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Wonder Why a Hiring Company Wants to Check Your Background?
June 19, 2006 by yourhrguyOver 90% of companies run some type of background check on their job applicants. Pre-employment screening can be expensive and time-consuming, but most companies feel it is an essential part of the hiring process.
Here are the top five reasons why a company will take a good look at you before making a hiring decision:
1. Fraud – It’s estimated that over half of all job applicants lie on their resumes and job applications each year. Education leads the list, with over half a million people in the U.S. falsely claiming to have college degrees. Many people enhance their job titles, stretch dates to cover employment gaps and even invent employers. By running a complete background check, a company can quickly verify if an applicant is telling the truth.
2. Criminal Activity – No company wants to hire an individual who will bring crime into the workplace. Some two million Americans are victims of workplace violence every year. Many companies face theft, embezzlement and drug use by employees on a regular basis. In addition, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 have caused many employers to take a more careful look at their hires.
3. Negligent Hiring Lawsuits – A company can be held responsible for the actions of it’s employees if it fails to conduct a background check prior to hiring someone. Lawsuits for negligent hiring are one of the fastest growing areas of litigation. Industry experts say that employers lose almost 80% of these cases.
4. Recruitment Expense – Finding qualified applicants for a job costs time and money. Managers who are looking for new employees must spend their valuable time developing and placing ads, sorting through resumes and interviewing applicants. They want to hire the right person the first time so they don’t have to repeat the process.
5. Federal & State Laws – Background checks are required for many state and federal jobs. For example, most states must run a criminal background check on anyone who works with the elderly, the disabled or with children. Many federal jobs require an extensive investigation for those trying to get a security clearance.
Whatever the reason, the chances are excellent that a hiring company will want to look into your past. The best thing you can do is to be prepared when it happens.
Jan Maxwell is the author of “A Job Hunter’s Secret Weapon: How to Survive a Background Check and Get the Job You Really Want” http://www.jobhunterssecretweapon.com. It’s the first book that takes job applicants inside a real background check, explains how information gets verified, and shows them how to fill out a job application that will sail through pre-employment screening.
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The Most Important Piece of Paper in Your Job Search
May 30, 2006 by yourhrguyWhat’s the most important piece of paper in your job search? If you said it’s your resume or your cover letter, you’d be wrong. It’s your job application.
Over 90% of companies run some type of background check on job applicants today. To get the detailed information that is required to run a thorough check, most companies require applicants to fill out a specially-designed application form.
Over 80% of companies say that discrepancies on a job application can take a candidate out of the running, yet half of the background checks run in 2005 found inaccuracies in the information provided by applicants.
As you can see, how you fill out that job application is directly tied to whether or not you get hired.
There are four golden rules to follow when filling out a job application. Some of them are obvious and all of them are important. If you follow these rules, you will start the pre-employment screening process far ahead of your competitors.
Tell the Truth:
As amazing as it sounds, over half of all applicants lie on their applications. Don’t be one of them. Nothing will take you out of consideration faster than fabricating information. Because so many companies check backgrounds today, the chances are very good that lies will be discovered and you will not get the job.
Be Neat:
Since companies use the information on your job application to check your background, make sure people can read it. If you can type your application, do it. If not, print clearly. Your mother might be able to read your handwriting, but she is not the one who will be checking your background.
Be Complete:
It is always better to give too much information, rather than too little. You never know what a company will want to verify. Here are some general rules:
1. If there is space on the application, list every diploma and degree you have received. Some companies will only verify your highest degree, while others will want to verify everything.
2. Fill in as many employment boxes as you can. Work study, internships, and volunteer jobs all provided you with experience. List them if you have room.
3. Always provide up-to-date phone numbers and addresses for your previous employers.
Be Prepared:
Most companies will not tell you what information they plan to check. Some will only run a criminal check, while others will verify every piece of information on your job application. You need to be prepared for anything they choose to do.
You also need to be prepared for anything a hiring company might hear about you. Even though previous employers may be liable for saying bad things about you, it happens every day. If there is bad news out there, it is far better for you to tell the hiring company than to have them find it out on their own.
Before you send out that first resume, or respond to that first newspaper ad, take the time to prepare the detailed information that needs to go on your job application.
Remember, while a great-looking resume and solid interviewing skills will help you make the final cut, if you don’t pass the background check, you won’t get the job.
- Jan Maxwell is the author of “A Job Hunter’s Secret Weapon: How to Survive a Background Check and Get the Job You Really Want” (www.jobhunterssecretweapon.com). It’s the first book that takes job applicants inside a real background check, explains how information gets verified, and shows them how to fill out a job application that will sail through pre-employment screening. -
Can You Pass a Background Check?
May 25, 2006 by yourhrguyCompanies are taking a closer look at who they hire today. From heightened security concerns to an increase in negligent hiring lawsuits, companies understand that bad hiring decisions can cause them big problems.
That’s why over 90% of employers now run background checks on potential hires.
During a background check, a hiring company takes a good look at your personal and professional history. They verify your education and past employment, check to see if there is criminal activity in your past, and talk to your references. Some companies may even look at your driving record, credit history or previous drug testing results.
To run a thorough background check, a company needs some very specific information from you. For example, they need contact information for your former employers and the names of your previous supervisors.
This type of detailed information is typically not found on a resume, even one that is professionally prepared. So companies have candidates fill out a job application that is specifically designed to get the information that’s required to run a complete background check.
How you fill out a company’s job application is directly tied to whether or not you get the job. In fact, over 80% of companies say that discrepancies on a job application can take a candidate out of consideration.
When you fill out a job application, you want to make sure that your information is complete and easy to verify. However, there are lots of situations that can cause problems for an applicant. Here are a few:
What kind of contact information do you provide for a former employer that has gone out of business?
If you worked for a company through a temporary agency, who do you list as the employer?
If you were fired from your previous job, should you leave it off the application?
How you answer these and other questions can make the difference between a swift and successful background check and one that grinds to a halt because information can’t be verified. Human resources will usually caution against hiring someone whose information is hard to read, has gaps or inconsistencies, or is lacking important details.
A successful job search requires a professional-looking resume, strong interviewing skills, and a can-do attitude. These tools will get you in the door and help you make the final cut.
But if you don’t pass the background check, you won’t get the job.
Take the time to prepare the detailed information that will go on your job application. It’s one of the best things you can do in your job search.
- Jan Maxwell is the author of “A Job Hunter’s Secret Weapon: How to Survive a Background Check and Get the Job You Really Want” (www.jobhunterssecretweapon.com). It’s the first book that takes job applicants inside a real background check, explains how information gets verified, and shows them how to fill out a job application that will sail through pre-employment screening.
