Why HR Runs a Background Check: A Candidate’s Guide

You’ve just received the good news that you’ve got a job offer with an employer you want to work with. Now they come back with a request to do a background check.

What’s next?

What can you expect?

Does a background check mean I’ll be hired?

You nailed the interview and you’re feeling confident. Now HR has reached out with a conditional offer and notified you that they want to conduct a background check before finalizing everything.

What does it mean?

Is it a good sign? Are you getting the job?

What do employers see in a background check?

In this article, we cover what a background check is, what employers look for and what you can expect, how to prepare, how long it takes to complete a background check, and, most importantly, whether it means you can start drafting your resignation letter to leave your current job.

We also discuss what you can do should you fail a pre-employment background check.

What is a background check in HR?

Imagine you’re renovating your home and need a contractor. Would you hire the first person you meet off the street? Of course not! You’d want to ensure they have the right qualifications, understand your vision, and can follow your instructions to complete the project to your satisfaction.

It’s much the same when you apply for a new position.

As a job candidate, you’re essentially a stranger to the company, and they certainly don’t want to risk handing the job to someone who might come in and cause chaos, costing them time and money, and potentially upsetting their clients. The organization, along with your prospective manager, needs to feel confident that you possess the necessary skills and expertise to succeed in the role.

Do you have the right qualifications and experience? That’s where a background check after a job offer becomes crucial. The company will take the time to review your history to verify that you are who you claim to be, have the experience you claim to have, and can perform the tasks you say you can.

While waiting for the outcome of the background check can be stressful or frustrating, it’s helpful to remember that the company is simply looking to safeguard its reputation and bottom line.

Hiring is an expensive process, but hiring the wrong person can be even more costly, making it essential to get it right.

What is the most common background check for employment?

The most common background check for employment is the criminal history check. This check is often performed to ensure that candidates don’t have a criminal record that would disqualify them from a specific role, particularly for positions that require trust, safety, or access to sensitive information. It’s especially important for roles in industries such as healthcare, finance, childcare, education, and roles requiring security clearances. Employers use criminal history checks to mitigate the risks of hiring someone who may pose a threat to the workplace or its reputation.

Other common background checks include employment verification, education verification, reference checks, and identity verification. We cover more on these below! However, criminal background checks remain the most widely conducted due to their importance in safeguarding the company’s interests and maintaining a safe work environment.

What do employers look for in a background check?

There are two ways employers do background checks: either in-house or through a third-party background screening vendor.

Regardless of who’s running the checks, they’ll ask you for your legal name, your date of birth, and your Social Security Number/Social Insurance Number to get things started.

They’ll also likely ask you for information on where you worked, the address, and the job titles. Depending on where you live, the company might call these employers and ask them what it was like to work with you, your skillset, and if they’d ever re-hire you, otherwise they’ll just use this information to verify your dates of employment and job titles – different places have different rules about how much past employers can disclose.

Below, we’ve outlined some more check-specific information requests that might come up. Keep reading to learn what employers see in a background check.

What does a background check show?

A background check after a job offer is a routine part of the hiring process and shouldn’t be a major cause for concern. By this point, the employer has likely identified you as their preferred candidate and is hoping that nothing comes up in the background check to change their decision.

The job offer will likely say: “Offer is contingent upon the successful completion of a background screen.” Although it’s a good sign, it’s not over until you have that final job offer in hand.

Again, just as you wouldn’t hire a contractor without verifying their credentials, companies want to ensure that you possess the skills and integrity you claim.

What background check do most employers do? There are several common types of background checks that employers conduct:

Employment Verification and Reference Checks

Employers often check your work history to confirm that your résumé accurately reflects your previous roles. This includes verifying dates, company names, and job titles by contacting former employers. 

How does HR verify your employment history? There are different ways that employers do employment checks. They can either do it themselves or through a third-party agency. It’s mostly to check whether you have the experience you said you have.

During the application process, you may also be asked to provide references and those individuals will likely be contacted. Be cautious of “stretching” employment dates to cover gaps in your résumé, as inconsistencies could raise red flags and damage your credibility.

Reference checks can vary in format, from a quick phone call to a detailed questionnaire. For candidates seeking their first job, references can also come from trusted individuals like teachers or community leaders, rather than family members.

If you’re still employed with the company and actively interviewing, usually you get to indicate that when filling out the form and they’ll skip contacting that reference or contact them at a later date.

Education Verification

Employers may also seek to confirm the educational qualifications you listed. This verification may involve requesting copies of your degrees or certificates. If you graduated some time ago, it might be wise to locate these documents.

If you have substantial work experience, this step may not always be necessary.

Credential Verification

Credential verification is the process of validating professional certifications, licences, and other credentials to ensure that they’re accurate and legitimate. For roles that require specific certifications or licences (e.g., medical professionals, engineers, IT specialists), verification includes checking with the issuing authority to confirm that the candidate holds the necessary credentials and that they’re in good standing.

Criminal Record Check

Most employers will perform a criminal record check before finalizing a job offer, especially for roles in sensitive industries. 

Due to the way criminal negligence is treated in the workplace, it’s crucial for companies to conduct a criminal record check to ensure they’re not hiring individuals with a history of offences that could jeopardize their business or their clients. In this way, a criminal record check has less to do with not trusting you and more to do with protecting the company.

The company will likely be checking records for such crimes as:

• Violent offenses
• Sex crimes
• Fraud or embezzlement
• Felonies

While certain convictions may not be reported (there are different levels of criminal record checks from “basic” to “enhanced”), having a criminal record doesn’t automatically disqualify you from a job. For example, youthful indiscretions are unlikely to prevent a well-qualified adult from securing a role. Here are tips for addressing a criminal record in a job interview.

Credit Report Check

Employers might check your credit history if the position grants you financial authority. However, there are limitations on what can be included in a background screening, such as bankruptcies older than ten years and civil suits older than seven years.

This type of check is more common in higher-level roles and for roles in the financial services sector, so it’s beneficial to review your credit report beforehand to address any potential issues.

Social Media Screening

Social media checks have emerged as a recent trend in background checks, with employers reviewing candidates’ online presence to assess whether their personal values align with the company’s culture. We published a blog post on Your Questions about Social Media Screening, Answered if you’re looking for more information on the practice.

Now is an excellent time to audit your public social media accounts and remove any posts that could cast you in a negative light. If you’re uncomfortable with a post being seen by your future employer, it’s best to delete it.

For platforms you rarely use, ensure your privacy settings are stringent to limit recruiter access. However, keep your LinkedIn profile professional and visible, actively engaging with content to enhance your professional image.

Additionally, employers may conduct other specific background checks based on the role’s requirements. For instance, a rideshare driver may need their driving licence verified, while other positions might require medical or drug screenings. (Drug and alcohol testing depends on the employer’s policies and the nature of the job. This testing is often separate from the standard employment, education, and criminal history checks that comprise most background checks.)

Overall, while the background check process can feel intrusive, it’s essential for ensuring a safe and compliant hiring environment. By understanding what to expect and preparing accordingly, you can navigate this phase of your job search with more confidence.

How far back does an employment background check go?

The length of time an employment background check covers depends on several factors, including the type of check being conducted (as described above), the jurisdiction (country or state), and the policies of the employer or the background screening provider.

Employment Verification and Reference Checks

Employment verification checks usually focus on the last seven years of work history, depending on the employer’s requirements. Employers typically check the most recent positions listed on a candidate’s résumé and may go further back if needed.

Reference checks typically cover the past three to five years of the candidate’s work history and relationships, but it can vary depending on the specific role and industry.

Education Verification

Educational verification checks typically verify the candidate’s highest level of education, such as a degree or diploma. There’s no standard time frame, but education records can go as far back as the individual’s highest completed level of schooling.

Criminal Record Checks

• In the US, criminal records are generally reported for the past seven years, though certain states allow reports to go back as far as 10 years. For more serious offences, like felonies, they may appear indefinitely, depending on state laws.
• In Canada, criminal record checks typically go back for the full lifetime of an individual’s record, but certain offences (like summary offences) may be excluded after a specific period.

Social Media Screening

Social media screening can go back as far as seven years, depending on the platform’s available data and how far back public posts or photos are stored.

What can employers not check?

There are certain protected characteristics that employers aren’t allowed to check or base their decisions on. These are the sort of characteristics that have no impact at all on your ability to do a job – for example, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability and genetic information, and several other personal attributes.

In Canada, these characteristics are protected through prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. In the US, applicants, employees, and former employers are protected from employment discrimination based on the  characteristics and attributes above (and others) through federal laws by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

I got a written job offer with a start date but I’m wondering if I should wait for the background check to clear or am I being paranoid?

If your job offer is “contingent upon the successful completion of a background screen,” it’s generally recommended that you wait until the results clear and you get the go-ahead from your new HR team before giving official notice to your current employer.

It’s not unreasonable to ask that you be notified when the background check has cleared and that you have two weeks to provide notice to your current employer from that time. Even if you don’t have a criminal history and didn’t lie about anything during the interviews, you should wait to give notice. If you remain in regular contact with the new HR team requesting the checks, and you’ve already told them the notice period you need to provide, they’ll likely be understanding if your start date needs to change from what you initially negotiated. In fact, they may be apologetic if the delay is on their end, from their background check vendor or another administrative issue!

You can tell them that you’re not concerned about passing the background check, but you’ve heard stories of delayed background checks and you want to protect yourself from risk. If you know the hiring manager’s contact information, you could speak with them on the topic as well and cut out the “game of telephone” to make sure you’re up front about why you’re changing things – you’re trying to maintain professional courtesy (which shows that professionalism is important to you, and thus they’ll be benefiting from your professionalism in the future) and mitigate personal risk.

On the other side of this, the next time you change jobs, you can tell the new company that you won’t put in notice until the background check has cleared or that you would prefer not to set a start date until the background check has cleared. It may not be possible for you to not have an official start date in the job contract, but in that case you may be able to compromise and set a start date that’s five or six weeks out to ensure you can provide professional courtesy to your current employer with a proper notice period. 

How can you prepare for a background check? 

In all honesty, there’s little you can do to prepare for a background check beyond:

• Presenting an accurate and honest résumé
• Cleaning up your public social media
• Speaking to your references to warn them of incoming requests
• Digging up any documentation that may be requested to avoid delays

if you’ve lived in multiple locations or have a common name, it can take longer to accurately gather all the necessary details. Additionally, the response times of past employers or institutions can also delay the process.

FYI – Pardons Canada has more information on pardons and record suspensions in Canada and the Office of the Pardon Attorney is a good reference if you’re in the US.

How long does a background check take?

No one likes a waiting game, so it’s helpful to be prepared for how long a background check takes. Having said that, it’s impossible to give an exact time frame, as every employer differs. A standard background check typically takes between a few days to two weeks. A more exact time frame depends on the depth and scope of the check. Candidates usually hear something within a week or two following a background check.

It can take anywhere from two to five days to conduct an employment background check. Don’t despair if you don’t hear anything within this timeframe; there could be other factors at play. Maybe it’s a holiday period, or information is needed from another state or country, or someone just isn’t being as efficient or as accurate as they could be. 

More comprehensive checks that include education verification, credit history, and checks on international records can extend the process. As we covered above, if you’ve lived in multiple locations or have a common name, it can take longer to accurately gather all the necessary details. Additionally, the response times of past employers or institutions can also delay the process.

While waiting for a background check to be completed can induce a little anxiety, understanding that the duration is influenced by the thoroughness and necessity to ensure a safe and reliable workforce will hopefully give you some peace of mind.

Although employment background checks are a good sign you’re being seriously considered for the job, the common advice is don’t just sit and wait. Keep applying to other positions – just in case.

Hopefully, the news you’re waiting for is just around the corner!

What are common reasons for failing background checks?

Background checks can throw up red flags for several reasons. Top employer concerns include: 

• Catching an untruth on your résumé that calls your integrity into question 
• A criminal record that could prove costly for the employer further down the line 
• A poor credit history that might affect decision making in financial roles 
• References that cast doubt on your ability to do the job well or integrate with the team

Any of these could result in a change of heart about offering you the job.

Employers need your permission to run a background check, and you’re within your rights to refuse – but don’t expect the employer to take your application any further. This is their security blanket, after all.

If I got fired, does that show up on a background check?

Different jurisdictions have varying laws regarding what employers can disclose about former employees, so it’s hard to say for sure. In some cases, employers may be restricted from sharing specific details about the reason for termination.

Aside from doing your own research, it’s important to be honest about your employment history during the hiring process, as discrepancies can lead to issues with future employment opportunities.

1. Employment Verification: Many background checks include employment verification, which may reveal your employment history, including the fact that you were terminated from a previous position with cause.
2. Reference Checks: Employers may contact your former employer for references, and if they do, your termination could be disclosed.
3. Criminal Background Checks: While being fired is generally not recorded in criminal background checks, if your termination was due to misconduct that resulted in legal action, it may appear.

What should I do if I fail a background check?

If you do happen to fail your background check, contact the employer. They have a legal duty to share the information they received about you so you can find out what went wrong.

Here are some steps you can take:

1. Request a Copy of the Report: Ask the employer for a copy of the background check report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in the US, they are required to provide you with this information.
2. Contact the Employer: Reach out to the employer to discuss the findings. They may be able to clarify any misunderstandings or give you insight into how the information affected their decision. Look for any discrepancies or inaccuracies in the information provided.
3. Correct Inaccuracies: If you find errors in your background check report, contact the consumer reporting agency or credit bureau that conducted the check and request corrections. They’re legally obligated to investigate your dispute and rectify any inaccuracies. Certn’s Customer Support team can help you get the process started.
4. Prepare to Explain: If the information on the report is accurate, be ready to explain the circumstances surrounding the issues in future interviews. Focus on how you’ve grown or changed since then.
5. Keep Applying: Remember that a failed background check does not define your worth as a candidate. Different employers have different policies and standards. Keep applying.
6. Consider a Legal Consultation: If you believe the background check was conducted unlawfully or if you face discrimination as a result, consider consulting with an attorney who specializes in employment law.
7. Address the Issues: Work on improving any areas that contributed to the failed check, whether that’s gaining additional qualifications, obtaining references, or resolving any outstanding legal matters.

By taking these steps, you can better understand the implications of a failed background check and work towards securing future employment opportunities.

What are the risks of not doing a background check?

As you navigate the background check process, we hope this information has been helpful in demystifying what can often feel like a daunting phase of the hiring journey. 

Understanding the ins and outs of background checks, from what employers look for to how you can best prepare, can alleviate the anxieties that come with this crucial step. 

Remember, a background check is simply a tool used by employers to ensure they’re making informed decisions, much like the contractor you’d hire to renovate your home. It’s about finding the right fit for both you and the organization. 

By being transparent and proactive, you can approach this process with confidence, knowing that you’ve laid a solid foundation for your future role. 

Best of luck as you await the outcome, and remember, the right opportunity is just around the corner!

Industry-Leading Background Checks for Employers

The key to background checks is that if you do use them, the process can’t be burdensome to your candidates. It needs to be done quickly and smoothly since most applicants are likely to take the first job they’re offered.

If you need qualified candidates quickly, a background check process that takes days and requires a lot of work on the candidate’s behalf isn’t going to fly.

This is where Certn comes in. Book a demo to learn how you can reduce your time-to-hire by up to 80%.