| |
| |
|
Careers & Employment Information |
|
|
|
Background Checks: How They Can Determine Whether You Get Hired or Not!
Background checks are utilized by companies today to decide whether or not you will be permitted to work for them. Information in these reports can reveal many things about you to a prospective employer; it is critical that you be aware of what a company may uncover via a background check before one is conducted. You need to be aware of what steps you must take to protect yourself should negative information about you be uncovered. Background checks [or reports] can range from a corroborating an applicant's Social Security number to a detailed description of the prospective employee's history and friends. There are several bits of information that might be included in a background check. Please note that many of these sources are created by governmental agencies and are, in fact, public records: Bankruptcy Character references Court records Credit records Criminal records Driving records Drug test records Education records Incarceration records Medical records Military records Neighbor interviews Past employers Personal references Property ownership Sex offender lists Social Security No. State licensing records Vehicle registration Workers' compensation The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets national standards for employment screening. This law, however, only applies to background checks performed by an outside company, called a "consumer reporting agency" under the FCRA. The law does not apply in situations where the employer conducts background checks internally.1 Depending on in which state you reside you may have stronger laws than what the federal government mandates. One example can be found in California with their Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (Civil Code Sections 1786 - 1786.6) and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agency Act (Civil Code §1785). Your state may have similar fair employment guidelines and labor codes in place that can put a limit on the content of an employment background check. Google a search for "consumer reporting agencies" and "your state's name" to find out this information. Under the FCRA, a background check report is called a "consumer report." This is the same "official" name given to your credit report, and the same limits on disclosure apply. The FCRA says the following cannot be reported:2 * Cases under title 11 [United States Code] or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years. * Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period. * Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years. * Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years. * Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. You have every right to know before a background check is being performed that one will be done. Under the FCRA, the employer must obtain the applicant's written authorization before the background check is conducted. The authorization must be on a document separate from all other documents such as an employment application. The company may not perform its own credit report, rather the report must be prepared by an outside company [such as those listed on the right side of this page]. The term "consumer reporting agency" means any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. (FCRA §603f)3 If you believe that the information obtained by the company was incorrect you need to inform your potential employer immediately. Request copies of all documentation and make sure that any incorrect information is expunged from your account. Will any of this effect whether you are hired or not? I cannot give you a clear yes/no answer. Much depends on the content of the report, how it is interpreted, and whether or not the information contained therein can be construed as damaging to you. Sources: 1 Privacy Rights Clearing House 2 Federal Trade Commission; FCRA Paragraph 605 3 Federal Trade Commission; FCRA Paragraph 603 Matt is a writer, web designer, and internet marketing expert who resides in North Carolina, USA. His main website, the Corporate Flight Attendant Community, helps people enter the lucrative field of business aviation by providing job leads and tips, interview suggestions, helpful articles and links, and a thriving message board community. You can view his site at http://www.corporateflyer.net and his message board at http://www.cabinmanagers.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Employment - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Talented People I was asked last week for an article about employment, "What is your favorite 'employment phrase'?"Wow, talk about tough questions! What sprang to mind were all the phrases that people should avoid like the plague, so I had to do some fast thinking to come up with one that I loved. After mentally narrowing down my options, I settled on one: 'talented people'. Online Resume Formats There are several types of online resume formats that can be used when contacting potential employers. When you search for job openings online, some companies will have on their websites which online resume format is acceptable. How to Overcome Being Overqualified Have you ever gone through the interview process, felt confident that you'd performed extremely well, and then heard these dreadful words: "I'm sorry, but we feel you're overqualified for this position." Arrggh!! When I was told that after an interview, several thoughts went through my frustration-fogged mind. Career Education Options For Working Adults Ask yourself this question: "Do I like what I do for a living?" If you answered "no", what are you doing about it? Maybe you have a "good" job, but it's not very rewarding to you personally. Maybe you have job with good pay, but bad hours or worse - a job with good hours, but bad pay. Don't Discount the Temporary Position Interview If you think, 'it's just an interview for a temp job -- no big deal,' that's where you're mistaken. Some wonderful opportunities, networking connections and careers have resulted from temporary positions. 10 Steps to Getting the Most Out of Job Fairs Many job seekers tend to overlook job fairs. They can be crowded, busy, competitive and confusing events. Overcome Interview Nerves: Be Better Prepared than Your Interviewer Although interview preparation is everything it's sad to say that perhaps as many as half of all interviewers you're going to meet will be unprepared or incompetent. It's not all their fault, it's just lack of interview preparation time or responsibility; some of them will be co-opted at the last minute to meet you and won't have had time to prepare. 9 Secrets to Career Success Are you miserable at your job (or what you are doing) but go anyway to earn a living? Do you feel you are unable to use your talents and are doing things that are stressful? Do you find yourself in a career rut? Wouldn't you rather be in your ideal income position and "Go to Play" everyday? Most people spend approximately 35% to over 67% of their waking hours working. Being unhappy for so much of the day makes it difficult to enjoy the rest of your waking hours. Career Change - Is Your Career A Good Fit Or Is It Causing Pain? Do you leap out of bed in the morning looking forward to the day ahead?Do you love your job and find that your working day goes past in the blink of an eye?Are you a solicitor, secretary, scientist or social worker because your parents or your careers teacher thought it was a good idea?Would you choose to do your job, even if you were not being paid? No?Well, take heart because the same goes for others! So many individuals are working in jobs which they find unfulfilling and meaningless. Many work in jobs which are inappropriate for them, simply because the pay is good. Seven Steps to Better Networking If published statistics are accurate, employment agencies and search firms fill about 20% of all jobs in the US. Job boards fill anywhere between 2% and 8%. How To Pick The Best Career For You, Part 1 In Part One we'll look at how Positioning or "Coming to a Theater Near You" simplifies and expedites your employment hunt by reinforcing employer buy-in through justification of the sale.Rapidly gain employer agreement that you're the right person for the job by proving how their organizational needs are met through your specific abilities to solve their identified problems. Telecommuting Cover Letters Question: How do I market myself online?Answer: With a stellar cover letter and resume.Okay, so let's get into the meat of this. Job Search Blurts I coined this word to draw attention to the nervous and apprehensive way of saying something in the job search that makes you feel like a buffoon. A "blurt" is a catchy way of saing: Gaffe. Recruiting on the Web Requires Special Record Keeping for Legal Purposes by Lesli Peterson, Business Analyst, VCGwith Phil McCutchen, Marketing Manager, VCG With the age of the Internet upon us, recruiting methods have expanded dramatically. Staffing companies now regularly use the Web to locate qualified candidates for their open positions. Cleaning Houses for a Living Has Some Unexpected Benefits If you're looking for a way to earn a living or just to make some extra money on the side, cleaning houses for a living is probably not the first thing that comes to mind.Cleaning houses? Doesn't that sound like a lot of unpleasant, grungy work?Yes, it does sound pretty unpleasant, and that is exactly why there is very good profit in it. Are You Busy Living or Dying? If you are not busy living, then you must be busy dying. Most of us do this subconsciously and are unaware of which side of this equation we reside on. Your Interview Questions Are a Serious Matter Of course interviews are mainly about you answering the questions they put to you, but at the end of your allotted interview time, the questions that really matter most are yours. You should hope to hear the interviewer ask you:"Have you any questions?"But even if they don't ask, you should grasp the opportunity and say:"Do you mind if I ask a couple of questions?" However you must be careful when planning what questions you're going to ask, and make sure that they are not ones that you should already know the answer to because it's been covered in the interview. How to Get Hired by Being Obvious If you want a drink of water, do you hire a focus group or pick up the Yellow Pages? No. You go to the kitchen, fill a glass and drink. Employment Screening Today - Are Online Database Searches Enough? In today's employment environment, HR managers are faced with the monumental duty of hiring and maintaining, as well as the ongoing development, of employees. But the single most difficult task lies first in hiring the right people. No Experience? No Problem! Are you a new graduate with little or no work experience? Sometimes it can be tough to get a job without experience, and how do you get more experience if you can't get a job? Well, your chances are better than you think. Even if your work experience is a little weak, you've probably got life experience that will help you.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
