If you want to work for a reputable company, passing a background check is a must before receiving an offer. You should be prepared for pre employment screening so you won’t miss out on job opportunities due to careless mistakes. Become a pro in background check preparations and know what things are especially important for employers after reading this X-Ray Contact article.
Why Are Background Checks Important?
Basically, employment background screening is a deal-breaker when it comes to hiring a new person. Companies don’t want to endanger their reputation, funds, and assets by trusting a person with a shady past or criminal connections. Moreover, a background check allows firms to select top-tier candidates with real education, up-to-date credentials, and an actual career history. Since some people might commit fraud by lying on their CVs or concealing the truth during the interviews, it’s essential to confirm all the information from the resume before signing a contract. Hence, your possibility of getting a desired job might rely on the results of the background check alone.
What Do Companies Look For in a Background Check?
So, what are the main topics of interest for employees when fact-checking your resume? A background check often involves researching on such matters as:
Criminal Record
For many jobs, it is a must to have a clear criminal record with no convictions, pending cases, or any other legal issues. While minor offences may not be a deal-breaker, serious crimes such as fraud, violence, or theft can affect employment chances. A criminal record check is crucial if you intend to work in finance, healthcare, law enforcement, or government.
Employment Background
Companies want to hire people with real work experience that can be proven via a background check. The employer intends to check the accuracy of job titles, dates of employment, responsibilities, and achievements you have listed on the CV. That’s why providing false or exaggerated work history can be a red flag, as you can be automatically dismissed as a potential candidate altogether.
Education
A lot of jobs require an educational background check to make sure you are truly certified to hold a position. Normally, firms verify degrees, diplomas, and certifications to make sure that a candidate is qualified for a job. In some cases, employers may contact institutions directly or use third-party services to confirm attendance, graduation dates, and credentials. These qualifications are especially crucial in such domains as law, healthcare, engineering, etc.
Social Media Check
A digital footprint can reveal a lot about the real sentiments and connections of the person. The businesses can check social media profiles to assess professionalism and public image. You may not be considered for an offer if you’ve discriminated against others, engaged with controversial movements or organizations, used hate speech, posted inappropriate content, etc. It is common to do such a background check before hiring high-ranking officials who will publicly represent a company in front of clients, partners, the board, or other stakeholders.
Credit History
You should be transparent about your credit history in order to get the job you aim for. A poor credit history, significant debt, or past bankruptcies might indicate the financial irresponsibility of the candidate. However, not all employers consider credit history a critical factor unless it directly relates to the job. A credit background matters if you want to work in such spheres as accounting, finances, banking, real estate, etc., where the ability to properly handle finances is a must.
Licenses
Employers tend to check the validity, status, and expiration dates of the credentials before hiring a person. Any suspension, revocation, or fraudulent licensing can disqualify a candidate. A proper licensing history is essential in healthcare, law, real estate, and commercial driving, etc.
Legal Work Status
If you want to work in a country where you are not a citizen, be prepared to show documents that prove your legal status. A company should notify you of the policies when it comes to hiring foreigners and what rules you should follow to be considered for a position. Oftentimes, you have to provide work permits, visas, or citizenship documents during the employment background check stage.
References
Recommendations from your former superiors or colleagues can be a great way to prove your career achievements. Also, it can demonstrate that you’ve left your previous place of employment on good terms and managed to stay professional until the very end. A lot of businesses tend to contact previous employers to make sure that the references have not been forged.
How Do Companies Do Background Checks?
Now as you know what do employers see in an employment background check, you should be aware of the common procedures. HRs automate most of the verification processes to save time and money, but some more sophisticated parts are still conducted manually.
Data Aggregation Services
A common practice is to partner with specialized platforms that aggregate data about users from publicly available sources. They compile information from government databases, social media, court records, and other online sources to create a comprehensive report about a candidate.
Databases
Employers often rely on official databases to verify key details about a candidate. They can consult government records, law enforcement databases, credit bureaus, and professional licensing boards.
Social Media
Some businesses require HRs to check the social media profiles of the candidates to make sure they have not posted or shared anything incriminating. Public profiles on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook may reveal a lot about the reputation of a person.
Previous Employers
One widespread method to check a candidate’s performance, reliability, and work ethic is to contact colleagues from their past workplace. That’s how a firm can be sure that a person was transparent during all the recruiting stages.
Tips on How to Successfully Pass the Background Research Stage
Want to have a successful pre-employment background check? Take these steps to prepare for any uncomfortable questions in advance.
Use X-Ray Contact
You can easily find out what information about you is available from open sources. This data aggregation platform partners with 33+ providers that collect publicly available info on the Internet. Here’s how you can use the service:
- Click on the “Platform” tab in the header.
- Select a search channel that you’ve provided to an employer like your name, professional phone or email, or social media links.
- Get a comprehensive report with an overview of facts about you that the HRs can detect.
Clean Up Your Social Media Presence
Review your profiles and remove anything that might be seen as offensive, unprofessional, or contradictory to your application. Adjust privacy settings if necessary.
Be Prepared to Give Explanations
If there are areas of concern in your background, prepare a concise and honest explanation. Emphasize how you have learned from past mistakes and taken steps to improve.
Should I Be Worried About Background Check?
The answer depends on whether you attempt to hire anything about yourself from the employers. Background checks are a standard part of the hiring process, and if all the information on your resume is accurate, there is usually nothing to worry about. Honesty is the best policy, so be sure to notify an employer about any factors that can raise concerns, like work gaps, permits, negative feedback, offensive posts, criminal records, etc.
