Before hiring an employee, every company conducts comprehensive background checks to ensure that they hire the right candidate. Some businesses conduct background screening on job applicants, and some do it after the selection process. Companies often appoint third-party employment verification solutions to carry out background checks.
Candidates can try to exaggerate their skills and experience in their CVs to attract the attention of potential employers. This way, deserving candidates do not get the chance to get hired. Furthermore, companies should be able to shortlist someone capable of handling the post and task that they are hiring for.
An employment verification check done by any verification company can relieve the HR department from going through multiple resumes and doing background checks to ensure that the resumes contain no false information. For this, calls are placed to representatives of the previous companies, and a candidate’s qualifications are verified.
What is a Background Check?
A background check is a verification of a job applicant’s records as conducted by the current or prospective employer on information related to his/her professional and academic qualification, past professional experience, financial holdings, criminal records, and personal behavior. Each aspect reveals different information about a candidate, and it has to be communicated to him/her that a background check is being carried out before starting the process.
Background Check Process
Before starting the process of a background inspection, an employer should inform the applicant in writing and get his/her written approval. However, a company doesn’t need to notify the candidate if it conducts the background screening on its own. A hiring company can call up the previous company without the applicant’s consent. When a company hires third-party employment verification solutions, it becomes necessary to inform the candidate.
Information Checked during Employment Verification
An employment verification check may include information related to big and small aspects of an employee’s life. An employer may check the previous employment history, credit, criminal and driving records, vehicle registration, medical records, property ownership, military records, drug test results, court records and so on. A character check based on the information provided by the applicant’s colleagues, neighbors and friends can also be carried out.
The background screening is generally related to the kind of job the employee is being hired for. If he/she is being hired to work in a bank, criminal records are checked for any account of theft. How far the company can go in conducting the background screening depends on the type of company and the job role.
Background checks include the following:
- Previous Employment History: This includes verifying the applicant’s employment with the listed companies on his/her CV and involves the duration of the previous post held by the applicant, his/her performance during the tenure, reasons for leaving and eligibility for the role he/she is being hired for, presently. Such details can be checked with two of the previous employers.
- Credit Score Check: The credit score of employees are also checked to hire people for the finance sector to make sure that the applicant has no previous records of fraud. This is done after taking consent from the applicant.
- Educational and Professional Qualification: Employment verification check includes verifying the employee’s claimed educational institution, years attended and the qualifications as claimed by the employee.
- Professional and Personal References: References provided by the candidate may be called up to ensure that the information given by the candidate is correct.
- Criminal Records: The candidate’s history is checked for criminal records. This is checked to see if the candidate has any records that pose any threat to the company. The nature of crime and the number of convictions is checked.
- Professional License Verification: Professional licenses are important for certain jobs such as for doctors, chartered accountants, drivers, architects and the validity of the license is checked with the state licensing board.
Screening may also be conducted on the following criteria if required:
- Credit History: Verifies the employee’s credit history. This search is done in case the hiring is related to managing funds for the company or handling cash for the company.
- Vehicle Records: This provides information on the candidate’s driving records in a specified state. Screening vehicle records is done only if the position demands so.
Significance of Background Screening
Employment verification solutions ensure that the employee in concern, upon joining the company, is capable of handling his responsibilities, and can contribute to the business’s growth. It also assures that no harm is done to the company upon hiring the employee. The business may incur losses both in terms of time and money if the candidate hired is inefficient. The time invested in hiring would not yield any fruitful results. Running background checks ensures that companies hire the best candidate suitable for a particular position.
Millions of resumes on job portals and the internet have false information, and hiring such candidates can be a potential risk for the company. An employment verification check makes sure that there is no risk associated with the hiring.
Conducting a background check is a tiresome and time-consuming process and requires a thorough inspection of data related to a candidate. It might be a tedious job to undertake for businesses after handling other roles and responsibilities. Hiring professional employment verification solutions makes the process easier and faster, and ensures that the BGV reports are 100 percent accurate.
About Repute
Repute enables accurate and instant background verification, through its innovative and cutting-edge products. We extend our services to organizations via our blockchain-based talent network, and provide fast and precise results. We make sure that businesses’ reputations remain intact by enabling them to hire the right employees for running their operations. We are one of the leading Digital Talent Ecosystems in India.
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