This post was contributed by Courtney Phillips, who writes about top rated online colleges and universities. She welcomes your feedback at CourtneyPhillips80@gmail.com.
With the economy in utter turmoil, many people are out there pounding the pavement hoping to find a newer or better job these days. Recent statistics have shown that applicants for positions have risen in some industries by more than 500% from last year. With this staggering amount of people actively seeking employment, many employers are turning to background checks than before.
If you are in the process of securing employment, there are a few reasons why you might want to do your own background check. These reasons are expanded upon in the following brief article.
Why Run a Background Check on Yourself?
There are many reasons that you may want to run a background check, but the most important reason is to ensure that things are accurate concerning the public record. Checking with various departments and institutions will ensure that you are not misrepresented on paper. Often, human error has a lot to do with blemishes on your records and remedying these problems will ultimately save you time and trouble down the line.
Get a Copy of Your Driving Records
Contact your state’s DMV headquarters and request a driving record. If you have been ticketed or issued warnings, these items may be present on your driving record. Make sure that any tickets that have been settled are properly annotated and take care of any discrepancies by following the guidelines set by the DMV in your state.
Even Credit Can Harm You
Although it may seem unfair, a lot of companies run a full credit report on you when you apply for a job. You can either get your credit reports from all three major reporting bureaus or write in for physical copies of your credit report by mail. Once you have examined the reports, look for discrepancies or anything that may impede your ability to obtain employment. Try your best to dispute or remedy problems as necessary to improve your name on paper.
Be Proactive
This is a proactive step to know what you’re up against when it comes to background requirements for a job. Knowledge is power, so even if you are unable to change anything on your record you will at least know what your potential employer is looking at. This may be useful come interview time if you have any explaining to do and shows that you are proactive enough to know exactly where you stand. This could mean the difference between getting the job and being passed over.
MyBackgroundCheck.com – one of the first web-based personal background check companies – helps individuals view and manage their personal information, check credit scores, correct inaccuracies, and prevent identity theft and fraud. For more information about our multiple services, please visit http://www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
Background checks on new hires are now more popular than ever. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (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.
However, for employers to run a thorough and professional background check – which should include Social Security Number (SSN) verification, Resume and Employment verification, Criminal Record checks, and a Sexual Offenders Database check among other searches – it takes written consent from the individual jobseeker in question. Without this permission, companies can only gain information through public records, so the most critical information from jobseekers should remain private and safe from identity theft.
Or so you would think.
With unemployment reaching record highs, scam artists looking to commit identity theft have turned to phony “online recruitment” websites as an easy way to get their hands on personal data from jobseekers. These identity theft scams are becoming very popular and most jobseekers checking the Internet for employment opportunities don't realize they can compromise their personal information simply by responding to a want ad.
Here's how it works. Jobseekers receive an email from a “company” that promises an “immediate” job opening and urges them to log on to their “website” and apply for the position. Once on the website, jobseekers are told that it is company policy to do a background check and that they will need to disclose the following information to start the process: a date of birth, Social Security Number, Drivers License Number, and even Bank Account Numbers. In other words, everything that a scam artist needs to commit identity theft.
While it is disturbing that certain people can prey on the desperation of others, the fact remains that jobseekers need to be more vigilant about protecting themselves from identity theft. One way to accomplish this is to perform a personal background check on yourself, so you will have information ready to give to any on-the-level employer while protecting yourself from identity theft.
MyBackgroundCheck.com – a member of the Pre-employ.com Family of Companies – is a leading, full-service provider of consumer-requested background checks and was one of the first personal background check services available for individuals. With a MyBackgroundCheck.com account, jobseekers can view and manage personal information, check credit scores, and prevent criminal identity theft. For more information about our services, please visit www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
According to various studies – including the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) regular fraud complaint study and a report from J.D. Power & Associates – the 18- to 29-year-old age bracket commonly referred to in popular culture as “Generation Y” accounts for almost one-third (30%) of all identity theft complaints.
Nearly 10 million Americans suffered from identity theft in 2008, accounting for $48 billion in losses, reports Javelin Strategy & Research. However, while older Internet users like Generation X and Baby Boomers have a high level of concern about identity theft, the young adults who comprise Generation Y appear to be particularly vulnerable to fraud due mostly to a laid-back approach to the issue.
Varied levels of technological prowess could be the reason behind the difference in levels of concern regarding identity theft, experts say, since the young adults of Generation Y tend to be more technically-savvy than older consumers, which gives Generation Y consumers several benefits in protecting against identity theft such as having better protected computers and recognizing – and avoiding – online scams more than older generations.
Still, the young adults of Generation Y are seen as prime identity theft targets, since they also have a greater online presence that leaves them open to more opportunities for identity theft. In particular, social networks like FaceBook can be hot spots for identity theft because many Generation Y Internet users choose to sacrifice security for self-expression despite knowing the dangers.
Consumers of all ages – and not just the young adults of Generation Y – would be wise to protect and manage their own personal information. One method of accomplishing this task is with a “Personal Background Check” that can help individuals empower and protect themselves while giving them control over their own personal information.
With MyBackgroundCheck.com – a member of the Pre-employ.com Family of Companies and one of the first personal background check services for individuals – consumers of all ages can view and manage personal information, check credit scores, and prevent criminal identity theft... all from their very own MyBackgroundCheck.com account.
For more information about MyBackgroundCheck.com’s personal background check services, please visit www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
While the vast majority of schools currently run background checks on teachers, they aren’t the only people who work closely – in some cases, too closely – with students. The following two cases from the Southern California area will show why schools should have the same standards for criminal background checks on volunteers and contractors as they do for teachers.
In the first case, San Diego-area school officials were forced to review their policies for background checks on volunteers after they learned an un-registered 63-year-old sex offender had worked with students for several months as a volunteer music coach. The man was arrested recently on suspicion of failing to register as a sex offender and was taken into custody. Sex-crimes detectives were then notified about possible inappropriate conduct between the man and a student at the school where he worked once a week after regular classes ended.
A background check was never done on the volunteer, admitted a spokesman for the School District, since the district's policy leaves it up to school principals to order background checks on volunteers “when appropriate.” However, there are no clear guidelines to determine when a background check is appropriate. State education law requires schools to do background checks only on employees, not volunteers, unless the school makes a specific request.
This was not the first time the man had been accused of failing to register as a sex offender, as that was among the charges facing him in 1999 in connection with the molestation of two teenage boys. He pleaded guilty in June of that year to two counts of child molestation.
The second case concerned an outside contractor for a school in the San Gabriel area who put on an astronomy program at an elementary school. Although he had a criminal record that included a felony and a lewd conduct conviction, the contractor passed a background check conducted by a company that books sub-contractors to put on educational presentations at schools around the country. Background checks were done on all contractors by a background screening service and the contractor's name came back clear. However, this particular background screening service had been reported by consumers for delivering incomplete background checks.
The contractor was arrested a day after the assembly and was later tried on charges of inappropriately touching five girls during the presentation (he was later acquitted on three of the four charges, with the fourth ending in a deadlocked jury). At his trial, prosecutors said the accused man's criminal history included a 1996 arrest for lewd conduct while parked in front of a playground, a felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell that same year, and a two year prison sentence, according to court records.
Protecting children and teenagers from the unthinkable should be the top priority for schools, and their background check policies must extend beyond teachers to include volunteers and contractors. MyBackgroundCheck.com – a member of the Pre-employ.com Family of Companies – has performed background check services on volunteers and contractors for the American Red Cross as well as many other non-profit and volunteer organizations. To learn more about MyBackgroundCheck.com’s background check services for volunteers and contractors, please visit www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!
For the first time since record-keeping began in 1967, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits has topped 5 million – the fifth straight week that claims have reached a new high – and the number of first-time claims hit 667,000, the highest level in more than a quarter-century, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
If you are one of the estimated 11 million men or women currently looking for work, I’m sure that you have paid for at least one of the following in an attempt to find employment: new clothes and haircut for an interview, a resume-polishing service, a job fair, an employment seminar, job information online, or a book on how to find work. Basically, you have tried anything and everything to stand out from the rest of the pack of jobseekers.
Have you purchased a "Personal Background Check" for yourself?
You may as well give yourself a background check before employers do, because you are most likely going to have a background check performed on you. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (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.
By giving yourself a personal background ground check, you are not only taking control of your own personal information – a good idea no matter what your employment situation is – but also telling prospective employers that you have nothing to hide. And if inaccurate information is discovered during a personal background check, a dispute resolution service helps you remove the discrepancies and keep your personal background check information current, secure, and accurate.
Personal background checks allow you to see EXACTLY what information employers will see BEFORE they see it, and will help you feel more confident and relaxed during the other portions of the pre-employment screening process, especially the all-important interview.
While most background check companies serve only 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. Jobseekers interested in personal background checks for employment enhancement should visit http://www.mybackgroundcheck.com/jobseekers.aspx. For more information on other personal background check services, please visit www.MyBackgroundCheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.
*We welcome relevant comments and questions from consumers, experts, and human resources professionals. Please do not submit comments with advertisements as they will not be posted publicly. Thanks for visiting our blog!