I. Overview Of
Topic
Unemployment is soaring. More and more employers are cutting their workforces and
fewer jobs are available. The
jobmarket is closing in on 10% unemployment, unthinkable a
year ago. The Great Recession of '09 is making it next to
impossible to land any job, let alone the Dream Job you
really want.
Is there anything you can do to
stand out from the pack?
Actually, there is a new idea
that's catching on.
Some job seekers are now paying
to have background check reports run on themselves, and then
offering these reports to prospective employers.
Why might this help you?
Simply because , first, it enables you to find out if any erroneous information is being reported about you. And second, it reassures
potential employers that the qualifications you present in
your resume are true and correct. Studies have found that as
many as 44% of resumes and applications contain inaccuracies
or outright deceptions.
Nowadays, before an employer
hires you, he/she will almost always conduct a background
check. The fact you have presented your own
self-background-check suggests that a problem is not likely to
crop up when the employer runs its own background check. In other
words, it suggests that the employer will not uncover
something which will cause him/her to have to disqualify you
right at the end of the hiring process ? thereby wasting
company time and resources.
What's more, as said, if by chance there
is some mistake being made in compiling your background check
? for example, a State is erroneously reporting you have a
criminal record when if fact you don't ? running your own
background check will alert you to this problem so you can
take steps to correct it before an employer sees it.
Bottom Line: This may be a good preemptive
strategy in today's killer jobmarket. But how do you go about
it and how much does it cost?
HOW EMPLOYMENT SCREENING
WORKS
First, employment background checks are
not usually referred to as ?background checks? by human
resources professionals. They're called ?Pre-Employment Checks?
or ?Employment Screening Reports.?
Certain companies specialize in
doing these reports for employers ? in fact, it's a big
business. Each report usually contains five items of
information about you: identity verification (based on
verifying your social security number), educational and
employment verification, criminal records check and credit
check. These are the basic elements of a standard employment
screening report (though many employers skip the credit check,
especially for entry-level job candidates).
You may ask, What about job
references? Checking job references is not part of a standard
employment screening report. These reports usually only verify
past employment and possibly request your ?reason for leaving?
from your previous employers. The task of calling up the past
supervisors and asking for verbal references is left to the
prospective employer.
Nowadays, most employers get
their employment screening reports via the Internet. The
employment screening company develops its report on you then
posts it to a secure web page, giving the URL (Web page address) and the password to the
employer that ordered it.
There's no reason you can't hire
a screening company to do this for you ? i.e., to develop an
Employment Screening report on you, thus enabling you to make it available to
any prospective employer you select.
What does one of these reports look like? Click here to view a sample report. (Note, however, that the sample contains data elements, such as a Civil Records Search, that most employers do not require.)
GETTING YOUR SELF-CHECK
EMPLOYMENT SCREENING REPORT
The strategy is simple. Get
your own employment screening report done, then offer it to an
employer as a way of reassuring him that you're on the
up-and-up. But will it help? Well, consider a situation where
he's interviewing ten equally-qualified people. You're the
only one who's taken the initiative to offer him this type of
reassurance. I've got to think it has to be a plus in your favor, regardless of your field or the level of job you're applying for.
However there's a problem.
Unfortunately, most reputable employment screening companies
on the Internet will decline your request for a
self-check employment screening report. Why? First, because it's
something new and they're just not accustomed to dealing with
this kind of order. But more importantly, because they are
simply not interested in working for a client who just wants one report (on himself or herself). They're interested in clients
(companies) who will order hundreds or even thousands of such
reports per year. Some of these screening companies will even
turn down small businesses who they know will order only a few dozen
reports per year.
Of course, as you may be aware,
there are Internet companies out there that will run online database searches for you to
see if you have a criminal record, etc., but these are not
really what you want, in my opinion. You're not looking for
just a criminal records search but a valid Employment
Screening Report (which includes all the elements discussed
above) which you can present to a prospective employer and
which will have credibility with that employer.
Our company, Washington Research
Associates, Inc., has been in the employment screening
business since 1994, and we'll accommodate your request for
a full confidential employment screening report. We'll post
your completed report on a secure Web page and provide you
with the URL and username/password so that it will be
available for prospective employers to review at your
discretion.
Most of our clients are small
businesspeople ? even one-person businesses ? so we are set up
to handle single orders for our reports and will be happy to
assist you.
As to the price of the full
report, its regular price is $110, but you'll automatically
receive our standard 30% discount for new clients, making the actual price for
your report only $77.
ORDERING PROCESS
To order a full self-check
employment screening report, go to our site at E-EmploymentScreening.net
and click on the CLICK HERE TO GET
STARTED NOW button at the bottom of the page.
This will take you to a page containing a
description of the contents of the report you'll receive. As
you'll see, it's quite detailed and thorough.
Go to the bottom of the page and
click on the CLICK TO SET UP ACCOUNT button.
This will take you to a page
requiring ?Company Name? etc. Many of our clients are sole
proprietors, and they enter their own names as ?Company Name.? You
can do the same. Then complete the billing information. (Note: Credit card orders only for Self-Check Employment Screening reports, please.)
In the Comments/Special Instructions box
enter ?Self-Check Employment Screening Report.?
SaveCancelClos Then review our Terms of Use and check the ?I accept and
agree to the Terms of Use? box, and click ?SUBMIT.? The Terms of Use simply requires that you use your report legally and ethically, and for employment-related purposes.
After clicking "SUBMIT," you'll next be
taken to a PDF page containing a form which you will need to print out and
complete and fax to us. (Complete all sections of the form, i.e., for both "employer" and "candidate." This form provides us with your signed release allowing us to conduct the background check, and also provides us with the basic information about you we need to conduct the investigation.) Again, wherever ?Company? information is
requested, simply enter your own name and address.
We will complete your
E-EmploymentScreening report and post it to a secure web page
within three business days, then send you an email with the URL and
username/password where you can view the report.
When you receive it be sure to carefully
review it to make sure all the information it contains is
correct. If it is completely correct, you can then provide it
to a prospective employer either in a letter or on your
resume.
WHAT IF THE REPORT COMES BACK
WITH MISINFORMATION?
But what if your report comes
back with misinformation? Suppose, for example, it erroneously indicates
you've been convicted of a serious crime, or suppose one of
your former employers misreports that you never worked for
them?
This would mean that
misinformation was reported to our firm, Washington Research
Associates, Inc. by a State government or by your former
employer. This, frankly, does happen on occasion and it's
important that you discover that it's happening to
you before a potential employer sees your report!
Remember, if misinformation was
reported to us, it will be reported to any other employment
screening company as well.
If you do find misinformation,
then you need to get it corrected before jumping into
the jobmarket. Your first step should be to contact us to find
out where the misinformation came from ? if possible, who,
specifically, gave it to us ? then get in touch with that
governmental or business organization and get it corrected.
There will be an email address and telephone number on your
report which you can use to contact us.
II. RESOURCES
As I indicated above, there are
a number of companies on the Web which offer ?instant
background checks? etc., but these are probably not what you
need. You need a valid Employment Screening Report, which
includes all standard elements ? identity verification,
educational and employment verification, and criminal check
(incidentally, to be fully compliant with employment law, the latter should be based on an on-site check
of County Records, not a database search alone). At
E-EmploymentScreening.net you can order a complete Employment
Screening report for $77, which will include all basic
elements in a professional format which you can present to
prospective employers if you wish either by printing it out or
by simply providing them with its URL and
username/password.
Criminal Records Searches Only
Some employers don't need
complete employment screening reports. For many blue-collar
positions (no matter how high the pay may be), only an
identity verification and criminal records search is
conducted. If you fall into this category, I suggest you take
a look at our other website,E-CriminalBackgroundCheck.net.
Notice it lets you choose any of four levels of criminal
records search coverage ? County, State, National, and
Ultimate. Your best bet is probably our National Report, as it
covers all States and therefore can provide assurance to an
employer that you don't have a criminal record in all 50
States.
Related Web Search Guides
Other Web Search Guides you may find
useful:
Career Information
Workers Compensation
Illegal Aliens
Recommended Reading
III.Discussion
Group
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