A simple background check includes identity verification, as well as criminal and employment history. Background check services such as Check People make a wide variety of screenings available. As background check laws can differ from state to state, the legislative framework is quite complicated. Less common types of checks include financial history, driving history, education verification, and a check to confirm one’s professional qualifications.
1. Standard Employment Background Check
Typically, you’ll be screened after applying for a job at a company. The recruiter must ask for your consent before they proceed. Your full name, social security number, birth date, current address, and other basic information will be entered in a people search engine. In addition, different companies use different services. Some check applicants in-house and don’t even contract a third party.
A standard pre-employment check normally goes back sevenyears. However, some states in the U.S. allow ten-year screening periods. Moreover, standard checks reveal pertinent information about positive or negative criminal history and employment history. Drug tests are not standard, but you may be asked to take one, depending on the position you have applied for. What’s more, an employer can check your social media without your consent, but they can’t use the information to make a hiring decision.
2. Criminal History Screening
While criminal background checks are standard, there are some specific ones that can help glean more detailed insight into one’s past. More in-depth criminal background checks will show whether one has been convicted of a serious crime. These are done when applying for jobs in the healthcare industry, as well as in the army, police, the fire department, and the National Guard, among others. Level 2 criminal background checks include fingerprints to detect whether someone has committed a crime in another state. In other words, this check is on a national level. Level 1 checks are limited to crimes in the respective state.
3. Universal Screening
You may own a firearm to protect your property and to defend yourself –the U.S. Constitution says as much. When you go to buy a gun, the seller runs what’s called a universal background check to see whether you’re eligible to own one. They do this via the National Instant Background Check System. This is a relatively standard type of background check. It will show if you have a criminal record and might include any open arrest warrants, past convictions, or offenses committed within the state. The only time you won’t undergo this type of check is when you buy a firearm from someone you know.
4. Preparing for a Background Check
Anyone who applies for a job anywhere today can expect to undergo one, especially considering the increasing popularity of remote work, with greater risks that go along with it. The good news is that you can prepare yourself for your background check. Specifically, you can begin by cleaning up your digital footprint. It’s best to remove questionable posts from your social media if you want to keep your profiles public. Alternatively, you can simply adjust your privacy settings. Although the employer can’t use any information from social media against you, you don’t want to make a less-than-ideal first impression.
Article Submitted By Community Writer