3 Perfect Examples of Why Your Company Should Do Employee Screenings

Have you heard of the concept that job applicants will do whatever they can to stand out above the rest?

The job market is competitive and the above statement is more common today than ever. Job pressure can often tempt people into falsifying their credentials in order to seem more impressive and, thus, more hireable. The only way employers can be positive that an applicant’s resume really is as good as he or she says is to run an employee background check.

A quality background check should include criminal history and past employment verification.

Perhaps if some of the following companies had done their homework a little better, they would have been able to avoid some significantly embarrassing situations.

Robert Irving’s cake mistake

For instance, the Food Network’s Dinner Impossible thought they had made a great find when they hired Robert Irving. Among his purported accomplishments was having designed Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cake. However, in 2008 it came to light that the closest he had come to the cake was picking the fruit for it because he was attending the school where it was made.

MIT dean is denied

Despite its impressively intellectual persona, it took MIT 28 years to realize one of its staff, Marilee Jones, not only had never received a master’s degree, she had never finished her undergraduate degree either. When the falsification came to light in 2007, Jones chose to resign, admitting she had “misrepresented her academic degrees to the institute” because she “did not have the courage to correct [her] resume when [she] applied for [her] current job or at any time since.”

Notre Dame Head Coach never actually played football

George O’Leary probably gets the prize for the shortest time served as head coach of Notre Dame’s football team. Just 5 days after being named to the position, he resigned because the university realized he had never received the master’s degree he claimed to have gotten from New York University. He had in fact attended the school, but never graduated.

Even worse, the university discovered that despite telling them he had played football for three years at the University of New Hampshire, O’Leary had actually never played at all. Upon his resignation, O’Leary released this statement: “Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni, and fans.”

Avoid this type of public humiliation by doing background checks on applicants before you hire them. It’s just a good business policy to have, no matter what line of work you’re in.

Explaining the DIfferent Criminal Background Checks For Screening Applicants

Creating a safer workplace, avoiding employee theft and reducing lawsuits are just some of the benefits of conducting criminal background checks. However, employers may be leaving themselves vulnerable by not understanding the many criminal background check options, and may even be conducting the wrong background checks for their specific workplace needs.

Unfortunately the many different jurisdictions responsible for reporting crimes do not corroborate with each other. For example, crimes committed in Arkansas, will not show up in a state criminal record for Missouri. Hiring a reputable background check company, such as Victig, will help you cover all your bases.

• County/Sate/National Criminal Records: Crimes may be reported in different records. Be sure to check all states that your applicant has be a resident in. Many criminals whose past crimes would make them ineligible for certain jobs have been hired because their current state background check was clean, while they had a record from a previous home state. National crime records should be conducted in addition to local checks to cover your bases.
• Federal Criminal Records: Certain crimes, such as tax fraud, embezzlement, mail fraud, etc that are prosecuted by a federal court will not show up in your county, state or even national criminal records.
• Sex Offender Registry Check: This search is especially important if the job or volunteer work deals with children. Many sex offenders have evaded their past by moving, make sure you check nationwide to see if the applicant is a registered sex offender.
• Federal Bankruptcy Records: You’ll want to make sure your applicant hasn’t been declared bankrupt, especially if the position they’re applying for requires financial responsibilities. Having a bankruptcy on record may indicate lack of money management skills.
• Driving Records: Many employers check applicants driving records to look for unsafe driving practices—especially if the job specifically involves some driving on the job.
• Civil Court Search: Although not all court cases or lawsuits will be applicable to the job, if you find an applicant the center of a breach of contract or product liability case, you may think twice before hiring the applicant.
• Prohibited and Restricted Parties Search: Some criminals are on a “do not hire list” or are subject to other restrictions for illegal activities such as terrorism, trafficking narcotics, trading illegal weapons, money laundering. You can get obtain a list from certain government agencies.
• International Search: If an applicant has a foreign background, you’ll want to do a thorough international search. Thankfully, West Virginia University conducted a background search when they were vetting assistant professor Arnoop Shankar, otherwise they wouldn’t have discovered that he did not have the degrees he claimed to have.

Obviously not all of these criminal searches are necessary for every job, but knowing your options will help you understand which ones will help you hire a safe and qualified applicant.