Will I pass my background check considering these details (no lies) (employees, credit report)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just received an amazing job offer! However, as is commonly the case, I must first pass a background check. I did NOT lie on my application, however I am concerned about some issues from my past that might disqualify me from this opportunity. I greatly appreciate anybody who takes the time to read this post and respond with their honest opinion!
First, the application asked the common question: have you ever been convicted of a crime? I have NOT been convicted of a crime, so my response was "no". However, about 10 years ago, I was caught smoking weed in a national park. I was charged with a federal misdemeanor for possession of a very small amount of marijuana, along with possession of paraphernalia. I completed one year of federal supervision, after which the charge was dismissed "without a judgement of conviction first being entered." (these are the exact words from the court records.) This was a long time ago and I don't use drugs anymore. (Also, I had misdemeanor convictions as a juvenile, but I'm under the assumption that I shouldn't worry about these since I'm not obligated to report juvenile stuff, and they won't be able to find them.)
Second, for about three years (when I didn't have a real job, during the time between about 8 to 5 years ago), I made about $20/hr playing poker. I probably averaged about 10 hours per week. The job I'm applying for deals with probability and statistics, so believe it or not, making money playing poker is actually a pretty decent background to have in this situation, so I put it on my application. But I'm worried because, at that time, I was young and irresponsible and didn't file taxes on this income. Before you persecute me and call me an evil person and a bad American, please realize that I'm not sure the amount was even enough that I was obligated to report it. But I'm worried about the background check because there is no way they can confirm this part of my application without contacting me (i have data on an old computer from the online sites where I played).
Finally, I have credit issues from my past. Nothing bad from the past three or four years, but many defaults and charge-offs before that. I have been taking steps to repair my credit and have a great record over the past three or four years. My credit score is getting better.
So there you have it, my checkered past in all its glory! All of these issues occurred before I obtained my college degree, and before all of the "good" things on my application that helped me land this offer. My friends and family tell me that I'm fine and I shouldn't worry, but this opportunity is a MAJOR game-changer for my life. I would be crushed if I was disqualified due to the background check. It's been a long road to turning my life around, and this job would mark the end of that road and the beginning of something completely new and amazing. So, yeah, I'm worried.
Should I be proactive and tell HR about these things, or just wait until the results come back?
Seriously, THANK YOU very much if you took the time to read this, I know it's a bit long.
The only thing I could see that would be problematic is the credit piece. If you've got $7500+ in bad debt (active collections/write offs), that may preclude any kind of bondability if you have any type of fiduciary duty in this new job.
The dismissal may require submission of paperwork on your side that shows this as dismissed.
All that said, if you listed "self employed online gambler" as a vocation for 3 years and that didn't raise any red flags, I doubt the background check is that stringent.
Honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry abuot, UNLESS you are applying to a government position. Are you CERTAIN they will check your credit?
I'll second what RoadWarrior said -- if you interviewed and they are hiring you with you having the online poker player stuff on your resume, then I honestly dont think this bg check is that intense.
I wouldn't bring this stuff up. I'd only bring it up if you were taking a government job and had to fill out a huge background investigation packet (I just did this and everything you mentioned would be stuff I'd have to come forward about).
Were you physically arrested and fingerprinted or just cited and released? It takes more digging to find the later than the former. Unless you have filed for expungement, your record still exists. That said, even if the record is found, I don't see it being a big deal.
I'd think long and hard about putting down gambling as an occupation. You were really involved in a hobby that made you a little money on the side as opposed to being a professional gambler. All kinds of non gambling dice and card games are based on probability, so would put down that you played solitaire 10 hours a week and won most of the time? A bigger issue is that some people simply don't like gamblers and view them with a certain amount of distrust, figuring they might be tempted to steal from the company to feed their bad habit. Personally, I love to play cards, but I also know there are people who think something is wrong with you or that you have some type of flaw if you play cards for money.
Different places put different weight on credit issues; I agree that that may be your biggest issue.
Most companies only go back 7 years on background and they are usually only looking felonies. Your federal beef will likely be missed by almost all background checks as most don't check back that far or they don't check federal records. You may consider seeking an expungment ( having the charge removed from your record) after you can employment.
Your credit history might be an issue. But you might consider writing the three credit reporting forms and disputing any information on your report prior to applying to jobs which require credit reports . By law, if they cannot validate the information on your report, they have to remove it. The removals will help to "clean up" your report.
Finally, you might consider starting at a temp service and then looking for full time work. Temp services have almost constant turnover and they are always seeking new employees. You may be background checked through them;however, their checks are primarily for violent or drug offenses and they are almost always state and not federal checks. After a few months at a temp service , if you show up on time and do a good job, they may offer to hire you full time.
All that said, if you listed "self employed online gambler" as a vocation for 3 years and that didn't raise any red flags, I doubt the background check is that stringent.
Ha! Good point. The position doesn't involve fiduciary duties so you're probably right.
Quote:
I'd think long and hard about putting down gambling as an occupation.
I appreciate the concern and agree that this is generally very sage advice. Indeed, it was a difficult and risky decision to make. But I had a huge gap in my employment and decided the risk of putting down gambling outweighed the risk of putting down nothing. It was the truth, after all. That said, yes, I do feel somewhat lucky that the risk payed off and I received an offer.
Quote:
You might consider starting at a temp service...
I already signed a generous offer, so I would only consider temp work if the offer falls through due to the background check.
Again, thanks for all the replies! I certainly feel more confident about passing the check, though I'm still a bit concerned about my credit woes. Hopefully the fact that its a junior position will preclude the need for them to run a credit check in the first place.
I went to a job for orientation in New Jersey I was there for four days I took a drug test passed the urine test but failed the hair follicle test but they didn't tell me I failed the hair follicle test until I got home because the hair follicle test did not come back until Monday the following week and never a chance to tell them to retest the sample the drug that showed up in the hair follicle test was cocaine they said but I never took the drug ever in my life my neighbor told that it might be because I live in a rooming house and share a bathroom and they smoke in there and may have gotten a contact or she said it be from the novocaine that was given to me from the dentist when I got my wisdom tooth pulled and the filling I got in another tooth so when I apply to other jobs I don't put that company on the application cause I never worked there just was there for orientation my question is will the companies I'm applying to will they find that out
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
