What Does a Background Check Show Employers?

Many of today’s employers choose to run a background check of potential employees before they offer them a position. These checks are generally conducted to ensure that everything that you put on your resume is correct, and to identify potential red flags about your history before you become a trusted member of their team.

What comes up on a background check can vary based on the amount of information a company is seeking. There are a few things to keep in mind that may come up in a background check.

Your Credit History

Most high level financial and accounting positions require a financial background check. Employers who are entrusting employees with managing income or budgets need to be assured that those employees can handle themselves financially. Financial background checks generally don’t list financial crimes of applicants. Financial crimes will most likely show up on the criminal background check. Instead, a financial background check assess a person’s financial responsibilities.

Generally, when an employer uses the term financial background check, they are referring to a credit history check. Employers will receive information such as highest credit extended, all credit lines, monthly payments, past due amounts, and percentage of credit still available. Additionally, civil suits, judgments, bankruptcies, collection accounts, and tax liens will be included in the credit history.

Employment History

Potential employers can also check to make sure that your employment history was accurate. This can include the dates of employment, what your roles and responsibilities were, and also references from previous supervisors. This means that it is important to keep your resume updated with current contact information for your references and that you should never lie or embellish about past employment.

Criminal Record

Employers will often check your criminal record as well. Criminal records can include driving infractions, misdemeanors, or felonies that are on your record. Some of the available information, or how old the information can be, will vary by state.

Google and Social Media

Many prospective candidates overlook employers looking them up and finding their social media accounts. This means that it is important to keep a professional appearance, even when it comes to your private social media accounts.

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