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Posts Tagged ‘Background Checks’

Background Checks: What Job Applicants & Employees Need To Know

April 14th, 2009

Most any job nowadays, whether it’s a cashier at your local market or a senior executive at a large corporation, will require a background check prior to your employment. Even longtime employees aren’t safe as employers are starting to use background checks as a means to get rid of employees they may longer want or have need of. Most businesses will use an outside company to screen their employees so here are some things employers and applicants should know:

Job Applicants

Check prior background reports. If you’ve ever had a background check performed on you then you’re entitle to a copy of the report. Usually there will be a minimum fee involved of $10 or less but there are a few states that will give them to you for free. Just check with you particular state to find out. You will need to know the name of the firm that performed the background check in order to receive a copy. A previous employer can provide this information to you or if you’re applying for a job you can probably find the needed information on the background check request form.

Know who’s checking your past. As mentioned above, the background check request form should provide the name of the company that’s providing the background check. It should also detail the scope of the checks involved with a list of items being checked which may include criminal records, credit history, driving record, or reference interviews. Depending on the job applied for this could be a very extensive list or a very short list.

Act fast if somethings wrong. If you’re turned down for a job solely based on what’s found on your background report the employer must tell you and they must provide a full copy of the report. If the report is inaccurate and you wish to dispute what was found you should do it quickly. Employers required by law to wait up to 5 days for a dispute. After this time they’re free to hire another applicant for the job. Contact the company that performed the background check and demand in writing and by phone a new background check.

Be sure to check out Background Checks: What Employers Need To Know

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Background Check Companies – Choosing The Best One

March 7th, 2009

Finding background check companies that meet your needs may not be as simple as you might imagine. Whether you’re checking out your latest online boyfriend to find out if they have a criminal background or a potential employee for a job you have available you can’t afford to take chances.

A quick Internet search will turn up a ton listings for background checks. Some are free and others are pay services but which one is the right match for you? Many people will want to take the free route but remember: “you get what you pay for”. Sure there are many perfectly legitimate background check companies that offer free resources to help with background checks but at some point you’re probably going to pay something to get the really juicy information.

Ideally you should find a company that can do both national and state searches. If you’re doing a background check on someone then you probably don’t have enough background information about them to narrow down your search to one particular area. Heck the information you do have could be bogus, who knows? So you definitely should make sure you can do both state and national searches.

Many of the online companies will offer services which will return immediate results. That’s great but what if you can’t find what your looking for using their service? Most of the online background check services will offer a refund if no results are returned. Be sure to read the fine print before ordering a background report. You don’t want to get stuck paying for something that doesn’t produce results.

Finally, try to find background check companies that will let you do more than just one background check. There are plenty of them out there that charge by the month, year, or lifetime. Be sure to take full advantage of the service you choose.

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People Search By Address

March 2nd, 2009

Have you ever known an address but not the people that live there? You never see them out and about but you’re curious to know more about them. If you have small children it may even be in your best interest to find out all you can about your neighbors. You never can be too careful about the people around you. A people search by address may be able to help you find out a little more about them.

I’ve been living in the same house now for about three years. I have a neighbor that lives right beside me but the only time I see them is when they’re coming or going from work or when the man of the house is outside mowing the lawn. If the woman that lives there ever locked herself out of the house and came by to use the phone I wouldn’t even know what she looked like!

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t suspect them of doing anything wrong but it just seems strange that the woman of the house is only seen when pulling in or out of the garage to go somewhere. I admit that I’m not a social butterfly but I do at least leave the house once in a while and/or speak and wave to all the other neighbors around me.

A people search by address may be an option to find out some basic information about people that may be living at a certain address. There are a number of websites that offer this type of service. A couple of the bigger ones are whitepages.com and addresses.com. Each of these websites should return enough information about the people living at certain address to allow you to check for some of the more nefarious actions they may be involved in such as sex offenders or possible criminal activity.

Here are some tips to help you better perform a people search by address.

  • Be sure you spell the address correctly
  • If you don’t know whether it’s a street, road, etc… then just leave that part off
  • A full street address will give the most accurate results but partial addresses are ok too
  • If their telephone number is unlisted there may not be any results returned
  • Brand new addresses may not be in the “system” yet

While not the most complicated of searches, a people search by address can help provide some enlightening information about a person when used with other types of background checks or public record searches.

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Background Checks On People

March 1st, 2009

The use of background checks on people has become routine these days with the advent of the information age and the ease with which data can be retrieved from almost anywhere in the world. All it takes are a few button presses and a mouse click or two to dig up information on neighbors, friends, co-workers, or most anyone else you can think of. Love it or hate it, personal background checks are on the rise in both our business and private lives.

Landlords, employers, business partners and new loves, just to name a few, at some point may carry out personal background checks as a standard practice. Background checks on people have nearly become a required part of life for these individuals.

Employers customarily want to confirm information presented to them by possible hires such as licenses, job experience, or degree credentials.

Landlords will certainly want to carry out a credit check on any eventual tenants in hopes that they may avoid any deadbeat tenants. A criminal history check will probably also be needed because most will want to try to avoid having bad elements move into their properties.

To avoid potential problems in their business ventures, business partners may run background checks on people to find out if they are being scammed or to make sure that those they are dealing with are not scam artists.

In the private sector it’s often potential lovers or partners that may come under the scrutiny of a personal background check. One can never be too careful about who they hang around with these days. Background checks on people have taken a dramatic rise in the private sector the last few years as data becomes more easily attainable to anyone with a computer and the desire to find the information.

Last but not least, it is probably a good idea to examine your own personal records periodically. A good example of this would be to check your credit history to make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. New accounts under your name for instance, may point out identity theft if it is not something you purposely signed up for. It’s also a good idea to make sure that the records that do show up are right and if not they can be taken care of accordingly.

There are a many other reasons, too numerous to bring up in one article, that might make you want to carry out background checks on people. They can be a breeze to do once you have the fundamental investigation skills down pat but they can also take up a lot of time if you’re not comfortable with the internet or using search engines.

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NCIC Criminal Background Checks

February 25th, 2009

NCIC criminal background checks are the only true national background checks that can be done. NCIC stands for the National Crime Information Center and is the name of the  database that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies use along with other criminal justice agencies.

NCIC criminal background checks assist law enforcement and justice agencies in such tasks as apprehending fugitives, locating missing persons, locating and returning stolen property, as well as in the protection of the law enforcement officers encountering the individuals described in the system.

The data inside the system is kept up to date by the FBI, federal,  state,  local and foreign criminal justice agencies, and authorized courts.

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Do Absolutely Free Background Checks Exist?

February 19th, 2009

You see the term “free background check” thrown around a lot when you start looking for information on doing your own investigations but do absolutely free background checks really exist? Unfortunately, as disappointing as it may be to hear, if you need more than the basic information that most anyone can get from a phone book then you probably will have to pay something at some point.

It’s possible as individuals to gather much of the same information that any detective or private eye could find. The key is knowing where and how to look for it. Police and P.I.’s have an easier time digging up the dirt on people because they have access to specialized databases and resources that the “Average Joe” just doesn’t have. There are many public record resources out there that are accessible by anyone but there’s still going to be some cost involved in attaining them. Conducting absolutely free background checks is near impossible due to this fact alone.

Public records are deemed records that are available for public viewing, meaning anyone can view or access them. Most would think there would be no cost involved to take a look at the records but 99% of the time they’re wrong! In nearly every case the records will need to be printed out or processed, thus incurring an “administrative fee” for the cost of the paper, ink, employee time, etc… While these fees are usually small, there’s still cost involved. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing the research yourself or if someone else is doing it for you, absolutely free background checks don’t exist.

If you’re willing to do the leg work yourself or only need a couple of pieces of information on your subject then a background check can be done at a reasonable cost by anyone. If you need something quick or very detailed your best bet is to use one of the many services on the Internet that offer complete background checks for a fee.

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Background Checks – Nosey or Necessity?

January 22nd, 2009

Background checks on people can usually be carried out in a discreet manor from the privacy of your own home or business. Typically it’s a point of security or nervousness that drives us to sneakily attempt to find the information needed to put our mind at ease.

The use of background checks on people has become routine these days with the advent of the information age and the ease with which data can be retrieved from almost anywhere in the world. Love it or hate it, background checks on people are on the upsurge in both our business and private lives.

Employers, landlords, business partners and new loves, just to name a few, at some point may carry out background checks on people as a standard practice. Background checks on people have nearly become a required part of life for these individuals.

Employers customarily want to confirm information presented to them by possible hires such as licenses, job experience, or degree credentials. They are trying their best to insure that any employee that they may hire will not become a liability or pose other risks to their company in the future.

Landlords will certainly want to carry out a credit check on any eventual tenants in hopes that they may avoid any deadbeat tenants. A criminal history check will probably also be needed because most will want to try to avoid having bad elements move into their properties. Drug usage or convictions and non-payment of bills may be red flags for any potential landlord.

To avoid potential problems in their business ventures, business partners may run background checks on people to find out if they are being scammed or to make sure that those they are dealing with are not scam artists.

In the private sector it is often potential lovers or partners that may come under the scrutiny of a background check. One can never be too careful about who they hang around with these days. Background checks on people have taken a dramatic rise in the private sector the last few years as data becomes more easily attainable to anyone with a computer and the desire to find the information.

Last but not least, it is probably a good idea to examine your own personal records periodically. A good example of this would be to check your credit history to make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. New accounts under your name for instance, may point out identity theft if it is not something you purposely signed up for. It’s also a good idea to make sure that the records that do show up are right and if not they can be taken care of accordingly.

There are a many other reasons, too numerous to bring up in one article, that might make you want to carry out background checks on people. They can be a breeze to do once you have the fundamental investigation skills down pat but they can also take up a lot of time if you’re not comfortable with the internet or using search engines.

If you would like to find out how you can do your own free background check visit our web site.

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