Background checks have been performed on prospective employees by employers for years. However, the act of these jobseekers requesting “personal” background checks on themselves in order to enhance their employment opportunities is a recent development.
Jobseekers requesting personal background checks are a growing market that is rapidly gaining popularity and a great deal of momentum. Why? Because there are more jobseekers than ever now and the competition for employment is fierce. According to recent U.S. Labor Department reports, 3 million people lost jobs in 2008 and nearly 600,000 more did so in January 2009.
With more unemployed jobseekers comes more resume fraud. A recent study by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 53 percent of all job applications contained inaccurate information. That figure is certain to rise along with the number of unemployed jobseekers. Unfortunately, when companies hire unqualified job applicants everyone loses: the companies that now must deal with the cost in time and money spent on unqualified employees AND the qualified jobseekers who told the truth but lost jobs to unqualified competitors who did not.
Ordering personal background checks can help jobseekers gain a crucial advantage over their competition. According to SHRM, more than 96 percent of U.S. employers currently perform background checks to validate the identity and background of jobseekers and uncover any criminal history. Personal background checks allow jobseekers to know exactly what personal information will be revealed to employers, while also giving them the opportunity to make sure that information is accurate, correct errors, and prevent ID theft.
Having gained valuable insight into their own personal information, jobseekers who order personal background checks can feel more confident and relaxed during the other portions of the pre-employment screening process, especially the all-important interview. Bottom line: jobseekers need to see what background checks will reveal before employers do, and personal background checks are the quickest and easiest way to accomplish this task.
What jobseekers don’t know can and will hurt them. With personal background checks, jobseekers gain an edge in today’s crowded job market. While most background check companies serve employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com – one of the first consumer requested background check services and a member of The Pre-employ.com Family of Companies – specializes in personal background checks for individuals.
With a MyBackgroundCheck.com Personal Background Check Account, jobseekers can view and manage information, show reports to employers over a secure network, and receive knowledge of who is viewing their reports. If inaccurate information is discovered in a background check, a dispute resolution service helps account members remove the discrepancies and keep their personal background check information current, secure, and accurate.
MyBackgroundCheck.com’s Employment Enhancement packages help jobseekers provide employers with the background check information needed to extend job offers to qualified candidates. As jobseekers desire more control over their personal background check information and employers continue to seek ways to reduce costs and lessen risks, MyBackgroundCheck.com presents the only solution for all of these needs.
Jobseekers interested in an Employment Enhancement package – including a U.S. Criminal File Search, Social Security Number (SSN) Address Locator, Sex Offender Registry Search, Previous Employment Verification, and Education Verification – should visit http://www.mybackgroundcheck.com/jobseekers.aspx. To create a Personal Background Check Account, go to http://www.mybackgroundcheck.com/personal-background-check-info.aspx. For more information on personal background check services, please visit www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.