What Is An Employer Background Check And How Does It Work?

An employer background check can be alarming for those hoping to secure a dream job, and it’s mostly because it’s not always clear what exactly a potential employer is looking for. 

What do these pre-employment checks actually look at, and are they something to be concerned about?

March 2, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

What Is An Employer Background Check Used For?

Employer background checks are an essential part of a business’s due diligence. Without adequate checks, the business can be at risk if they do not make the correct hire. For this reason, they are often fairly thorough, particularly for well-paid roles.

Employers use background checks to confirm information that applicants have already shared, or should have shared during the application process. There are some checks that are more common than others and some that offer significantly more protection.

Criminal History Checks

Criminal record checks are incredibly common, and are considered an essential in roles where potential employees might be working with vulnerable people or sensitive information. These checks are in place to ensure a safe workplace that can support all staff and customers.

Those with criminal records should always be as transparent as possible when applying for roles. A criminal history check is one of the most common searches a business will do before hiring.

Identity Confirmation

Similarly, an identity check may be done for safety and security. Businesses will want to feel confident that they know who is representing the business to customers. It also offers additional protection for the business to know who an employee is and how they can be contacted.

Employment History Checks

When submitting a resume and highlighting achievements, it’s extremely common to share employment history. A new employer may check that the information is accurate and that the applicant does have the experience outlined.

For engineering roles, this can specifically look at if someone has experience in a particular industry or with a certain type of machinery.

Learn how to perfect your resume if you have no previous work experience.

Education and Qualification Checks

Permanent high-paying roles can have education and qualification requirements such as degrees, completed apprenticeships or specialised course completion.

A potential employer will often check that the claimed education information is accurate. This might be more common in larger companies with a more rigid corporate structure. 

Licence and Certification Checks

Licences and certifications are extremely important, particularly if a potential employee is operating specialised machinery or driving vehicles that require unique licences.

You will often be asked to show your licence when applying for a new role and the business will likely keep a copy on file.

Reference Checks

A new employer will speak to the references provided by the applicant to get a better idea of who they’re hiring. For this check they’re trying to establish whether softer skills and personality are a good fit for the business.

The interview process is often very formal and it can be difficult to understand how a person  might fit in with the existing team. Speaking to former managers or people providing a character reference can offer a great insight.

Social Media Reviews

Social media is becoming increasingly important for businesses. Not only does a person’s image online impact the individual, it can also impact the hiring company. As well as optimising your LinkedIn for hiring managers, you might want to check other profiles for controversial or inappropriate media.

Businesses take social media checks very seriously. Those with established reputations have lots to lose and newer businesses can be completely destroyed by negative PR sparked by an employee.

Drugs Checks

In industries where safety is important, many employers carry out drug testing and drug history checks. This helps to keep the working environment safe and drug-free.

What Do Employers Look At For Pre-Employment Checks?

In most cases, employers are looking to verify information that has already been provided and check for any notable omissions.

At this stage of the hiring process, employers will usually be confident of a potential employee’s ability. Employer background checks can be costly and time consuming so businesses will only really do these for candidates who have a good shot of being hired.

Most employers will explain which checks they will be doing and why they need to do them.

Do Employers Use External Agencies For Background Checks?

Due to it being a time-consuming process, many employers outsource background checks to external agencies, particularly if they do not have internal hiring teams.

These external teams are used to working with sensitive data and have access to the  necessary databases to confirm the required information.

Operating as an external agency can remove bias and mean that checks are more thorough and also more accurate.

There are specialist agencies that work in specific industries and understand where businesses need to comply with regulations. This can make accessing information more simple and speed up the employer background check process.

What Tools Are Used For An Employer Background Check?

There are a number of tools that businesses might use to perform employer background checks. Some of these are official agencies where they will request details and some are HR tools. 

Sterling is an example of an established specialist tool used widely in HR teams. It helps to verify employment history, reasons for leaving and can even gather proof of consent to be able to access this information.

Another example is HireRight, a company that will not only complete employment checks but can also provide criminal history checks and drug and health checks.

Looking To Land Your Dream Role?

Finally, if you’re looking to secure your new dream job, it’s important to get your resume just right. This means striking a balance between evidencing impressive achievements and remaining accurate for employer background checks. 

We can help you with resume reviews, mock interviews and even LinkedIn optimization so you can be sure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.

Learn more about landing your next role with ease.