Don’t Let an Employment Background Check Kill Your Dream Job
It’s nerve-wracking, isn’t it? You’ve sent in the application for your dream job and now you’ve got to wait. Will you get a response? Will potential employers appreciate what they see on your resume? Maybe you get called in for an interview and the interview goes spectacularly! But then your mind starts wandering again. What if you don’t hear back from them? What could have ruined your chances of getting this job even after the interview you did in-person or over video call went so well? To avoid an inconvenience with the resume, remember there are options to resume review service.
Have you ever heard of a background check? It’s almost inevitable when it comes to employment, especially if it’s for an important role at a company that values who it brings on board. Just the very idea of a background check can be scary, we know. It doesn’t matter if you swear that you’re a good, trustworthy person – it’s still very likely that a potential employer is going to run your name through a background check to make sure that nothing fishy has been going on with you. According to the Professional Background Screening Association, 94% of businesses carry out background checks on job candidates.
No doubt, it’s a significant number, so these checks are something you rightfully need to look into if you want to get your dream job. What do employers look for in a background check? How can you pass the check and get your dream job?
Background Check For Employment – What Is It?
The concept is rather simple, really. A background check for employment, or background screening, is the process of checking and verifying various articles of information – including personal and confidential information – about a person or organization.
Basically, this process helps a potential employer to find out if you, as a job candidate, were being truthful and transparent about your credentials. There’s a variety of areas that background checks look into in order to verify these credentials. But while verification is what potential employers look for, they also use these checks to determine whether they feel that you’re a right fit for their company in general. So, what are the main categories, so to speak, that employers look into in a background check?
Criminal Records
It may not come as a surprise to anyone that a company would look at a potential employee’s criminal history before employing them. Yes, this certainly means that ex-felons have a much more difficult time integrating into society again, especially when their criminal record could work against them.
And if you claim that you have a clean criminal record and an employer finds out that this isn’t the case, it just makes you look worse. In most cases, it’s best to be up-front if your potential employer asks about it. It could help you out. After all, not all industries or jobs require a completely clean criminal history. The healthcare industry, for example, does have regulations against hiring certain felons if their conviction is relevant to the job. Other jobs that require high-security clearance would also likely deny you if you committed a major felony. These felonies can be related to sex offences, cybercrimes, and sometimes even addiction.
Credit History
Depending on where you’re located in the United States, potential employers might actually be allowed – legally – to take a look at your credit history. Bad credit doesn’t mean that you’re going to fail your background check, though. It depends on the kind of job you’re applying for. If you’re a candidate for a financial position where you’re going to be handling funds or having access to company credit cards, then a bad credit report could harm youк chances.
Drug Tests
It depends on the company, but many organizations require potential employees to pass a drug test. In some cases, this includes an alcohol test. In some cases, this includes an alcohol test. Drug test detection times vary depending on the type of drug, the amount consumed, the time since the last use, and other factors.
Employment and Education History
Another obvious one – an employer would check up on your past employment to ensure that you really do have the experience that you claim. These background checks will go through all the companies that you’ve worked for and the positions that you held at those organizations. The same is carried out for your education credentials.
Social Media
Employers and recruiters have a look at your social media accounts and your online presence as part of a background check. It helps them to get a better understanding of who you are as a person – something that the above categories can’t do quite well. Since everyone has a digital footprint today, employers use this as a factor in considering you for a job.
Google Yourself
You can’t change your criminal history or employment history, but it’s possible to change what comes up if your name is searched. If there’s anything incriminating, find out if you’re able to remove your name from those websites. At the least, you’ll have an idea of your quickly-apparent digital footprint.
What Are Your Social Media Profiles Like?
Do you have embarrassing photos online? What about old statuses or tweets that haven’t aged well at all? Remove them or upgrade your privacy settings so that people – like potential employers – are not able to look all the way into your social media history at a glance.
Get Professional on LinkedIn
If your LinkedIn profile is looking dreary and inactive, you’ve got to take the time to refresh it with a great photograph and all your relevant skills and job experience. It also helps to engage actively on the platform on a professional level.
Be More Anonymous Online
If you’re active on social media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and others, you don’t have to use your full name. Consider using a handle that’s not related to your name, nor connected to other profiles. This allows you the privilege of some anonymity online so that anyone who can look you up can’t find out about all your interests, the content you post, and so on.
