Verify Information In Resumes and Applications
As many as half (or more) of all applicants embellish, change, or outright falsify information on their resumes and/or job applications. Job seekers are savvier than ever, coached by a proliferation of career materials that advise them to creatively structure their resumes - sometimes at the expense of honesty. Often these discrepancies are innocuous, ranging from exaggerating dates of employment, job titles, or skills. Other times, job seekers mask more serious data, such as previous employment, educational history, past accomplishments, or even criminal histories. In fact, a recent study by an outplacement firm found that anywhere from 10% to 15% of applicants have hidden criminal records.As an employer, employee background checks are one of the few resources you have to verify the information contained in resumes and applications. Although you may be pressured to make a quick hiring decision, it's in your best interest to insist on a criminal check as part of company policy. Hiring someone with a violent or unstable history is simply too dangerous in our culture of media saturation, rampant liability lawsuits, and superficial business relationships. It's too easy for one employee to destroy a multi-million dollar company. That's why so many employers are turning to preemployment screening.
Some job applicants may take offense at the idea of employee background checks. But remember that your safety, the safety of your employees, and your assets are at stake. You can explain to prospective employees that the screening process entails a criminal background check at the state and national levels; a credit report; social security verification (which is becoming a prerequisite in some states); and/or a driving record report. In most cases, someone who has been honest about his or her candidacy status will not object to pre employment background checks.
When you conduct employment background checks, there are a few things you should keep in mind...
- Using a screening service is the most expeditious way to verify someone's background. Websites such as QuickBackgroundChecks.com can perform background checks in as little as 15 seconds, depending on the information you request. With so many companies vying over a small pool of qualified applicants, expedience is important.
- Decide what level of screening you need. Employment checks can be used to assess not only someone's criminal history but also his or her educational record, personal and business references, and more. Depending on your business, you may need some of these services but not all. If the employee will not be responsible for operating company vehicles, for example, a driving history may not be needed. When you use an online background check service such as Quick Background Checks, you can pick and choose the options that you require.
- Ensure consistency. Performing pre employment background checks is tricky because employers and HR managers are often tempted to tailor the process to the candidate, especially if the candidate is someone that the person in charge of hiring knows outside of a business setting. You can't be too cautious, however. It may be permissible to tailor the level of screening depending on the level of access the employee will have to sensitive company information, but it is rarely a good idea to skip employment-employee background checks because of a personal relationship with an applicant.
Having conducted a thorough background check and eliminated from your pool of applicants any whose histories are cause for concern, you can focus on the stuff that really matters: job-related skills, experience in the field, and whether the remaining applicants - personalities will mesh well with your firm's culture. You'll be glad that you took the extra precaution.
