I need to find out what comes up when employers run a background check. (spring break)

[LTurner91]

I have been passively looking for a job and a few places have turned me down. I want to know what comes up when they do a pre-employment background check. Does anyone know the best way to do this. Obviously I am hesitant to go to a website and input all of my information.

Any thoughts??

[ChristieP]

If you are turned down due to the results of a background check, you are supposed to be sent an "adverse impact" letter by the company who ran the background check. This letter will include a copy of the background check so you can appeal it if there are errors. Employers are only allowed to run a background check if you have been offered a job; they cannot run them on all applicants. You also have to give the employer your SS# and date of birth, which is not something most employers ask for on their employment applications.

Remember that a criminal record is not like a credit report; older convictions don't "fall off" after 7 years, etc. The check will include ALL criminal convictions, deferred adjudications, and no contest pleas for anything that's a class B misdemeanor or worse. Traffic tickets only show up if the employer chooses to run your driving record because you will be driving for your job.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

If you are turned down due to the results of a background check, you are supposed to be sent an "adverse impact" letter by the company who ran the background check. This letter will include a copy of the background check so you can appeal it if there are errors. Employers are only allowed to run a background check if you have been offered a job; they cannot run them on all applicants. You also have to give the employer your SS# and date of birth, which is not something most employers ask for on their employment applications.

Remember that a criminal record is not like a credit report; older convictions don't "fall off" after 7 years, etc. The check will include ALL criminal convictions, deferred adjudications, and no contest pleas for anything that's a class B misdemeanor or worse. Traffic tickets only show up if the employer chooses to run your driving record because you will be driving for your job.

Exactly. I was hired at the same time as a 40 something year old soccer mom who was arrested when she was 18 for skinny dipping at the beach when she was on spring break. She had to call the courthouse where the crime happened IN 1989 to show that she was in the clear. We still joke about it. I asked her were they really afraid she was going to take off her coat in her office and be topless? Yes, though, to answer your question, they check everything.

[jcamber]

It also depends on the type of company/industry you're applying. Some companies care about anything in your past, others only care about major offenses, others care in the context of the job you're applying to.