to alert them to the possibility of a convicted child molester applying for a position with them. Many times this has prevented someone being hired that is restricted from being around children. The pros of using this service seem to far outweigh the cons.

Using a service for basic information will do just that. It gets you the basics of who this person is. Their age, current address, telephone number, who their relatives are, and if they have ever filed bankruptcy.

A comprehensive check will provide more information on the individual. It costs more but for the money you get a complete address history, if they have a criminal record and for what, if they have committed a sexual offense, any aliases they may use, and much more.

One time checks are available for a lower fee. This will only allow you to make one inquiry. To use this service more than once you must pay for a multiple service check.

Immigration status is checked to see if a person is here legally. It is against the law to hire an illegal alien. Arrest records will be provided for a comprehensive check. Conviction of either a misdemeanor or a felony will be listed.

The cons of using this service aren’t many. For one it may tell you more than you really want to know about this person. For instance they may have been evicted from a home or homes. Sometimes this information can follow them around for years. The bad thing is that this only tells you that they have been evicted in the past. It doesn’t say why. The reason could be entirely not their fault. Although this is rare on occasion it does happen.

If a business uses a service for pre-employment screening they should not advertise the findings to anyone including the applicant. Unless they are not hired for a specific reason, such as a conviction for embezzlement, they do not need to know that you know all their personal business. This could be embarrassing and is not a professional move on your part.

Using the service for legitimate purposes can be very helpful to the employer. However the results of this background check do not need to be discussed around the water cooler. This is considered a violation of their privacy. You could be held liable. Sometimes people just feel the urge to share. Control this urge and do not give out personal information on anyone regardless of whether you hire them or not.

The benefits of a background check can be many. They can alert you to someone not being who they claim to be. With the technology today people can reinvent themselves fairly easily. If you cannot find background information on a person or find very little consider this odd. This could very well mean they have changed their identity for some reason. You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting your assets.