Understanding what companies are finding out about you can significantly impact your ability to find employment in the competitive job market. Although many job applicants believe employers don’t investigate their backgrounds, nothing could be further from reality.
What would be discovered if a prospective employer ran a background check on you? Do your résumé and application for a job accurately represent what they find in the background check?
If you’ve ever wondered, “Can I do a background check on myself” or “Should I run a background check on myself?” the answer is yes! You can and definitely should run a personal background check to see what potential employers see about you.
What is the Importance of Background Screening?
Employers frequently find it necessary to do a background check as part of the recruiting process. There are many benefits to handling this process alone during your job search.
Knowledge About Your Record: You can find out what information is accessible about you by conducting a background check on yourself. Knowing this allows you to talk about and discuss any information uncovered by the company after their search during the hiring process.
Suppose there is something about which you are concerned that would influence your eligibility as a candidate, you can come up with an explanation that gives more context or that makes the situation clear to the employer.
Correct any errors you find: When analyzing your records for a background check, you will encounter errors or other problems. You might discover, for instance, that someone has stolen your data or that you share a name or other facts with someone who could harm your search engine results.
You can take action to fix the inaccuracies with the appropriate agencies, websites, or organizations, depending on the issues. Additionally, you can alert the employer to problems and let them know what actions you took.
Verify the information on your resume: A background check may contain details about your education and work history that are consistent with your résumé. You can build trust with your prospective employer by making sure that this information matches by conducting a background investigation check on yourself.
Why do you need Background Screening?
Even slight differences in work dates on your resume or in your application are cause for concern and may exclude you from consideration for a position.
It’s critical to understand what potential employers see throughout the pre-employment screening process, whether it’s an arrest history from the past you forgot about, a criminal conviction you choose to ignore, or completely fabricated court records about you online.
Running personal background checks will allow you to see some of this data. If you’ve ever questioned, “How do I run a background check on myself?” keep on reading.
Types of Background Screening
When your records are checked, potential employers, educational institutions, and volunteer groups discover a lot about you. Ever questioned what they see? By conducting a background check on oneself, you can learn more.
Most companies will consider more than just your criminal history; they may also review your driving history, educational records, and credit history. The various types of personal background checks are listed below.
Court Documents
If you’re unsure whether you have a criminal history, you can use an online criminal background check to determine if anything is recorded about you.
If you know that you have been arrested or convicted of a crime, you should request a report from the court where the charges were brought. Remember to check with the relevant local, state, and federal courts. Additionally, visit the courtroom if you need documents from a county court. The majority of county courts demand in-person records requests.
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, prospective employers shouldn’t be able to notice an arrest without a conviction that occurred more than seven years ago (FCRA). Inaccuracies can be disputed if you see a conviction that occurred more than seven years ago on your personal background check report.
Driving Record
State laws differ on the information that can be found on a driving record. Visit the DMV website for each state where you have a driver’s license to examine your driving history. Be aware that some states charge a fee to get documents.
Only some employers will look up your driving history, often only obtained for jobs where driving is a significant component of employment, such as truck or bus drivers, nannies, etc.
Credit Report
Only if you give them your written consent can prospective employers check your credit report, not your credit score, to see if you’re financially responsible. Regularly checking your credit reports is a good practice because they frequently contain little inaccuracies.
You are entitled to a free credit report check from each of the three major credit unions once every 12 months under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) Act. Therefore, you are entitled to up to three free credit reports each year. Visit the yearly credit report page to view your credit report.
You can learn the following from your credit report:
– Your level of debt.
– The debt-to-income ratio you have.
– The number of requests you’ve received for your credit report.
– If you have any accounts flagged for collection.
Remember that a credit report does not contain your credit score; you must purchase that information separately. Follow the FTC’s instructions for contesting any errors you feel are on your credit report.
Which Facts do you need to know before Background Screening?
You should search for any information that a prospective employer might be interested in learning about you, such as your social security number, national criminal database records, sex offender registries, domestic watch lists, county criminal court history, education and employment history, professional licenses, and credit reports.
Your employer may also perform drug testing, healthcare sanction checks, and workers’ compensation history checks, depending on the sector you apply to. Social media is one element of your online reputation that you can readily manage.
Never put the following information on your social media profiles: evidence or mentions of drug use, bullying or violence, offensive remarks based on race, politics, gender, etc., inflammatory debates regarding religion or politics. Use your social media profiles to establish a positive self-image.
Opinion
You can make sure you’re keeping up with your records by occasionally conducting a personal background check on yourself. It’s crucial to properly review your criminal history, credit report, and online footprint before applying for a new job to dispute any inaccuracies.
