Real Background Checks
What do you think a background check consists of? From speaking with people I think they get the sense that it is like CSI. We have computers and type in the persons name, and pages of information come up including photographs and that persons complete history down to their kindergarten finger paintings. I’m sorry to say it just doesn’t work that way. Some days I wish it did because it would make our jobs much easier, but it doesn’t.
Your average background check report is pretty boring actually. If we were running a criminal record check on a subject and we found a theft charge the report would consist of the offense, the date of the offense and the outcome. The outcome being if the person was found guilty and what their sentence was.
A criminal record check is usually conducted by going directly to the courthouse archives. These can be found online sometimes but many times we will have to make phone calls or send in what we call a court runner. The runner will go directly into the courthouse and look for records. Crimcheck.com has a nationwide network of retrievers and we can get a record from just about anywhere in the country. Sorting through and compiling this information into an easy to read report is usually the tough part. A case can contain hundreds of pages of information and we have to make sure that we have the right person and the facts of the case correct so at times it can be daunting.
What we do include in our reports is just as important as what we do not. For instance we do not want our reports to have any sort of information that can seem biased. So any information that can be seen as inappropriate (such as race) is not included.
Getting back to our theme of what a real background check consists of I will list the most common components below.
Criminal Record Check: This is probably the most common component of a background check and can include a felony and misdemeanor check in the jurisdiction where the subject lives or has lived.
Motor Vehicle Records: Otherwise known as a driving record these are usually run on a potential employee that will be using company vehicles or driving for a living. Driving record reports can go back as far as 7 years in the state that the subject hold a drivers license in. The report would include any traffic offenses including but not limited to DUI, speeding, failure to yield, etc.
Previous Employment Check: Also known as an employment reference check. These checks consist of calling the subjects previous employer and verifying information. Sometimes a previous employer will only verify if the subject has worked at the company and what dates they were employed. Some people seem to think that there is a limited amount of information that a previous employer can supply, this is not true. As long as the information is factual an employer can speak all they want about your previous employment. Many employers choose not to for simplicity and liability’s sake, but they are not compelled to do so. There is no central registry for employment verification. As stated these are usually conducted by phone.
Education Verification: This is another straight forward check. If you claim that you received a degree in business administration then we will usually contact the college that you attended to verify that information. Again, there is no central education database that can be used to conduct this check, unless you count the state board of education to determine if you graduated high school or received an equivalency.
Credit Check: A credit report contains information on your past payment history, what types of loans you have, liens and debt. I have written a good explanation of what employers look for when evaluating credit. You can find it here Credit Problems and How they Affect Your Chances for Employment.
These are probably the top 5 items included in the most common background checks. Of course there are very in-depth checks or due diligence checks that include much more. Background check reports are much simpler than the average person suspects but conducting those checks requires a lot more footwork than you would suspect as well. There is no magic computer or database that contains limitless amounts of information on people, it’s all about gathering and compiling information from different sources into a simple easy to read report. That’s the true measure of a background investigation company.
