Government Agency Background check, anyone know what they look for? (Arlington: fingerprinting, credit score)

[LStrom]

Hi all,
My husband was offered a job at a government contracted agency contingent upon a 3 month background check(they go back 15 years)! does anyone know what they are looking for(besides felonies)? Is there a credit check? Why so long?
We are really excited that he was offered the job but we are a bit nervous that the offer will be withdrawn based on something minuscule that we were not anticipating.

Has anyone else had to go through this process?

[BstYet2Be]

Here's a site that pretty well explains all that a background check may and may not cover:

Employment Background Checks

If there's nothing to hide, there should not be a problem... and yes, I have had these done on me for every consultant job I've had, plus drug tests and sometimes even fingerprinting... no biggie.

A credit check is separate and your hubbie would have had to sign a separate form authorizing them to do that and is usually required if working for any financial institution.

Hope this helps!

http://bestsmileys.com/signs10/1.gif (broken link)

[nsumner]

I have had to go through it too when I was with the State Department. It really is no big deal if you have nothing to hide and if you don't lie on your application.

Depending on the job and classification level, they may investigate immediate relatives as well. They will do a credit check to see if he is not in financial trouble in case he will be in a position where he will be handling government funds. Kind of get an idea of his spending habits.

Naima

[ChristieP]

BTDT. They will talk to your neighbors, and all of your former employers, etc. As others have said, as long as you have nothing to hide, you're fine. Make sure the former employers' names you give them are people who LIKED you...if they had an axe to grind and tell the investigators stuff that isn't true, it can make your career HELL...

[LStrom]

The agency is in Arlington, and we are from Chicago, so they probably wont be interviewing our neighbors. He got the job through a recruiting agency and they asked for 6 references, and never gave him a security background form to sign. They never even gave him a form with questions to answer about his background that he could lie about if he had something to hide! We are just concerned because in 98 he was caught driving on a suspended license(no DWI's or anything). And his credit score is not very good. The job is IT related so we don't think that this will matter. A 3 month background check just is intimidating. We don't know if we should start packing or look for another job!

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by LStrom

And his credit score is not very good. The job is IT related so we don't think that this will matter. A 3 month background check just is intimidating. We don't know if we should start packing or look for another job!

Well, I am an IT Consultant and they DO perform a credit check if it is a financial institution or if your duties will include accessing financial data of any kind... they just want to be certain you have no reason to want to co-mingle THEIR funds with YOURS!

And, until you get the final word that he's passed all of their "checks", he's really not received a firm offer, since the offer is normally contingent on his passing them. I've seen several people pulled off assignments where they had let them start working before these checks were completed, only to find something negative when done.

However, I do think you're over-worrying this, so rest easy... I go through this so often, I don't give it a second thought anymore (they've even performed a new check on me when I've just completed an assignment with that same company!), so am betting it all works out for you two as well!

[LStrom]

Originally Posted by new2sa

Well, I am an IT Consultant and they DO perform a credit check if it is a financial institution or if your duties will include accessing financial data of any kind... they just want to be certain you have no reason to want to co-mingle THEIR funds with YOURS!

And, until you get the final word that he's passed all of their "checks", he's really not received a firm offer, since the offer is normally contingent on his passing them. I've seen several people pulled off assignments where they had let them start working before these checks were completed, only to find something negative when done.

However, I do think you're over-worrying this, so rest easy... I go through this so often, I don't give it a second thought anymore (they've even performed a new check on me when I've just completed an assignment with that same company!), so am betting it all works out for you two as well!

Thanks. I guess all that we can do is wait

[mckinneydeb]

DH was hired @ TI years ago where he needed a "top secret" clearance due to the nature of his work which included many defense contracts. We moved here from KY so if there was any interviewing of neighbors that was news to me. They did interview former employers and teachers and we were told a background would include immediate family members. He was hired into the company but was not moved to his permanent position until all the check was complete. Years later he was required to "renew" his clearance but because he had changed positions he opted to not undergo the complete review. They did update his credit status and check for any recent charges/tickets. Considering your husband's proposed position, I wouldn't think the suspended driving license or poor credit would be an issue. I know it can be sort of an anxiety causing thing, but don't let it drive you crazy.

[lh_newbie]

I did some military contracting work (doing their network) about 9-10 years ago. Regular clearance was easy, but "top secret" took forever. My brother worked for TI Defense (before it was bought by Raytheon) at the time - I kept trying to get him to tell me about some of the projects he worked on, but those were "need to know".... dang it!

I think generally, if you have nothing to hide, then no worries. They'll check into your friends, familiy, etc to see if there are any known questionable contacts - look into your travel records, etc, etc. Fun stuff, isn't it?

Brian

[allycat22575]

I recently received a DUI in December 2012 and I am applying for a government job. Does anyone know if this will affect my chances of getting a job?