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Great ERE Article on Hiring Sales People

I found a great article posted on ERE about hiring sales people called "Secrets Buried in a Salesperson's Resume" by a gentleman named Lee Salz from a company called Sales Dodo. The story might as well be an advertisement for those in the employment screening industry as it highlights numerous methods for how an organization can effectively authenticate the information provided by sales people in their resumes.

This article Salz writes is by no means groundbreaking, however the information provided is something that should be read and re-read every few months by those that are hiring sales people. While the majority of organizations conduct background checks on their employees and grasp the importance of such, their requirements slip when it comes to hiring sales people. I actually understand the contradiction. Finding qualified sales people seems to be the most difficult position to fill for most organizations. There is so much hit and miss. Organizations want so desperately believe that the person sitting across from them is going to take their company to the next level, that they are blinded by the dollar signs they see in their eyes and forget to verify the information provided to them in a resume.

Remember that a background check that includes employment and education verifications is vital. Reference Interviews should also be considered.

Check out Salz's advice.

Background Screening Incoming College Students

We are seeing a mountain of advocates supporting the use of background checks on college students in the wake of tragedies at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois. We are beginning to see evidence of universities at least considering the use of background checks and there is certainly no shortage of articles written on the topic. I found an article entitled “Wanted: Students, not felons” and I want to reiterate something I’ve said in the past: I’m not sure background checks are really going to help in the majority of cases.

Why? Consider that as a generalization, most incoming students are 17-18 years old. Unless they have committed crimes after turning 18 or were tried as adults for crimes committed before the age of 18, criminal records are going to be hard to find. Any juvenile convictions are sealed and cannot be reported. A school then has to ask itself what offenses deem a prospective student unfit to attend their university.

Here’s the deal. I guess as one who advocates the use of background checks in the corporate world, I can’t say that this endeavor would be useless. For there is the chance, that if one student with a violent past is prevented from admission, than the entire expenditure is worth it. I think universities just have to create reasonable expectations for what this will and will not prevent or accomplish.

Assessments & Background Checks Can Allow for More Thorough Hiring Process

I found this article entitled, “Hiring practices key focus in the wake of scandals” on InvestmentNews.com While it focuses more on psychological assessments than background checks, it does speak to the fact that both tools can provide organizations with tremendous insight into an applicant’s past and their ability to perform in the future. It also provides some great cautionary tales within the financial sector of how failing to perform proper due diligence on job applicant’s can lead to significant loss and can impact your reputation in the marketplace.

Resume Tips

I noticed a good article today on yahoo's hotjobs site. Desperation Will Doom Your Job Search focuses on what not to do when sending and creating a resume. While most of our articles focus on employment screening, background checks, identity theft and other HR related topics, I felt this was a good opportunity to speak to a different audience, the candidate.

The first tip the article lends to the reader is of course to be truthful, don't lie or fabricate your resume. Most companies will conduct a background check and uncover an untruths you may have lent to your resume. Read this article to see the other three tips it lends to job seekers!

employeescreenIQ helping those in need!

The employeescreenIQ philanthropy committee is at it again! I was very impressed when I opened yesterdays edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and saw some of our employees on the front page of the Metro Section. Taking a break from doing background checks our team wasFlipping For Food,a fund raiser that we participated in to help raise money for the Cleveland Food Bank.

Great Article Found on ERE About Value of Resumes

ERE published a great article written by Sue Danborn from Volt Workforce Solutions about the diminishing value of a resume entitled The Devalued Currency of Hiring: The Resume. I of course dwelled on the part about employers not knowing what is true, what is stretched truth and what is fabricated. At employeescreenIQ, we find a 56% discrepancy ratio between what an applicant reports and what past employers or educational institutions indicate about that applicant when asked.

I'm certainly not anti-resume, but it is important that those who review them take them with a grain of salt and confirm the details that are provided. Check out Sue's list of 5 Things a Resume Will Not Tell You:

• Is the candidate being truthful? A Society for Human Resource Management study of 2.6 million applicants in 2003 found that 53% of their resumes contained omissions or misrepresentations. Bogus degrees and certifications, length of employment, and levels of positions held are all areas that are commonly embellished. Since a resume is not signed like an application, many candidates feel they are just stretching the truth and not breaking the law by doing this. Several states have put through legislation to punish candidates who misrepresent themselves in writing when seeking employment.
  
• Is the candidate motivated to do this job? Yes, the candidate is unquestionably qualified, but he simply doesn't want to do the work. The candidate is seeking a new challenge.
  
• Is the candidate driven to excel? Many candidates neglect to list their accomplishments on a resume. They detail every employer, task, and duty they've performed. Either because of humility or lack of knowledge, they neglect to include how their efforts benefited their employers. What did they really accomplish? They can deliver the minimum expectations, but will they excel? Is this the best candidate for the position, or is it just a convenient fill?
  
• Does the candidate have good communication skills? Did he write his own resume or buy it? Does he have good, natural, or learned communication skills or did someone coach him through producing this resume (and will that coach hopefully be accompanying the candidate to the job daily)?
  
• Will the candidate fit the culture? It's almost impossible to gauge from a resume whether a candidate will be a good fit culturally for the company and the department. In some cases, the cultural fit may be more important than the skill match. bout

Helpful Advice for Banks & Other Financial Institutions that Conduct Employment Verifications

(I know, long title). Many of you have seen recent articles we've written about what employers can and cannot or do and do not say when providing employment verification information on former employees. One of our clients was kind enough to pass along this article, Are You Hiring A Crook written by Mary Beth Guard at Bankersonline.com.

The article focuses on financial institutions who have terminated employees due to fraud or theft in the workplace, but where charges have never been filed. Many employers are scared to divulge such information if asked for fear of a lawsuit from the former employee. Most are unaware that the USA Patriot Act actually affords them the protection they need to warn financial institutions that might consider the individual for employment.

If you work in the financial sector, this article is a must read. I would recommend paying close attention to how this protection can be used and under what circumstances. I was so facsinated by this little know provision in the Patriot Act that I contacted the author and she was only so kind to offer her opinions and advice for how financial institutions can utilize this important protection. One thing that I found unfortunate was the fact that the language in this provision seems to make it impossible for a CRA (background screening organization) to conduct this type of verification on the employer's behalf.

Enjoy the article.

Florida DCF Reviewing Background Check Process After Spokeman Arrested for Child Pornography

It would seem that the Florida Department of Children & Families has a nightmare on their hands. They hired a spokesman for the organization that was recently arrested on Child Pornography charges, as documented by the Orlando Sentinal in their article DCF reviewing background check policy after spokesman's arrest.

The state agency said that a background check was conducted and did not reveal conviction records from the state of Texas which focused on writing bad checks. They said if they had known about these records, it might have affected their decision to hire this individual. My guess is that the state didn't conduct a thorough check, however it could have been much worse. Based on this report, it doesn't seem to indicate that this individual had prior records related to sex crimes or child pornography.

The importance of conducting a county criminal record search in each county where the applicant has lived, worked or attended school cannot be understated. The article doesn't indicate that these offenses occurred in counties where the individual resided, but I think it's a safe assumption. If he didn't the state would be claiming the they conducted a thorough check and wouldn't be reevaluating their procedures.

Nightmare for applicants and screening firms

Not sure how to describe this one, but a recent headline in the Cleveland Plain Dealer could pose a nightmare for us all. Summit County Cases Proceeded Without Formal Charges. My wife actually found this one this morning reading our edition of the Plain Dealer, this one hits closer to home because we live in Summit County! When the prosecution virtually ignores the Grand Jury and Prosecutions Nolle Prosequi status and charges the individual anyway, where is the Due Process? How in the world would an employment screening company and, or an employer adjudicate the results of a background check when the case should not have been indicted in the first place? Food for thought, I know the answer but its a good starting point for some good old fashioned commenting to this post!! Comment away!

Major League Baseball Umpires Cry "Foul" Over Background Checks

Pick up any major U.S. paper today and you'll see that Major League Baseball Umpires are less than pleased with the methods MLB has used to conduct background checks. They have alleged that investigators are making inquiries with neighbors of the umpires which preclude the neighbors to believe that the umpires are engaged in such activities. Questions have included whether the umpires have ties to the Ku Klux Klan or if they have been known to grow marijuana. MLB has denied has denied any wrong doing.

See Umpires questioning tactics in MLB background checks found in today's USA Today for the complete story.

Here's my take. First, the type of investigative work MLB has employed to vett their umpires is far beyond that which your average employer utilizes. That doesn't make it wrong. That makes it much more in-depth, time intensive and costly. Knowing the embarrassment caused to the NBA when it was revealed that one of their referrees was tied to a mafia gambling ring, they have a vested interest in knowing everything they can about the people they employ to protect the integrity of the sport. Furthermore, if they are not involved in these activities, why would they have a problem with these questions? Lastly, if they don't want to be subjected to these checks, they always have the option of seeking alternate employment.

HOWEVER

If, in fact the investigators crossed the line and intimated that the umpires were involved in the activities they were asking about, they were flat out wrong and should be held accountable. We should have more details in the next few days and weeks and hopefully will be able to make that determination at some other time.

A Case for Continuous Employment Background Checks

The President of Washington-based Dollarwise payday stores, Charles Seil was operating his business from a prison cell over the summer. A pretty cool trick if you ask me, but the State of Washington didn't think so when it found out after the fact. In fact, they revoked his license after getting an anonymous tip that he plead guilty to watercraft homicide and had been serving time.

Now, Mr. Seil was not an employee of his company so I doubt he would have instructed his people to run recurring background checks on him to allow for continuous employment, however if the state, which issued his license didn't get this anonymous tip he'd still be operating his business. What could the state have done?

We've written much about the concept of Continuous or Recurring Background Checks recently:

Background Checks for Current Employees

Well, they did perform a background check to issue the license. However, that background check was conducted well before this incident took place. If the had a program in place to update the information, they could have caught this.

The same concept applies to any employer. It's great that so many organizations see the value in conducting background checks in order to make an informed hiring decision. But, that check doesn't guarantee that something hasn't happen since the time that the applicant hired.

Check out the links above for some suggestions on how to effectively screen your current employees.

Even Paradise is No Longer Immune to Need for Background Checks

The beautiful island of Bermuda is one of my favorites with majestic pink sand beaches and the clearest blue waters I have ever seen. If you close your eyes, you can just imagine this tropical paradise and forget about your cares.

Unfortunately, the people of Bermuda are learning a lesson that many have learned long ago: being on a small island or in a small community where everybody knows one another cannot insulate you from harm that can be caused by not performing proper background checks on job candidates.

Are Your Kids in Harm's Way is a story taken from a local Bermuda newspaper and details a story about a woman who abused children while operating a day care center. This woman had a criminal past and could have been prevented from caring for children had anyone performed a criminal background check.

The problem is that stories such as these repeat themselves all over our country and all over our world. People think that they are immune to such activities because they live in small communities. Unfortunately, many need to live through an experience such as this to realize that this logic cannot stand.

FCRA for Healthcare?

THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOUR CREDIT NOW

Here's an interesting story which describes how the people who developed Credit Scores are in development of a "MedFico" score which will allow hospitals to assess a patient's ability to pay their medical bills. I'm sure this will prove to be more than controversial.

With this development can an "FCRA" for Patients be far off? Do you think patients will be more prone to identity theft and claim they needed to do it in order to get medical attention? Can a patient dispute what is found on their record, say a scandalous plastic surgery? Can trading organs on-line to pay for medical bills be far behind (oh yeah! That's been done)?

All these questions are making me dizzy. I hope my Doctor will be willing to see me even though I only have $20 in my pocket.

NASA Background Checks

So I've been kind of ignoring the story of NASA workers who are objecting to background checks for the past couple months (I know, brilliant for the guy who's supposed to be paying attention to these things). I figured it was just another story about employees that were claiming that their privacy is being invaded.

Well, kind of, it is. However, after finally reading through this AP New Release: Court Nixes NASA Background Checks, I get it. This section of the article is what got me to pay attention.

"The workers sued the federal government, claiming that NASA was invading their privacy by requiring the investigations, which included probes into medical records and questioning of friends about everything from their finances to their sex lives."

I'm all for screening employees for things that might have a direct impact on their character or ability to perform a job, but information about their sex lives? Are you kidding me? I can't see how that might have an impact on one's ability to perform their job (unless they are trying to qualify for adult films {couldn't resist}).

I can't really speak to the objection about medical records. There are some jobs where that type of information is necessary and I certainly don't object to the part about personal finances if that sheds a light on character and personal responsibility.

I'll try to pay better attention in the future and keep you posted on this story.

Employment Verifications: What You Don't Say Can Hurt You

When conducting employment verifications we've all gotten used to the fact that many past employers will not willingly give adverse information about their former employees. Many will confirm employment, give you the dates of employment and starting and ending title/responsibilities. However, after that information is shared what else you get varies widely. Oftentimes, significant adverse information can be withheld.

Why? Employers are worried about getting sued by the former employee. In today's society, the prevailing logic is "why risk litigation, let the next person find out for themselves". Well, here's something that will make you cringe. In the last few years, past employers are being held accountable for what they do not say when it leads to actions by the former employee that could have been prevented had the prospective employer been informed.

Our very own Rob Thomson recently wrote what I consider to be one of the best articles I have ever read on this topic, Employment Verifications: Less May No Longer Be More! Check it out. It's worth the read and particularly relevant when you see a story I found today about a California police officer who was fired from his job in 2004 for Sexual Harassment. It turns out that his past employer (another police force) covered up prior activity including Sexual Harassment that would have preventing the officer from getting the job.

I'm not sure if one police force can sue another, but I would imagine that the victim of the harassment might have a nice suit against both employers in this case.

The fact is, this issue of what you should and shouldn't say in an employment verification is extremely dicey for employers. It is a double edge sword of which employers have no guidance on what is appropriate to reveal and what is not. Until definitive best practices are established, employers are going to be left to their own best judgement. Should be interesting.

Interesting Article on Background Checks and Social Networking Sites

Thought you might enjoy this article on the use of Social Networking sites in the background screening process entitled "More Firms Screen Social Sites". As most of you know, I am highly opposed to this practice and think this article does a nice job at framing the issue. I also found it refreshing to see that some universities offer guidance on what is appropriate content for posting. Lastly, I agree with this take offered by Human Resources Executive.

Screening candidates using these social networking sites may seem like a good idea, but companies who engage in the practice could be opening themselves up to potential violations of personal privacy and equal protection laws, according to the magazine Human Resources Executive.

Xtra Cheezhead Post on Social Networking & Background Checks

Check out my recent Xtra Cheezhead post concerning the use of Social Networking Sites in Background Screening process.

I found a great interview in SmartMoney Magazine with employment attorney Jeanine DeBacker on the topic which highlights her thoughts on this practice and the potential for litigation.

Click here to view the full post.

Employers Access Credit Reports

We see so many articles these days slamming employers and grossly overstating the misuse of employment credit reports, so I was pleased to see a well-balanced, informative view about from a 30,000 ft. level of the process. See article below published in the Detroit Free Press.

It may not seem fair, but that company you're talking to about a new job can find out when you opened your Visa and Nordstrom charge accounts and whether you're keeping up with payments. Whether it's their business is up to you.
That kind of information is detailed in your credit report. Besides the date on which you opened what credit account, the balance you owe and how often you pay, it includes your full name, address, former addresses and names, date of birth and Social Security number and public records such as tax liens, judgments and bankruptcies.

Read More

Drew Peterson Investigated for Conducting Illegal Background Checks

As if Drew Peterson wasn't in enough hot water, now he's being investigating for conducting illegal background checks through his police department's computer system. Talk about a guy who thought he was above the law. Peterson is a Chicago-area cop who is being investigated for his 4th wife's disappearance and his 3rd wife's death.

This story on ABC News details the allegations.

Identity Theft - By The Numbers.

I found this on-line this weekend. This article has nothing to do with background checks but has a lot of great information about identity theft.

Facts about identity theft:

-- In 2005, about 1.6 million households experienced theft of existing accounts other than a credit card, such as a banking account, and 1.1 million households discovered misuse of personal information, such as a Social Security number.

Read more

Australia - Why do background checks?

An interesting article about doing background checks in Australia. It seems in theory that our Aussie friends are a few years behind us, but still seeing the importance of doing employment screening. Check out this article, Protect yourself from fraud in the Herald Sun.

Staffing Management Magazine

Our friends at SHRM posted our trends article in Staffing Management Magazine this month. See our latest article 10 Background-Screening Trends to Track in 2008. Feel free to comment below! As always, all of our media postings can be found here.