Employers have been running background checks on job candidates for years. The reasons why are clear: Background checks ensure that your job candidate is who they say they are, prevent violent felons from joining your team, and prevent surprise liabilities from popping up later. More recently, those job candidates are running background checks on themselves before applying for a position. What’s in it for them?
Though the process might seem unnecessary at first, there are actually some very powerful motivators that might lead you to run a background check on yourself if you’re a job seeker. The good news is, it’s easier than ever to run a background check on yourself. Just make sure that you choose to work with an experienced and dependable screening company before you run a check. Otherwise, the results could come back incorrect or incomplete, wasting your time and money in the process.
Here are the most common reasons why people run background checks on themselves:
1. Not all background checks are accurate.
Somewhere along the line, a police officer could have mis-cataloged a criminal conviction and filed it under your record instead of where it belonged. A careless background check company, meanwhile, can pull the wrong records entirely, especially if you have a common name. Running a background check on yourself can reveal inaccurate information and give you a chance to resolve the problem before it costs you a job.
2. Knowledge is power.
Many people have misconceptions about how background checks work, believing that there is some giant mainframe of background information out there that can spit out criminal records, driving history, credit history, and more within minutes. This isn’t the case: background information—particularly criminal history information—is scattered across the country at different county courts, state repositories, and other sources. Running a background check on yourself will give you a better understanding of a complicated process, and will help you see why, sometimes, background check information could be inaccurate.
3. Preparation is key.
If you have a criminal record, poor credit history, or a rough driving record, you likely have a logical explanation for every little issue. Whatever your story is, your prospective employer isn’t going to see it on a background check report. What they are going to see are numbers, statistics, and facts about you that leave little room for gray area. Running a check on yourself allows you to bring up the problem areas (and solutions) before your employer does.
4. It gives you an edge.
The job market is as competitive right now as it has ever been. Job searchers are working on a landscape where they have to be perfect to land a position. Every piece of work experience, every interview response, every reference—it all counts, and can make or break your job chances. By running a background check on yourself and clearing up any issues, you will be making a preparation that many competing applicants won’t.
If you’d like to run a background check on yourself, you don’t have to do it alone. KRESS is one of the country’s most trusted resources when it comes to background checks and pre-employment screening. Contact us today for assistance with a self background check today.