Doing a full-scale background check on a new hire is a tedious yet important part of the pre-employment procedures. You should learn how to do a full background check on someone with OSINT instruments to save up on hiring third-party companies. X-Ray Contact Team shares useful strategies on the requirements, methods, and strategies of successful background checks before hiring. Also, we’ve listed a few things you should do if you are the one being verified at a new employment place.
What Is a Background Check?
A background check is a standard corporate process aimed at vetting candidates before hiring them. The goal is to reveal whether the person has not lied on their CV or during an interview as well as has not concealed any important facts about themself. Normally, companies outsource background checks to third-party providers. There’s a myth that looking up details about a person is an insurmountable task. However, if the firm lacks the resources to hire a third-party expert, HRs and recruiters can nail this task with the help of automated online instruments.
What Information Is Needed for a Background Check?
The employers carefully examine such info as identity details, past work experience, industry reputation, drug abuse track record, license and education validity, financial history, social media footprint, etc. The type of data verified depends on the position one applied for and the workplace responsibilities one will handle. For example, a clean credit card record is important if a person works in finance or accounting.
There are special requirements for such domains as healthcare, law enforcement, child protection, or education. In these fields, employers should pay special attention to criminal history and psychological assessments. Otherwise, there is a chance of hiring an unreliable person who has ulterior motives.
The Importance of Background Checks for Employers: Mitigating Hiring Risks
So, what are some major justifications for your company to invest in a background check procedure? You can prevent such hazards as:
- Fraud. People can lie on their resume or even use someone else’s identity to get a job.
- Workplace Safety. You can prevent cybersecurity breaches, violence, and harassment cases by hiring only trustworthy people.
- Financial Risks. A person without real licenses and qualifications can misuse corporate assets.
- Lawsuits. Many industries require thorough background checks to comply with local and national laws. Otherwise, a company will have legal problems and even lose its business license altogether.
- Reputation Risks. Employees with shady or controversial past history in people-facing or high-rank positions can severely harm a firm’s image.
- Data Protection. An unqualified or ill-intended person can mishandle a company’s resources and cause a data breach. As a result, both clients and employees may lose faith in the business as their sensitive information has been exposed.
- Lower Turnover. In most cases, companies reveal secrets that a person tried to hide one way or another. However, a firm loses money in the end as it has already invested in the candidate’s hiring and onboarding. A pre-employment check boosts employee retention rates and cuts losses.
How Will Your Company Save Up Thanks to a Background Check?
You can consider a pre-employment background check as an upfront investment in the security and prosperity of your firm. By screening candidates for fraud, criminal history, and falsified credentials, businesses can avoid costly lawsuits, workplace theft, and regulatory fines. In the long run, employee verification is a worthy venture since it is much harder to restore corporate image and industry position after the scandal has already happened.
The Best Background Check Methods
You don’t have to manually check websites or databases to create a person of interest profile. The easiest way is to use a few automated data aggregation services that specialize in garnering info from different providers for a background check.
Run a Background Check on Someone With X-Ray Contact for Hires
X-Ray Contact is an all-in-one HR solution for conducting background checks about a potential candidate. It will be enough to have any piece of information about the person such as their full name, phone number, email address, social media link, username, or photo. Just click on the “Platform” tab in the header and select a search channel that suits your needs. Then, insert info into a search bar and wait while the algorithm compares it to data from 33+ providers worldwide. If the investigation is successful, you will get a Search Profile report with important details about the real identity, contacts, social media footprint, education, employment, etc. of your target.
Use a TruthFinder Instrument to Get Database Info
Employ a TruthFinder Background Check instrument to examine public records where a person might be featured. You can reveal such details as a candidate’s arrest history, former locations, bankruptcy info, sex offense track record, weapon permits, and more. Since the tool employs openly available data to gather insights, you can try it to avoid looking up a person in each database manually.
Check Your Credit Report With Experian
This tool helps to reveal a person’s credit record score and their former financial history. Experian can tell if the person tends to pay bills on time, has any loans, or has filed for bankruptcy before. These findings matter in case you work in banking, finance, accounting, etc. The employer should be aware of whether a candidate can be trusted with corporate assets and has not been guilty of money laundering, embezzlement, tax evasion, or similar crimes.
Do a Criminal Background Check With Intelius
You should be alert to whether a person has criminal ties that would make them unfit to hold a job. Run Intelius’ Criminal & Traffic Records Check to learn more about the person’s DUIs, felonies, misdemeanor charges, etc. You can even get access to the court documents to know the outcomes of the cases and court rulings. The tool utilizes info available online, so you can expose only publicly posted information.
Conduct a Qualification Check Analysis
It is common for job candidates to blatantly lie or exaggerate their educational achievements. However, you can fact-check their claims with the help of the Qualification Check instrument online. The software will help you to find out about a target’s higher education experience, international qualifications, certifications, licenses, and more. This type of background checks on someone is necessary if the degree is a must for a specific position.
What Should You Do If You Are Being Verified?
So, what should you do if you yourself are a target of background checks before getting hired? You can boost your chances of securing a position by employing OSINT tactics. You should conduct an audit on yourself to reveal what info can be traced back to you. That’s how you can prepare for uncomfortable interrogations by employers and prepare valid explanations for your work gap, education history, credit record, criminal past, etc.
List the Steps You Should Take to Properly Prepare for a Background Check
Here are things you can do with ease to brace yourself for the various types of background checks:
- Google Yourself. What info does come out after a simple search engine search? Can you send an opt-out letter to erase any unflattering site posts?
- Do a Social Media Search. Scroll through your own publicly available profiles and try to analyze how they present yourself. Look up controversial keywords that can arise during a background check. Have you posted anything inappropriate? Are you subscribed to any users that may concern HR? Clean up anything that may tarnish your reputation and lower the chances of getting a job.
- Prepare for an Interrogation. You should formulate reasonable and trustworthy answers to potential questions about employment gaps, financial issues, or criminal past. How can you prove that this former experience will not affect your future role performance? What have you done to change after having challenges? It is better to come prepared with tangible proof.
- Catch Up With Past Employers. Warn your old company that a company recruiter may contact them to verify references during a background check. If you’ve terminated a partnership on bad terms, try to make amends. Ask yourself, is a reference letter flattering and relevant? Can your former manager or colleague help you to get a new position?
- Prepare to Prove Your Degree. Request official copies of your diplomas, licenses, or certifications from schools or institutions. You should be ready in case a recruiter wants to fact-check your educational background.
How to Run Background Check on Yourself
If you want to do a full background check on yourself to be on the same page as an HR who researches you, utilize automated tools. X-Ray Contact instrument will allow you to get a comprehensive report about yourself in no time. We recommend looking yourself up using the contact details you have stated on your CV or professional LinkedIn account, such as work phone, full name, corporate email address, etc.
Don’t Conceal Anything Important
When HR conducts a background check procedure on someone, they will likely exhaust all public records to find important insights. That’s why honesty is the best policy to prepare for background checks. If you know that unflattering details about you have already been leaked online, better be the first person to address these issues during the interview. You can ask a recruiter whether a work gap, bad credit, criminal record, etc. is a deal-breaker for the employer? Are they willing to hear your side of the story and what life circumstances have happened to you? If you play your cards right, you can turn an unpleasant topic into a testament to your personal growth, resilience, flexibility, and ability to rise above challenging situations.
However, you should be aware of your rights during a background check as well. Life choices, parts of identity, interests, connections that do not affect your work and are not offensive should not affect your hiring potential. If you are sure that an employer has discriminated against you, it is possible to escalate the issue and make it a legal case.
The Bottom Line
All in all, now you know each step to do a background check with the help of OSINT. Don’t skip this recruiting stage to protect the company from damage or losses that come with untrustworthy employees. In case an HR does background checks on you, it is in your best interest to be a step ahead. Come to an interview prepared and ready to answer any probing questions related to your professional life.
