The What and How of Background Checking

Some Information Included

Since a background check is done to delve into the past activities and record of an individual, it contains different information, some of which are listed below.

1. Criminal Records- for companies looking to hire an individual, they are sure to think twice if a person has a criminal record especially if it involves serious crimes.


2. Employment Records- surely companies would like to know where an applicant has been previously employed and if whether he or she left the company in good standing.


3. Litigation Records- companies would also like to know if a certain applicant has a penchant for filing discrimination lawsuits.


4. Education Records- since educational background plays a major role in terms of a person being accepted for a job, companies would like to make sure if an applicant is not lying regarding their educational background.


5. Driving Records- companies who are hiring applicants who will be tasked to drive would surely add this to their background check.


6. Result of Drug Tests- this is part of a background check for several reasons including corporate ethics.


7. Financial Records- this could include information regarding credit scores and bankruptcy among others.


8. Social Security Number or SSN- an applicant who includes a fraudulent SSN in his or her curriculum vitae might be hiding something from his or her past thus SSN checking is also part of a background check.

How Do They Do It

In delving into the past of an individual, companies offering background checks take four steps to deliver a complete background search.

The first step is to gather information about the person to be checked. Enough information should be gathered to have a positive ID on that person. Data includes full name, date of birth, current address and past addresses as well as the person's Social Security Number.

These information are important especially the date of birth as it is an essential identifier when searching for criminal records or any record for that matter. The addresses are also important as it will give the company doing the background check the information as to where to find for local records.

For female subjects, companies doing the background check important information includes whether she is married or not. For married female subjects, noting all the last names used in the past and in the present is important as it is important in checking for criminal records.

The second step is to check the past addresses given by the subject. Checking the address can provide information such as aliases used by the subject in the past. A false address given could also raise red flags which could lead to discovering other information given by the subject.

The third step is to undertake the general record search. An example of this is going through the subject's driver history record. Such records can give information if the subject has been arrested for DUIs and other violations. Some of these records though are restricted by some states, thus background checking companies need to secure a signed release before they can have access to such information.

The fourth step is to do the criminal background search. It starts with a local criminal background check thus it is important to secure the past and present addresses of the subject. For example, the subject might have committed a crime in a certain county he or she has resided in the past but did not disclose that he or she has lived in that locality then a background check without the right address would not be complete.