Here’s the thing. We spend countless hours and dollars putting together a resume that will knock the socks off a hiring manager, but many of us don’t take the time to think about what happens if we get offered the job. A Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) poll revealed that up to 96% of employers run background checks on their new hires. Will you pass that background check?
Surprise, Surprise!
Some surprises are nice. But a surprise on your background check generally isn’t something you want to find out about by your potential employer. You might think that this isn’t a possibility because you know you’ve always followed the law to the letter. You may believe that your background check will come up clean as the driven snow, so why would you be concerned? The answer to that question is simple – mistakes can be made. Mistaken identity, mistaken reporting, incomplete information….these and other issues can cause your background check to come back with a criminal record.
In 2013 a study was released that indicated “one in two FBI records include incomplete or false information, leaving more than a half a million American workers in jeopardy of losing or never being offered a job they would otherwise be offered.” According to the study, the number one issue with the FBI records came from dismissed charges that were never removed or closed on individual’s records. This means that if a person was arrested but never convicted of a crime, the background check still showed an arrest record. While you can explain this away to the employer once you get your copy of the background check, the bad impression has already been made.
In October, 2016 a 35-year-old Chiefland, FL man won almost 3.6 million in a mistaken identity lawsuit after a background check on the wrong person cost him several jobs over a 1-2 year period of time. Richard Williams was in the final stages of being hired at Rent-A-Center in 2012 and Winn-Dixie in 2013 when both times a background check came back with a criminal record on him. Williams did not know at the time that the check was done incorrectly on a Ricky Williams. The only thing he knew was that he didn’t get either job. It turns out that Ricky Williams had been convicted in 2004 of aggravated battery against a pregnant woman and again in 2009 for selling cocaine but Richard Williams had a clean record.
Taking Control
You may be thinking that you have no control over what comes up on your background check when your employer runs it, so why are we even discussing this? The reason is that while you can’t control if there is misinformation on your background check, you can circumvent it before the wrong information is reported to the prospective employer.
Running a self-background check is the best way to find out what your employer will see when they run the check after your job offer. A self-background check will give you the opportunity to review any issues ahead of time and if there are any red flags that come up, you will have time to get any mistakes corrected. At the very least, you will be able to be pro-active and explain to any potential employers that there are mistakes that may show up on your background check.
It may seem like an unnecessary task, but taking control of your background check to ensure that only the correct information on the correct person is reported can be the deciding factor in whether you begin a job or not. You will spend hundreds of hours in the job hunting and interview process, a self-background check request takes minutes. It is an affordable way to have the peace of mind to know that your report will come back the way it should when an employer orders it.
SB Checks offers three levels of self-checks that an individual can order online. The SB Checks team is also available to speak with you to determine which level makes the most sense for you to choose. Call (888)725-2535 or visit clearcandidate.com to order your self-background check today. Don’t let mistakes stop you from landing your dream job.