Why A Background Check?

• Congratulations! You've been considered for hire as an account manager for a prominent military defense contractor. They liked your resume, and education, but they want to find out more about you. So they give you a giant packet and say, "Fill this out. We're going to conduct a background check."
  More and more businesses are actually doing background checks on future and current employees, even if they aren't working for military contractors. But how and why do companies do background checks?
  
  Background checks are performed by businesses in order to make sure they are not at risk for possible negative actions from employees. Businesses want to make sure that, with the advent of technology, a future hire is not falsifying any documents via computers to inflate any credentials or, in some cases, removing any negative information from their past. Businesses that deal with large financial transactions will have background checks performed to see if employees are a risk for embezzlement or theft.
  
  

The Background Check Process

• Typically the Human Resource office of the hiring business will give a prospective or current employee a form a packet to fill out that asks a lot of personal questions. They often want to know where you were born, where you have lived, where you have worked and people who knew you there. They will also ask for your social security number and family information such as your mother's maiden name in order to check your credit. Some businesses will also ask for your educational history to check on your educational credentials. They will even ask if you have any criminal history.
  
  

The Investigation

• Once that information is compiled and given back to the human resources division, a business will often hire an investigating agency or contractors in order to conduct the investigation. For example, the Federal government hires out contractors to conduct their investigations. They will call numbers that you listed on the background package and speak to people who knew you , often asking basic questions like "How long have you known this person?" and "Do you find him trustworthy?" Investigators will also conduct credit checks to see if you are in good standing. Some employers see people who owe a lot of money or who are significantly behind in payments as a risk to handle financial accounts.
  The background investigators will then compile their information and return their findings to the business that plans to hire you. The hiring firm will consider the findings and then possibly make a decision based on what they find in your background or bring you in to ask more questions. If they are satisfied with the findings and your answers, the business will move forward in the hiring process and keep your records on file.