Being Honest with Pre-employment Credit and Background Checks

 As tools for background checking become easier, more prevalent and less expensive, more and more businesses are turning to such measures to ensure the appropriateness of job candidates and to confirm the honesty of all applicants. According to Mary Massad, vice president of talent acquisition and retention strategies at Insperity Recruiting Services, “The trend toward greater use of background checks could be driven by several factors, including technological advances that make the screening process easier, faster and more economical. Also, there is greater awareness by employers that candidates may not always be completely honest about their background and employment histories.”

Background checks typically include the following aspects:

• A work history review requiring the submission of first and last paystubs in order to confirm both the length of previous employment and salary.

• Federal databases verify the authenticity of supplied social security numbers and confirm an applicant’s legal right to work in the U.S.

• Criminal records dating back seven years, and across municipal and state jurisdiction, give information about any recent criminal history.

• All schools listed on a resume are contacted in order to confirm attendance, completion of degree, and year of completion.

• An applicant’s driving record is examined to ensure a safe driving record for occupations involving driving.

In addition to the now standard background check, employers are also increasingly running credit checks. In fact, a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 47 percent of companies run such checks when hiring for key positions and 13 percent run credit checks for all positions. Of course, most credit checks are run for employees who will oversee financial transactions or have other financial responsibilities, candidates for senior executive positions are more frequently being checked as they have access to confidential corporate and employee information.

But how does one prepare for background checks? The only proactive activities an applicant can take to control the outcome of a background check is to avoid criminal behavior and always tell the truth on resumes. As far as credit checks go, job seekers can annually obtain a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus so that they can be better prepared to explain any questionable results.

“As far as preparing for an employer running a background check, there is very little the applicant can do. He cannot influence the outcome, so our advice is to be totally honest and up front about any criminal past and be able to articulate a reasonable story about either how it happened or what has transpired since that makes the applicant a good risk,” says Dan Chaney, director of human resource advisory services at Employers Resource Association.

While this type of candidate checking in the labor market is not new, it is on the rise, but applicants should not view the behavior as intrusive or offensive, but as an attempt by an employer to run a safe and successful business.

“Few businesses boast perfect records on hiring decisions. Mistakes, such as blindly trusting candidates to provide honest information on their resumes or during interviews, can have long-term repercussions for employers that may include work disruption, lost revenue, low employee morale, litigation or even damage to a company’s reputation,’ said Massad.  “Background checks have become an essential hiring tool that can help protect a company.”