The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that 95% of organizations surveyed run some type of background check on all of their applicants before they hire them. The types of checks that will be run on you will often be determined by the type of position that is being offered, the industry, and the company itself.
A background check consists of several different types of screening "searches" to create a background check package. Below are some of the most common background check searches descriptions.
Background Check Search Descriptions
Person / Identity Search: (SS#, Identity Search, Address Search)
A search of your social security number to make sure the number is of legitimate use; it also provides addresses of where you are living and where you have lived going back to 7 years, with the dates of those addresses. In addition, the Person / Identity Search will also give names or alias's that are associated with your social security number. It is also known as an identity search and is used to help identify you to be matched to any existing criminal checks that will be searched.
TIP: You may see other names that appear on the results of this search. It's not necessarily a mistake. There are several reasons that this may happen; the person may have been a co-signer, the person may have been a roommate, or it may have been a typo when someone else had originally entered that other person's credentials.
County Criminal Search:
A search of misdemeanors and felonies at the county courthouse of where you are currently living, or it can include where you have lived in the past, usually going back 7 years of address history. Records are looked up by name and date of birth only.
TIP: If you have used a different name in the past, aka an alias, then that name may come up as well. Most companies will run that name as well if other identifies are matched to that name. The most common example of this is when a woman gets married and her last name changes.
National Criminal Database Search (multijurisdictional):
A search of misdemeanors and felonies of all states reporting records to databases, keeping in mind that not all counties and states are required to report such records. It often does not produce up to date results because the information is not taken directly from the original source and because not all states and counties are required to report their records to any databases. However, it is a useful search because it gives a broader scope, covering a larger area. It could potentially report a record outside of the state in which you had lived.
TIP: A common misconception is that a "National" Criminal Search of any kind covers all criminal records, when in fact it does not. Selfie Background Check recommends doing a County Criminal Search with any database search as databases are not as up to date as a County Criminal Search.
Sex Offender Search:
A search of the national sex offender registry by a person’s name and birth date. Sex Offender photos and description of their crime are included in the history.
Federal Criminal Search:
A search of federal criminal records; crimes that are charged and convicted in the federal courts. These are crimes against the US government. Examples of these types of crimes would include mail fraud, drug trafficking across state lines, computer crimes, crimes committed in an airport. In most cases, federal crimes may not come up in any county, state, or national criminal searches because it is a different type of crime, recorded in a different type of court. Most companies will run this check for higher level positions or for positions that will be dealing with sensitive information or money.
Motor Vehicle Report* (MVR): (Not available in PA, State fees will apply. See Order Options for fees.)
A search/report of your driving record.
Monthly / Continuous Monitoring:
A search that will continuously monitor your criminal records and alert you if, and when any changes occur, in real time. It is a subscription service that is automatically run on a monthly basis. This is a fairly new type of search that companies are starting to use to become more proactive regarding criminal situations that may come up with their current employees. Currently, most employers will do a background check when a person if first hired. After that, they do not. That is starting to change with Monthly / Continuous Monitoring. If a possible record does come up on the Monthly / Continuous Monitoring search, and it is not from a County that is already on your criminal search, then a County Criminal Search will be done to verify the information. This is required by the FCRA, Fair Credit Reporting Act.
A search/report of your driving record.
Monthly / Continuous Monitoring:
A search that will continuously monitor your criminal records and alert you if, and when any changes occur, in real time. It is a subscription service that is automatically run on a monthly basis. This is a fairly new type of search that companies are starting to use to become more proactive regarding criminal situations that may come up with their current employees. Currently, most employers will do a background check when a person if first hired. After that, they do not. That is starting to change with Monthly / Continuous Monitoring. If a possible record does come up on the Monthly / Continuous Monitoring search, and it is not from a County that is already on your criminal search, then a County Criminal Search will be done to verify the information. This is required by the FCRA, Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Selfie Social Media Clean Up:
Our AI (Artificial Intelligence) enhanced Selfie Social Media Clean Up uses natural language processing risk classification along with keyword matching to deliver negative and derogatory posts. Afterwards, you have the choice to delete (scrub) any posts that you see.
Risk classifications include Violent Images, Explicit Images, Drug Related Images, Toxic Language, Threat of Violence, Self-Harm, Political Speech, Obscene Language, Narcotics, Insults and Bullying, and Hate Speech.
Sites searched are Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. More sites coming.
Social Media Clean Up
The massive increase of participation in social media has made many employers aware of the influence that this online behavior can have on their culture and their company reputation.
Therefore, companies are now checking people's social media pages to look for any derogatory posts or pictures that may affect their business. Over 70% are doing it, either themselves or by using a 3rd party company to do it.
College admission offices are doing it too. The Kaplan Test Prep, stated that out of 300 college admission officers surveyed, more than 1/3 said they had looked at an applicants Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts to get more information about a prospective student.
Therefore, companies are now checking people's social media pages to look for any derogatory posts or pictures that may affect their business. Over 70% are doing it, either themselves or by using a 3rd party company to do it.
College admission offices are doing it too. The Kaplan Test Prep, stated that out of 300 college admission officers surveyed, more than 1/3 said they had looked at an applicants Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts to get more information about a prospective student.
Now you can scan and scrub your own Social Media Accounts, see any negative posts that you ever made, then DELETE them. It's that simple. Scan and Delete.
And you may think, "It's freedom of speech. I can post whatever I want to." This is true, but freedom of speech does NOT mean "freedom from repercussions."
Now you can be ahead of the game. Manage your own Social Media Presence.
Sites searched are Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. More sites to follow.
Click below to see what a completed Selfie Background Check looks like.
When you get your Selfie Background Check, you can download it for your own use. You can also print it and give it to your potential employer to show that you have already run a background check on yourself.
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