If you’re thinking of hiring an employee, you should know that hiring the wrong person can end up costing your business a lot of money. According to a Forbes article, this amount can vary between $25,000 and over $50,000. This is why many companies are now choosing to run a background check on all prospective applicants before making their final decision. There are a couple of things that a full background check will look into. Here are some of them:
Past Employment History
During the background check process, the candidate’s previous employers will be contacted to confirm whether the person actually worked there, and also what their position was, how long they have held it for, and the reason why the employee left the company. This can help uncover candidates who exaggerate their amount of experience in the field, or who misrepresent the reason why they left their previous employer. The most common example is an employee who was fired for cause claiming they quit their previous job on their own accord.
Education and Certifications
The background check provider will look into the applicant’s claimed education by first verifying that the educational institutions they attended are actually accredited institutions of higher learning, as opposed to diploma mills. According to the New York Intelligence Agency, they will also verify that the candidate has successfully completed the requirements for any degrees or diplomas they claim to hold. They added, “This is particularly important, as there have been numerous cases where candidates have indeed attended a certain institution, but never finished the program. Nonetheless, they would go on to claim they finished their degree. When confronted about the misinformation on their CV, they would then claim it was a “misunderstanding” and that they simply meant to state they were enrolled into a certain program.”
If the applicant is claiming any relevant industry certifications, a background check can verify that the candidate indeed possesses them and that they are current on all requirements to maintain their certification.
Criminal and Civil Court Records
In this part of the background check, nationwide court records are checked for any criminal convictions that the applicant may have in the past. In addition to checking for criminal convictions, the background check will also seek to find any civil cases that your job candidate may have been a party to. This is important, as it may tell a lot about a person’s overall character. For example, you may not want to hire an applicant who has been sued numerous times for negligent damage, or one that has a history of filing baseless and frivolous discrimination claims against former employers.
The background check may also reveal whether a potential employee has been the subject of administrative proceedings brought forward by professional bodies.
Reference Checks
Background check providers can contact a job applicant’s references on your behalf to see not only what they have to say about the applicant, but also whether they actually are who the applicant claims they are. Some dishonest job candidates have been known to have friends and family members pose as former clients or employers, then have them give the applicant a glowing recommendation when contacted by an employer.
Other Records Checks
There are other types of records that can be verified, such as news media checks, that can provide further information on the applicant’s background or ascertain any claims that they have made. This can come in very handy if the job candidate has claimed to have received certain awards, been issued patents for inventions, or claims to be a member of a prestigious organization that is related to your industry.
Even going through media archives for any possible mentions of the applicant’s name can be very beneficial for a company. After all, you wouldn’t want to hire a corporate spokesman that has been involved in a corruption scandal, or who is suspected of associating with organized crime figures, even if they haven’t been formally convicted of any wrongdoing.