CUSTOMER RESOURCES
The Candidate's Experience with a Background Check and Hiring
When applying for a job, what will a candidate experience? From the background check and beyond, we review the process from start to finish.
Many employers may view the hiring process simply as a tool or a pipeline to bring talent into their business. Attract applications, vet candidates, make selections, hire them and slot them into an existing team. However, it is vital not to take a one-sided view of the process—hiring is about more than attracting assets to support a company's functioning. It is also about achieving buy-in from applicants throughout the process. It is essential to focus on the candidate experience, from how you background check them to how you run interviews.
A good candidate experience can create a motivated team member eager to demonstrate that you made the right call. An unpleasant experience can mean offers left on the table and an inability to attract or retain talent. For a small business, the quality of the workforce and its importance are amplified. Every person counts.
That doesn't mean the way forward isn't immediately apparent. Instead, we need to take a step back and evaluate the entire process. What is an applicant's journey? As we answer that question, compare your own processes and imagine what a job-seeker experiences with your employment process. Think about reshaping your process to empower and excite those who will be the best fit on your teams.
What Creates a Positive Candidate Experience?
Before we break down each stage of the candidate experience in recruitment and hiring processes, what should every SMB strive to achieve? You can take action at each stage, but there is also a holistic approach to consider. The following are key factors and feelings that should be present throughout the entire process, not only at any one stage.
Developing a better hiring process and a work environment based on your brand and its values should involve the following core components.
Demonstrate interest and engagement with every applicant. Foster a warm, inviting atmosphere founded on your values and centered on your mission. Remember that applicants evaluate you just like you assess them.
Personalize experiences wherever possible. Don't be a faceless business with opaque processes disconnected from human experiences. Applicants don't want to be just another number. SMBs have unique opportunities to build teams by fostering a personal connection.
Reduce friction from as many places in the process as possible. Don't make completing applications complicated, frustrating, or annoying. Test the systems yourself and imagine a job-seeker in your position.
Be communicative. The more engaged you are in exploring a candidate's employment history, the more they feel seen. That can make a difference to successful job offer levels in competitive industries and roles. Don't cease communications and disappear.
Be transparent. From pay scales to the types of background checks you use, help applicants establish clear expectations.
Be prompt. Job-seekers don't want their time wasted any more than you do. Communicate clearly about timelines around their pre-employment background check.
Be kind when you decline. When disqualifying an applicant due to a background check result, satisfy your legal obligations. Let applicants know when you've decided not to proceed with the process.
Let's investigate how Human Resources or a hiring manager can apply these principles across the process to create a better candidate experience.
The Job Applicant's Journey, Step by Step
Individuals seeking jobs will have a range of experiences throughout the hiring and onboarding process. Many people submit multiple applications to different businesses simultaneously, and some may even continue applying to other jobs throughout the process. Differentiating your business fosters a great candidate experience, which can make an impact further along in the process.
Not every job offer you extend guarantees acceptance. Crafting an improved experience can help you stand out from the competition. For SMBs, that's one key to developing a team that can call attention to your brand. It all starts with the job posting.
Discovering and Recognizing Job Opportunities
A well-crafted job listing and an informative, well-made business website help job seekers notice SMBs in crowded job markets. Researching your business and breaking down the details of your job posts are among the first things a candidate experiences. Avoid dryly written listings that only offer bare facts and no sense of your brand, its voice, or your mission. Tell a story with your postings. Make it a story the suitable applicants will want to involve themselves with.
Job-seekers will often research your business more directly. Tailor your web presence with this in mind, at least in part. Be engaged and visible on social media to promote your business's best aspects. Spotlight any charitable efforts or community engagement programs you organize. When possible, feature stories or testimonials from current or past employees.
When qualified applicants feel optimistic about your business because of their experience during the research stage, they're more likely to move to the next step. Don't expect the right individuals to appear; make an effort to invite their interest.
Completing and Submitting Initial Applications
There's no shortage of stories online from job seekers who have truly appalling experiences with the application process. From TikTok to Reddit and across social media, tales of woe abound – clunky software, systems that demand repeatedly inputting the same resume data, and personality tests that waste hours of time. A lousy application experience is a fast track to souring applicants about your company and its capacity to be a good employer.
Reduce the number of steps to complete an application for your job. Follow modern best practices rather than discredited selection methods. Use applications that users can complete on their chosen platform, including mobile devices. Be clear about expectations and empower individuals to complete applications with ease.
A smooth application process creates a positive impression. The experience at this stage can set the tone for the remainder of your interactions. Better back-end solutions, such as applicant tracking systems, help you stay on top of the process to create improved experiences.
Waiting for Evaluation and Initial Candidate Selection
How your business works once it receives applications is vital. For an applicant, this is one of the least transparent parts of the process. It often requires waiting and hoping for communication from the business. Of course, you must review application data, examine resumes, and ultimately select the individuals you'd like to interview. Selecting the most promising individuals is important—but you shouldn't keep applicants in the dark. Likewise, you shouldn't keep them waiting a long time, either.
A better experience involves immediate personalized communication upon receipt of the application. This communication can establish expectations and elaborate on when applicants can expect more information. If you decide not to select a candidate for an interview, kindly let them know. Continue using personalization in communications with those moving on to the next stage.
Connecting With the Business: Interviews and More
Job interviews still have a valuable place in the application process. They are an employer's chance to ask specific questions and gauge someone's suitability with the organization. Likewise, applicants often see the interview as their chance to judge the company. A frustrating candidate experience with the interview process can leave them disinclined to accept a job offer.
There are many things businesses can do to improve outcomes in this area without sacrificing valuable information. Some of those actions include:
Employ skills tests or practical assessments as interview components. Tailor any practical assessments you use so they are not labor or time-intensive.
Give applicants a chance to prove themselves or demonstrate their passion. When asking questions, avoid cliches, such as " What is your biggest weakness?” Engage applicants in conversation about real on-the-job challenges and assess how they might respond to a hurdle.
Invite the applicant to learn more about the business, such as providing a tour through the building or conversing with an existing employee. Provide more information about your culture. Create a sense of the environment the individual will experience working in the business.
Communicate promptly before and after the interview. Offer flexible options, such as remote video interviews.
Just as the candidates do, put your best foot forward during the interview process and make the experience positive. Now, you'll need to decide who moves forward. Politely and personally notify those you won't move forward and conclude the process.
The Background Check Process
For many employers, the background check process begins after the job interview cycle identifies the most qualified and well-suited individuals. Beware of any ban the box or Fair Chance laws in your state or local area. These rules may demand that you postpone background checks until making a conditional job offer. Understand any other regulatory requirements, such as when the law requires you to check an applicant's driving record for DOT-regulated jobs.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you must obey several directives when conducting background checks. First and foremost is obtaining an applicant's informed consent. You must provide a standalone disclosure of your intent to use background checks for employment. This disclosure informs applicants about the process. A statement of their rights under the FCRA is also key. After providing such documents, you can get an applicant's signed consent to the check—you can't proceed without it.
Even for applicants with clean records, going through different background checks often proves nerve-wracking—especially since it means more waiting on answers. You can help calm nervous candidates by providing clarity and insight into the process. Offer clear timelines related to your consideration process. Obtain and evaluate detailed reports as quickly as possible. Keep individuals informed about the status of your evaluation from stage to stage.
Receiving and Considering the Job Offer
Now comes the time to make the job offer. If you decide not to offer someone a position (or to rescind an offer) because of a background check result, you have compliance matters to consider. Disqualifying candidates because of information in their report falls into the category of adverse actions.
The FCRA mandates that you send a pre-adverse action letter detailing your intent. You must give the candidate time to respond and dispute your findings. Be patient and understanding if a dispute does arise. Otherwise, you may send a final adverse action notice and conclude the process. Consider wishing candidates well in your final communications.
Now comes the time to celebrate with those you've chosen to hire. When you craft offers, be competitive. Build benefits packages that can make a real difference for employees. Focus on tangible things like health insurance and better wages rather than in-office creature comforts. SMBs can define themselves differently from the competition by building offers that clarify that the company cares about looking after its employees.
Be sure to draw attention to all your unique value propositions for employees. Such UVPs could be remote or hybrid work opportunities that help reduce commuting. A variable schedule that's flexible for parents or young professionals is often an attractive feature.
Be as excited to bring a new worker on board as the individuals will be about receiving excellent job offers. Spotlight that joining the team is an exciting opportunity. When a job candidate accepts, you have one last duty in the hiring process: creating a seamless onboarding process that affirms the experience you've crafted from the start.
Engaging With Onboarding
Make onboarding simple, from completing I-9 forms to undergoing orientation and learning about company policies. Use the onboarding process to educate newcomers about all the opportunities they can access in the business. If you run any internal training programs or career development opportunities, highlight them. Make their accessibility a selling point. Showcase examples of internal promotions and how other employees in your SMB have moved up over time.
If you've done everything right, this process will result in a talented and motivated new employee ready to contribute to everyone's success. Considering the applicant's journey, the importance of the candidate's experience is self-evident.
The Impact of Background Check Processes on Candidate Experiences
Let's take a step back to zero on one particular aspect of the process described above: the screening stage.
This moment is critical for employers, especially in ban the box jurisdictions. A criminal background check may reveal disappointing and potentially disqualifying information. Reference or verification checks might showcase problems you didn't anticipate during the interview. You may change your mind based on these check results.
All this takes place while applicants wait nervously to hear back from you. Many companies don't provide any transparency or insight into this process. Leaving applicants in the dark is an upsetting experience. Beginning from a place of openness is critical. So, too, is working around the risks you face.
FCRA non-compliance is the biggest of those risks. Remember, you must obtain informed consent from applicants. That requires particular paperwork with meticulously defined language. Including disclosures with the wrong paperwork has been the root cause of lost lawsuits for many businesses. You must review your obligations carefully to create a good experience for individuals submitting to background screening.
Provide applicants with a general time frame for when they can expect a background check result. Some online websites and other utilities let users see the status of the process. Displaying the various stages, from “submitted” to “report obtained” and “evaluating,” can help applicants understand how much longer they need to wait. When you decide, move on to the following steps: communicating an offer or sending a pre-adverse action notice.
Build Better Experiences and Hire the Right People Today
It's easy for employers to get tunnel vision when dealing with the hiring process. When you refocus your efforts beyond your own needs to create a positive candidate experience, everyone benefits. You can attract more talented job applicants and onboard individuals excited and motivated to work for you. Doing so requires effort, though, especially in areas such as applications, interviews, and background checks.
Reduce friction as much as possible in the recruitment process. Prioritize positive interactions and fast turnaround times on questions or concerns. Develop a candidate experience with the background check that doesn't induce anxiety but provides transparency. Adopt best practices for screening compliance so you can focus on better experiences without concerns about violating the FCRA. Take stock of the experience you provide and explore how you can streamline key parts of your process with backgroundchecks.com today.
Additional Resources
Bankruptcy Could Impact Your Future Career Options
Most people know that if they file for a bankruptcy that it will remain on their credit record for about seven years, but many do not realize that during those seven years, potential employees may see it and be swayed by financial problems. Many employers are looking for easy ways to thin their enormous piles of applications. They do this by requiring background checks, and now days, they’ve added credit checks too. Although technically, they are not allowed to deny someone employment because of a bankruptcy, they can for certain positions factor in bad credit to deny employment. While a bankruptcy may have saved you financially, it will wreak havoc on your credit score and employers with some companies will be checking it. If you have a credit score that is below average, they may see you as a below average hire or worse, someone with the potential to commit crimes against them due to financial hardship.
Although the job you’re applying for may not be one in the financial industry, that doesn’t mean the employer won’t want to be allowed to run a credit check on you before hiring. Statistics show that “employees with debts are among the most likely to steal from their employers.” With crime on the rise in the recent economy, many companies aren’t willing to take this risk and consequently, are implementing credit checks along with background checks within their hiring processes. If you have a bankruptcy on your record, it’s important to consider being upfront about it and tell your prospective employer about it. When they let you know that you’ll need to pass a background check that includes a credit check, that’s the time to let them know what they’ll be seeing and to explain yourself. It’s a good idea to have a lot of both employer and personal recommendations to show that despite your bad credit, you are an upstanding citizen who works hard at what they do. You simply might have to limit your job searches to companies who will not require credit checks. There are still enough out there who have not yet adopted this extra policy.
Companies who want to perform background checks and credit checks on their potential employees often work with organizations like backgroundchecks.com to get access to national databases like US OneSEARCH and credit reports. Although these kinds of checks don’t prove that a potential employee will or will not commit a crime, they can give employers insight and, according to statistics, a pretty good idea of potential issues that could arise should they hire employees with problematic pasts. This is why it’s so important for people wanting good paying jobs to not only be hard workers, but also good upstanding citizens who pay their bills on time and refrain from committing crimes.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) and cofounder of the Expungement Clearinghouse - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
backgroundchecks.com Legislation and Compliance Update: Maryland House and Senate Pass Law Prohibiting Employers from Requesting Social Media Passwords
The Maryland House and Senate have passed, and the Governor is expected to sign, a bill prohibiting employers from requesting log-in information for an employee’s or applicant’s personal online accounts. This includes social media log-in information.
Additionally, the bill prohibits employers from
taking, or threatening to take, disciplinary actions for an employee's refusal to provide such information; and
failing to hire an applicant for refusing to provide such information
Employers are still allowed to require employees disclose the necessary information for accessing a non-personal account or service that provides access to the employer’s internal computer or information systems. Furthermore, employers can conduct investigations based on personal accounts if they are trying to abide by securities or financial laws or regulatory requirements or if the employer is looking into unauthorized downloading of proprietary or financial information to a given website or web-based account.
Many other states have similar bills proposed and even more are expected to propose similar bills soon. For more details on the Maryland bills, please click here for the House Bill and here for the Senate Bill.
Screening Agencies Remind Businesses to Check Their Summer Hires
When summer comes around, many young adults seek employment to fill their summers and save money for college that will start up again in the fall. This leads to a huge amount of applications being processed by companies who hire extra workers during the summer season. Because most of these jobs are temporary and because they have so many applications to process, businesses tend to slacken their vetting processes, which isn’t necessarily a good idea. Although it can save them time during the hiring process, it can also stick their business with less than reputable young employees who could tarnish their reputation or even commit crimes against them. Is this rush to hire temporary workers really worth the risk? Screening agencies like backgroundchecks.com are saying no and are listing some very compelling reasons.
In a 2011 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 22 million people applied for summer work in the youth demographic alone. This year, because unemployment is still high, that number is likely to climb, which should give businesses their choice of the best possible employees. If they aren’t using thorough screening processes though, they may not be getting the kind of employee they thought they hired. Even volunteer positions increase during the summer, as people look for experience or a positive outlet to spend their free time. Just because these people aren’t being paid for their work, doesn’t mean the organization they are working through isn’t liable for their though. This is even more so true when it comes to business like summer camps who have employees and volunteers who work with children. Each individual who will have contact with a child should be thoroughly background checked in order to prevent any potential negligent hiring suits should there be any suspicious activity. These suits can end up costing businesses millions and tarnish their reputation.
They can save themselves a lot of hassle by making sure they know as much as possible about the people they are hiring or putting to work in both their volunteer and paid forces. Although a background check can’t prevent crime, it can give employers insight into patterns of in their potential hires. When they use an organization like backgroundchecks.com, they can find out about past convictions from any state by looking at information from national databases like US OneSEARCH. If their employees or volunteers will be driving on the job, backgroundchecks.com can check their driving record to make sure they are safe, responsible drivers. Companies will also have the ability to get information from reference checks and education verification to make sure résumés actually match the past of their new hires. Backgroundchecks.com can create custom packages to meet summer budgets and can get information from many of their databases instantly, which will help companies speed up their summer hiring processes without decreasing their standards. When it comes to the reputation of a company, this kind of extra checking is certainly worth it.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about ’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
backgroundchecks.com Compliance and Legislation update: Alabama governor signs bill amending controversial immigration law
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has signed House Bill 658, a bill that is intended to simplify and clarify Alabama’s existing immigration law.
The revised version is intended to address various aspects of the original law, including provisions disliked by the business community. In announcing the signing, Bentley contended that the law “reduces burdens on businesses while still holding them accountable to hire legal workers.” Bentley had previously indicated that he might veto the bill because it did not do enough to change the original law.
Under the law, any contractor or subcontractor that does business with the state is barred from employing undocumented workers and must use the federal E-Verify system to ensure that all workers have the legal right to work in the United States. Contractors that knowingly hire undocumented workers will be found in violation of the law and will lose the contract. In addition, a court can then subject the employer to a three-year probationary period, during which time the employer must file quarterly reports with the state’s Department of Industrial Relations for each new employee hired.
Repeat violators may face a five-year probationary period, the loss of the contract, and the suspension of their business license, in addition to being required to terminate the employment of all undocumented workers. A third violation can result in the permanent loss of the business license.
Ice Cream Truck Drivers are Background Checked
A child from Wheeler Elementary School in Millard, California claimed that an ice cream truck driver from Frosty Treats was giving out ice cream in exchange for children’s addresses. This caused quite an uproar and had parents calling in to the company with complaints and inquiries. The driver who was accused was said to be devastated, as they had been working in that community for years and was one of their top sellers. Luckily, the accusation turned out to be a misunderstanding. Parents were still shaken though and demanded to know more about the drivers in their community.
Ice cream truck drivers have access to children and are normally trusted individuals that symbolize happy childhood summers. No parents had previously thought to question their trustworthiness until now. Millard parents wanted to make sure that the employees who roamed their streets in search of their children were safe. A manager from Frosty Treats assured parents and the media, that their drivers are safe. All drivers working for them must have a driver’s license, a clean driving record, and a clean background report. Anybody who applies for a job there goes through a background check before becoming a Frosty Treats driver. They must also go through their safety training program. Parents are happy to hear this news and plan to continue to support the company in the future. Nobody is saying who made up the accusations and for what reason, but the company is glad it turned out to be false. They have enjoyed serving their treats to their community for several years, and will surely be glad to continue doing so.
Whenever company employees have special ties or access to kids, it’s important to know that their employees can be trusted. That’s why kid-related businesses tend to partner with organizations like backgroundchecks.com who can give them instant access to millions of criminal records to find out how trustworthy their employees really are. By using backgroundchecks.com, companies like Frosty Treats can take a look at driving records to make sure their drivers will be competent on the roads. They can also check criminal records from any state with databases like US OneSEARCH and US Offender OneSEARCH. With so many children running after ice cream trucks this summer, those businesses can’t afford not to hire the best, most trusted drivers possible.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) and cofounder of the Expungement Clearinghouse - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Crossing Guards Will Be Subject to Background Checks
In an effort to keep their kids safe, the Lyndhurst township in New Jersey is creating a new ordinance that would require crossing guards to have background checks before being hired or reappointed. Crossing guards there are already required to give notice of any criminal convictions, but there were no procedures in place to confirm whether or not their records were clean. The township also plans to stop the accrual of sick days and the clothing allowances crossing guards previously enjoyed. They decided to review their current position after budget concerns became an issue and before state mandates force them to make similar changes. And Mayor Richard Dilascio says it’s simply, “a safety issue.”
Crossing guards there are required to be moral and upstanding citizens of New Jersey that do not have any criminal convictions showing moral turpitude. The background checks will be just one more step to confirm that their guards are actually held to the high standards they have set. With 37 different crossing guards having daily access to kids, Traffic Officer Nick Coviello believes it’s an obvious move, saying, "The reason is they are working with children. It's common sense to me."
The ordinance will prevent those with criminal histories “involving danger to a person, against family, children or incompetents…arson, burglary, theft, controlled dangerous substances offenses and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, offenses against public administration, perjury and other falsification in official matters, obstructing governmental operations, misconduct in office and/or abuse of office.” These are all crimes the township has defined as involving moral turpitude. Any current crossing guards who are found to have any of these offenses on their record will not be reinstated in the coming year.
This employment process of verifying information provided by applicant is getting more and more common these days. Any organization who employs people who will work with children might want to consider following in New Jersey’s footsteps. They can partner with backgroundchecks.com, which would give them access to multi-jurisdictional database searches covering over 355 million records from over 600 sources. This information comes from national databases like US OneSEARCH, which checks records in all 50 states, and US AliasSEARCH, which even checks records under alternate names. When it comes to the safety of our children, we really can’t be too careful, and submitting employees to background checks is just one more way to keep our children safe.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) and cofounder of the Expungement Clearinghouse - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Dayton Making One Hundred Percent of City Positions Background Check Required
Instead of waiting for changes to state or federal laws, Dayton, Ohio is taking a more blanketed approach to their hiring practices now. Although they are only required to have about 70% of their city employees background checked before hiring, they have decided to make all positions require that level of vetting. They are hoping this will alleviate concerns regarding fairness when to it comes to their policy on hiring felons. No potential employee will be hired if they have a felony conviction on their record. As of now, there are three positions which have not been background checked. These positions include the waste collector, administrative typists, and a mechanic. Once their new policy is officially in effect, these two will be held to the same scrutiny as all other positions.
Nonprofit agencies are asking for a different policy change though. They would like to see felons get a fair shot at city jobs. In fact, PowerNet and LEAD, two agencies concerned with justice in hiring, especially when it comes to former convicts, would like all potential hires to get through the first round of interviews without even having to check the felon box. This way, if they make it to the next round after they’ve proven they are qualified for the position, only then would their criminal history come in to question. Of course, the city’s current policy on not hiring ex-felons would then have to be changed to allow certain people to be hired if their felony is not related to the position they apply for.
Maurice Evans, secretary and chief examiner for the Civil Service, said they do not know how many ex-felons currently work for the city. He is sure that there are none working in the departments of police, fire, law, airport, water, and sewer though, because those positions have always included background checks. Many companies are upping their background check requirements due to the rise in crime and the potential negligent hiring suits they might incur if a crime is committed by a previous offender on their watch and while on company business. This is causing nonprofit agencies like LEAD though to speak out on behalf of criminals who they feel have paid their dues. The EEOC is also weighing in the matter. Whatever policies and laws change in the future, currently, it is more than acceptable for organizations to hire companies like backgroundchecks.com to carry out checks on potential hires. This gives them access to products like US OneSEARCH and US AliasSEARCH enabling them to find out if their applicants have criminal convictions on their records.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
