Hi Folks,

It’s time again to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about background checks and pre-employment screening. This one is a bit of a long one so we are only answering one today. Read more…

Conducting pre-employment background checks, including criminal background checks, employment verifications, immigration status checks and sex offender registry searches, are an essential step in the hiring process. Although the information gathered in a pre-employment background check is of great use to an employer, this same information is often times highly sensitive, especially to the perspective employee. Read more…

Hi Folks!
I initially started writing the article below to make into an e-book. Well as things progressed and I started getting more and more in-depth, I thought it might be a good article for my blog. As you may or may not know I work for an employment screening company and they have given me their blessing to go ahead and publish articles that discuss how to conduct free background checks. Read more…

The vast number of individuals participating in social networking has surpassed the hundred million mark. The appeal of these sites, such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com and others, is the availability of searchable profile data they contain, such as past employment, affiliations, schools, hobbies, interests, pictures, and personal web log entries.<!–more–>

A growing number of employers are searching social networking sites as part of their pre-employment screening process. According to a CareerBuilder.com 2006 survey of over 1,000 hiring managers, 12% used social networking sites to verify information about a job candidate. While many managers found these sites useful in confirming a hiring decision, 63% reported not hiring a candidate based on what they found.

The implication is a hotly debated issue among hiring managers, especially when it comes to information found on these personal sites not posted there by the candidate. Examples being: comments posted from teens venting their frustration about a parent or from a disgruntled co-worker with an ax to grind. Although there is no body of case law concerning the regulations and use of content from social networking sites, when placed in the context of FCRA compliance, hiring managers are required to use reliable and verifiable methods and data sources. Because content on social network sites is public, many hiring managers argue that these sites fall within the guidelines, especially when the site is created and managed by the applicant. The argument becomes critical when it comes to protecting an organization from negligent hiring suits. Due diligence requirements almost make it impossible to ignore information found on a job applicants’ social network site. The question becomes, should that information be accessed at all?

In the upcoming years, the debate over the uses of social networking sites in pre-employment screening will define if they have a place in the hiring process. The critical issue for many organizations now is how to use data found on social sites. Key findings from the CareerBuilder.com survey offered these tips in evaluating a candidate based on their social network site:

1. Does the candidate’s background/profile information support the professional qualifications submitted with the application/resume?
2. Is the candidate well rounded? Shows a wide range of interest?
3. Do the candidate’s posts demonstrate great communications skills?
4. Does the candidate’s site convey a professional image?
5. Does the candidate’s personality fit the organization?
6. Have others posted recommendations and positive appraisal of the candidate?

Warning signs include the following:

1. Is the candidate linked to criminal behavior?
2. Has the candidate posted negative comments about previous employers or co-workers?
3. Has the candidate posted information about drug and/or alcohol use?
4. Has the candidate posted confidential information from a previous employer?

Ultimately, searching social network sites as part of a screening process should just be one of the many tools an organizations uses. As with simple background checks, you will find that not all relevant information is accessible. It remains to be seen if social networking sites will garner enough support to become viable tools in the pre-employment screening industry.

A due diligence check is an excellent tool to use before entering into a business relationship with another individual or business.  A due diligence check is a comprehensive check used most often for verifying the qualifications of an executive or a company with whom you are considering entering into a business relationship or agreement with.  Due diligence checks can also be used for medical personnel, pilots, teachers, engineers and other professional who require professional credentials or licensing in order to perform their job.  Without the proper professional licensing, an individual or business is not qualified to participate in the transaction or do business.  Before entering into any business transaction or any other business relationship, it is essential to protect yourself from fraud by conducting a thorough due diligence check of all involved parties.

Utilizing a due diligence search is the most efficient, convenient and effective way to prevent business to business fraud.  One of the leading causes of business to business fraud is doing business with someone who is not who they say they are.  This risk can easily be reduced by making a due diligence check a regular part of your pre-employment and pre-contractual repertoire.  A typical due diligence check involves surveying data from numerous federal and state databases and regulators pertaining to professional licensing and registration.  Further, a due diligence check will also provide a comprehensive background check, including a multiple jurisdiction and federal criminal background search, civil litigation search, search of property and business ownership, and personal and professional reference verifications.  The result is that you will have a comprehensive understanding of the individual or business’ background before entering into a relationship or transaction with them.  This information will give you the confidence you need to make sound business and hiring decisions. 

Performing a due diligence check is both simple and efficient.  One of the most convenient ways to run a due diligence check is to utilize the services of a professional background check company.  By using a professional background check company, you will have access to their due diligence search engine and the multiple databases it is capable of searching.  Prior to agreeing to a business relationship, you simply log onto the professional background check website or other computer program and enter such identity verification information as the individual’s name, Social Security number, address, date of birth, drivers’ license and telephone number.  To perform a due diligence check of another business, simply enter the company’s name, tax identification number, address and telephone number.  Once this information is entered, the due diligence check will automatically search the relevant databases, comparing the entered information with the data found in the databases.  The results will show you whether there are any discrepancies with the individual or business that may prevent you from wanting to conduct business with them.  If the due diligence check returns any information that calls into questions the individual or business’ qualifications, credentials or honesty, then you should think twice about doing business with them or risk being a victim of fraud.

If you are involved in a financial-related business, it is essential that you protect your business’ financial well-being by hiring qualified and trustworthy employees.  An applicant’s personal credit and financial history can help tell you a great deal about whether or not the applicant is qualified for the job.  A pre-employment credit check allows you to access this financial information and make an informed hiring decision.

Knowing a potential hire’s personal credit history can provide you with valuable information about the individual’s financial status.  For instance, by performing a pre-employment credit check you can learn about the applicant’s financial habits, which provide a valuable prediction of what their financial habits will be as an employee.  If an individual has a poor personal credit history, they will more likely than not be financially responsible as an employee.  Essentially, a pre-employment credit check will give you access to information pertaining to an applicant’s ability to meet financial obligations and what type of financial pressure they are personally under.  Using a pre-employment credit check gives you a clear picture of how the individual applicant handles their own personal funds and thus provides you with a reflection of how the are likely to handle your company’s financial responsibilities and needs.  All of this information is invaluable to making the right decision on whom to hire.Â
A pre-employment credit check is conducted by a professional credit check company.  To conduct a pre-employment credit check, you simply enter such information as the applicant’s full name, address, date of birth and social security number into the credit check company’s credit check search engine.  Most pre-employment credit checks are now conducted via an online program.  Once entered, the pre-employment credit check will survey numerous databases contained by various credit information companies and is done in accordance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s various rules and regulations.  Once the pre-employment credit check is complete, you will be provided a list of both current and previous credit accounts held by the applicant, including a complete payment history and current status for each account.  Further, the pre-employment credit check will provide you with information pertaining to any credit-related legal actions (both pending and closed), bankruptcies, and any other noteworthy credit-related activities.

By conducting a pre-employment credit check, you will have access to invaluable financial information about an applicant that can be used to predict what type of employee they will be if hired.  This information is of particular importance to any business involved in banking or other financial endeavors.  If a pre-employment credit check shows the job applicant has a history of being unable to manage their own personal finances, chances are they will not be able to manage the finances of your business.  Instead of finding this out after the fact, a pre-employment credit check acts as a preemptive screening tool that can effectively sift out potential problems before they are even given the change to become a problem.

Well well well! Here I am again, late as usual. One good thing though, I am ready to discuss another installment of how to conduct your own free background checks.

In this installment we are going to learn how to verify someones education. It is pretty simple and I am only going to cover the basics, but that should be enough to get you going.

First you are going to need the persons name and the year they graduated. You can sometimes do without the year of graduation but it makes it easier. Second you are going to need to know what school they attended. Once you have those it is just a simple matter of calling the registrars office and confirming this information.

In this example we are going to pretend that our subject attended Ohio State University, the best college in the universe. So first I get the phone number for the registrars office via Yahoo or one of the major search engines. Now if you notice the phone number is at the bottom of the page. You can also request online information. A typical phone call may go something like this.

OSU: Hello, registrars office.
You: Hey how ya doin today?
OSU: Very good, sir and or madam how can I help you.
You: Well, I have a person that applied for a job and they said that they attended and graduated from your fine educational facility there.
OSU: Ok sir what is the name and the year they graduated.
You: His name is Les Horvath and he graduated in 1942.
OSU: Why yes sir. Les graduated in 1942 with a bachelors degree.
You: That’s just peachy! Thanks for the information. Have a great day sir and or madam.

Easy as pie! Just so you know not all educational facilities will allow you to just call up and ask questions about former or current students. You may need a signed release from the individual and they may only confirm or deny information that the subject supplied to you.

This is the 4th in my series. Next time I am going to teach you how to crawl inside someones mind and extract their thoughts directly from their brain. Ha ha just kidding I wanted to see if you were paying attention.

I will be continuing my series on how to conduct a free background check on Monday. Just a heads up for those of you that are hanging out at my blog all day waiting for my next invaluable nugget of information. Now go enjoy your weekend.

These are the top 10 information sources on the web that I have found to be invaluable when conducting investigations. They range from free public records to search engines. Read more…

The following is an article written by Ted Moss of Crimcheck.com

• Did you know?
• 50 Billion Dollars is the annual cost of workplace violence
• 50 Billion Dollars is lost because of workplace drug use
• 100 Billion Dollars is what American businesses loose due to employee theft
• Identity theft for employment purposes is on the rise
• Employment screening is a critical component to combating these issues

Read more…