Background checks are a way for companies, organizations, or people to verify or check the details of a person. Typically, companies use them during the hiring process when vetting potential candidates. While they’re normally only used by companies, there are a lot of reasons why anyone could need to use a background check.
In this article, we’ll be looking at how background check works and what they can find. You’ll also see the reasons why it might be a good idea to run a background check on someone. Sites like Check People and others allow you to quickly and easily look up details on a person. This can help you to understand whether they’re a good fit for your business, whether they’re safe to be around, and determine if they’ve been honest with you.
How Does a Background Check Work?
Background checks normally have several different levels. Most of the time, a simple background check will take a person’s full name and find out any details they may have online. A lot of people are shocked when they see how much information is available through an online search. This is then taken further with a criminal record check, education check, and employment check. These are more detailed and can take longer but will usually reveal further information about the person. These details wouldn’t show up through a regular online search.
What Can a Background Check Find?
Background checks can discover the full details of a person and their past. Criminal record checks will discover the full extent of any arrests or charges made against that person. Depending on the state, the length of time that criminal records are accessible will change. Sometimes hiring a private investigator can help speed up this process for you.
These checks can also look into the details of a person’s employment and education. Normally, the full details of a person’s employment history will be visible. This includes where they worked, their job titles, and how long they held their position. The education check will show up any credentials the person has, where they enrolled in college and what they majored in.
Background checks can even look into a person’s credit history. Your credit history is a full history of your finances. This can turn up financial records including loans, mortgages, late payments, and more.
Reasons You Could Background Check on Someone
Vetting Potential Employees of Your Business – Pre-employment screening is one of the most common reasons for a background check. If you’d like to hire someone to work for you, it’s only natural that you want to verify who they are and their character. Depending on what kind of role they’ll be working in, you’ll need to know that they have the right experience and credentials for the job.
Checking a Person’s History Before Entering into a Relationship – If you’re dating someone and looking to begin a relationship, we might want to consider running a quick background check first. You’ll want to find out if your potential date or partner has any serious criminal record that may put you in danger. It’s also a good way to check if they’re honest or whether they’ve lied about certain aspects of their life to you.
Protecting Your Child – Whenever children are involved, safety is paramount, and a background check may help to keep your children safe. If you’re thinking about hiring a nanny, tutor, or anyone else that may be around your children, a quick background check can help put your mind at ease. This will also help to confirm that the person is trustworthy. Other people who will be around your children could be neighbors, step-parents, or sports coaches. Make sure that none of these people have criminal records and help keep your children safe.
Running Due Diligence Before Buying a Business or Entering into a Business with a Partner – Before either buying or investing in a business, it’s always important to carry out a diligence check. You should look up the full details of the person selling the business to you. Ensure that there haven’t been any civil cases or financial issues that may make the sale of the business difficult. This is also important when entering into a new business with a partner. You’ll want to know that your partner is someone you can trust.
Checking Yourself Before Starting Your Job Hunt – Job hunting can be difficult, and you’ll want the process to go as smoothly as possible. Before you start looking for a new job, it’s worth running a background check on yourself. Make sure that all of the details on your CV are correct. If a hiring manager sees discrepancies between your CV and your history, they’ll usually bin your application.
