If you are the head of a business organization and seeking to create a strong recruitment process that only results in the induction of top-notch employees, then you definitely must do a thorough background check on all the interested candidates. And below, we look at five things you need to know about when doing background checks of potential employees
Not Just Criminal History
When many people first hear the term ‘background check’, they assume that it has something to do with checking the internet records. This is a false notion. While checking criminal records is one aspect of a background check, other types of check include stuff like employment history, license check, educational certificate check driving record check, and so on. It is the combination of all these checks that come under the umbrella term background screening.
No Single Criminal Record
As far as the criminal record is concerned, people have yet another misconception – that a person’s criminal record is stored in some central database and can be accessed in full from an authorized party. This is wrong. Criminal records exist in multiple databases which are used by organizations like FBI, CIA, federal courts, police officers, and so on. As such, there is no single database where you could easily access a person’s criminal record by just typing in their name.
Background Checks VS Reference Checks
Though some people confuse background checks the same as reference checks, the truth is that they are totally different. Background checks deal with verifying the validity of an accountable piece of information. For example, how many years a candidate has worked in a particular company, how many times they have gone to jail, and so on. In contrast, reference checks are done by interviewing the reference given by the candidate to confirm whether the applicant has the qualitative attributes that your business seeks. For example, a candidate might state that they are a good team player. In support of this, they might give you a reference of their supervisor from the previous job. You can then call in the supervisor and confirm whether the candidate is indeed a team player or not.
Applicant Permission
You will need the permission of the applicant in order to do a background check on them. Without their permission, any checks you do may be taken up as a breach of privacy and the applicant can file a court case against your business. The permission must be in written form, where the applicant writes and signs that they have no obligation on your doing a few checks on them. A blanket permission form cannot be used for this.
Issues With Law
Finally, do keep in mind that some checks can land you in legal trouble. For example, in some places it is forbidden to look at the criminal mystery of a potential candidate. This is because people with such records will instantly be perceived as the ‘troublesome’ by employers, making it difficult for them to get a normal job.