Job Applicant Tips: How To Ace Your Employee Background Check

If you area job applicant currently in a job hunt, you know that most organizations are going to conduct a thorough employment background check as part of the hiring process.  Vetting new employees is common and safe hiring practice.  It can however, be overwhelming and daunting to a lot of job applicants.  The words, “background check” seem to frighten even the most upstanding of citizens looking for jobs and cause even honest job seekers to embellish or downright lie during the application process.

As a veteran in the  employment screening industry, trust us when we tell you that if you intentionally misspell your name to hide a criminal offense, it will not work.  Providing accurate data from the beginning of the application process will benefit you.  A lot of people make mistakes in college years, but trying to hide it only to be disclosed later during the employment background check procedures  will only delay the process and make you look like a fraud to the hiring manager.

Here are seven simple steps that will help you get through the background screening process quickly and effectively:

1. LIARS ALWAYS GET CAUGHT, JUST BE HONEST.
   Simply being honest on your application is the easiest way to avoid a delay in your background check process. Being dishonest on the application can not only prolong the investigation process, but also cost you that job offer you worked so hard to obtain.
2. CHECK, CHECK, AND DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR SUPPLIED DATA.
   When completing the application process, CHECK, CHECK, and DOUBLE CHECK everything. Verify that your social, date of birth, and spelling of your name are all accurate. Double check all phone numbers supplied. By verifying all of this information, you are potentially eliminating days of The Great Game of Phone Tag.
3. ENOUGH WITH THE FLUFF.
   Don’t over-fluff your application. We verify all dates and titles. We know you want to make yourself look absolutely fantastic (and you are, EVEN without all of the fluff), but if you over-fluff you can end up unintentionally lying on the application or get the application flagged for discrepancy.
4. GIVE A HEAD’S UP TO REFERENCES.
   It is always a great idea to notify your references that you are using them on an application. This is beneficial for multiple reasons. By notifying them, you are checking off step two because you know that the phone number you supplied is still the correct and working number for your reference. Because of various company policies, many supervisors are not allowed to supply a professional reference. Always ask if they will be allowed to provide one and ensure that they are willing to supply the reference. Make sure that the references you supply to be verified will be in town and available to provide the recommendation.
5. IS YOUR PAST EMPLOYER STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS?
   Try to supply past employers that are still open for business.  If you worked for a video store while in college and the video store owner has since passed away and the store is closed, you are not going to get a reference.  A lot of times when businesses close or are bought out by another company the records are purged and we are unable to verify that particular employment.
6. PROVIDE CORRECT AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE REFERENCES.
   Although you think that using physcians, attorneys and CEO’s as references make your application look stellar, it is actually very difficult to get in contact with these people for a reference verification. Physicians are always with patients, attorneys are always with clients, and CEO’s are running corporations.   While it is not a complete no-no to add these particular colleagues as references, it is generally a better idea to provide someone who is more accessible. At the very least, notify these individuals that you have listed them as a reference, so they can make themselves available.  Providing accessible references will help expedite the employment background check final report, which will help expedite the hirng process.
7. TEMPORARY PLACEMENT – KNOW WHO YOU WORKED FOR
   If you worked for a company through a temporary staffing agency, you were actually employed with the temporary agency.  Your proof of your employment lies with the temporary agency, not with the company.  Be sure to include any temporary staffing agencies you worked for on your application.

MBI Worldwide
Employment Background Screening