Do you contact employer during Background Check? (interviewed, application, job)

[Jaz09]

Hi ...

I have a few questions I was called about a job that I had interviewed for and they were calling back to start a background check. They started it a week ago.

Q. 1 - Does that mean I have the job when they ask for a background check?

Q. 2 - How long does it usually take?

Q. 3 - Can I contact the employer to find out the status?

Q. 4 - Should I be concerned that they haven't called back?

Thanks in advance!

[kodaka]

Q. 1 - Does that mean I have the job when they ask for a background check?

No, it means you are being considered for the job. Most employers only run background checks on a few of their top choice applicants, so it likely means you have a good chance of being offered the job. But it is by no means equivalent to a job offer.

Q. 2 - How long does it usually take?

Most background checks usually only take a few days but there is no 'standard'. The process is entirely dependent upon providers returning information to the employer. Of course if any part of the background check involves verifying information with the federal government, that may be delayed since much of the federal government has been shut down for days.

Q. 3 - Can I contact the employer to find out the status?

Employers pretty much never reveal how the background check process is proceeding. The information they uncover will remain unchanged, call or not. At best, you've wasted their time and yours.

Q. 4 - Should I be concerned that they haven't called back?

No.

[Jaz09]

Thank you!

[jjryan1026]

I got a call back for a company,and they said they were running there backround check now,and If everything comes back fine,they will call me with in offer.That was monday mornig,it's wednesday morning.Should I check the status.

[littleelvis]

Originally Posted by jjryan1026

I got a call back for a company,and they said they were running there backround check now,and If everything comes back fine,they will call me with in offer.That was monday mornig,it's wednesday morning.Should I check the status.

Assuming they ran the check on Monday it may take a couple days to get it back. You can call and check but chances are they don't know anything yet.

Do you have anything on there to be concerned about? If not than don't worry about it. Just wait patiently for the call.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by jjryan1026

I got a call back for a company,and they said they were running there backround check now,and If everything comes back fine,they will call me with in offer.That was monday mornig,it's wednesday morning.Should I check the status.

Try reading before posting. Post #2 gives a lot of good information.

It has been only 48 hours.

[bobtn]

Great answers, kodaka.

[Angelee27]

I recently applied at a local Dollar General store. A few days later, I called to see if the assistant manager has had a chance to review my application. She said to call her back on Monday, which was a few days later.

When I called back on Monday, she told me that my background information had not come back yet, but when it does, she will give me a call. So, apparently she is running a background check on me, without an interview.

It has been about a week and two days now, and I have not heard back from her. Should I call to check and see if my background information has come back yet? Or, just continue waiting on her to call me?

[highlife2]

I wonder if there is a way to do a background check on yourself just to see what kind of junk employers are seeing. Are we talking criminal records or internet searches?

[Angelee27]

Originally Posted by highlife2

I wonder if there is a way to do a background check on yourself just to see what kind of junk employers are seeing. Are we talking criminal records or internet searches?

Yes, you can do a background check on yourself, but they are not free.