Background check a good sign?

I know I've probably got the worries for no reason, but no one in any industry is going to run a background check if they're not seriously interested, right? I had my second pone interview on Monday, and at the end they told me it might take a week or two to get an answer (they're hiring a bunch of people right now, so they're got a lot to do). I've been in retail management for a long time, and I'd never start a background check on someone I didn't intend to hire. Even though we have contracts for the background check, I never thought it was worth it to run checks on people I wasn't interested in. So should I cease my worrying?

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networker050184

I've never had a company run a background check and not got the job.

cyberguypr

Correct. Those cost money so usually they do them right before extending an offer.

greenerek

agree, I think is a good sign

, or bad if you have sth to hide...:)

Cpl.Klinger

I have nothing to hide. The only thing they're going to find is a recent speeding ticket that I have already taken care of. The wait is just killing me, especially since my wife's job hunt went so quick (applied Friday, interviewed Tuesday, offer yesterday, starts next Wednesday). But then again, as a newly licensed RN, I knew her finding work would be simple.

tecke

From my understanding a background check is usually a great sign. I believe you will get the job it is just a matter of waiting on the company to call.... I'm currently waiting on the results of a background and credit check for a new opportunity as well and it feels like it is taking foreverxforever so I empathize with you... Let us know when you get it!

NetworkVeteran

Cpl.Klinger wrote: »

The only thing they're going to find is a recent speeding ticket that I have already taken care of.

I will +1 that once they actually pay for a criminal background check, it's very likely you've got the job. A recent speeding ticket would only be a concern for me if your on-the-clock duties would regularly include driving.

blargoe

Relax, it's in the bag!

nkillgore

The federal goverment will. It doesn't cost them anything.

tom_dub

Background check = you got the job, pending you don't have any felonies or convictions or moral turpitude.

Cpl.Klinger

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

I will +1 that once they actually pay for a criminal background check, it's very likely you've got the job. A recent speeding ticket would only be a concern for me if your on-the-clock duties would regularly include driving.

No driving for this, it's work from home. I'm convincing myself more and more that I have it, just hard.

FloOz

I know how you feel! Waiting for background checks to clear can be stressful even if you have never committed a felony.

Haunt

I have an interview next week and they told me they run thorough background-checks and all that jazz. So when a prospective employer runs a background-check on you, what kind of specific information can they find out? I mean, I know it checks for criminal history and stuff like that but can they find out very specific things like who all of your previous employers were and for how long you were employed there? For example, I got a job with the state last year (doing IT) but it turned out to be a very bad decision for me, the work was very mediocre and all the tech was extremely outdated so I quit after 1 week. Since I was only there for 1 week I obviously didn't mention that on my resume as it looks bad, but is that something that can be found out through a background-check?

instant000

Haunt:

Dependening upon the scope of the investigation, it may take even longer to investigate if they find out about a job that you previously held that you did not inform them of. Of course, I say this, based upon investigations for the Department of Defense. Some investigations are as simple as a criminal background check. In many cases, a credit check does occur. Depending upon the nature of a bankruptcy, it is still possible to have a clearance. Other investigations can get to the point where they want to know things about your surrounding family.

Being honest is of primary importance, since it will show unfavorably on your trustworthiness if you "lie" for an investigation that is designed to check out how trustworthy you are. Now, if you didn't fill out a form, and they're only looking at your resume, that wouldn't appear to be the type of investigation to go that far into your background. A resume only shows what "you want to show" it doesn't show everything. So, I cannot see how a resume would be a "document of record" stating that this was your entire employment past. Additionally, the word "thorough" is relative. It may be thorough to do a 50-states check, local check, and/or national agency check, along with a credit agency check. I would argue that would not be as thorough as having investigators go out and independently confirm the information you submit in a form, and ask other people how they judge your trustworthiness.

For example, national security investigations get to the point of asking for information that you probably would not freely divulge to a stranger.

This form here gives a quick synopsis of the type of things you could get investigated for:
http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86c.pdf (see page 2)

You can go to this site to see the actual forms you'd fill out, depending on the extent of the investigation required:
Standard Forms

Hope this helps.

Haunt

Thanks for the info. I'm interviewing for a private company so I don't expect their checks to be as tough as government jobs. And now that I think about it, I worked for a financial institution after I quit working for the state and they didn't find anything about my employment with the state when they did my background check and their checks were supposed to be very deep and thorough and stuff since they're a financial institution. So I'll probably be okay with this new prospective employer not finding out about my 1 week stint with the state job.

NetworkVeteran

Being honest is of primary importance, since it will show unfavorably on your trustworthiness if you "lie" for an investigation that is designed to check out how trustworthy you are. Now, if you didn't fill out a form, and they're only looking at your resume, that wouldn't appear to be the type of investigation to go that far into your background. A resume only shows what "you want to show"

+1. As long as you have been honest, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

Cpl.Klinger

Well, background check is completed. Now just to wait the final answer....

Haunt

Hey all, have any of you ever been asked for a background check BEFORE you have interviewed? I got an interview coming up and they asked me to fill out a background check authorization form to take with me to the interview to turn in.

Is this typical? I have only ever been asked to submit to a background check until after I was already offered the job. This isn't a problem for me, I was just wondering. This job that I'm interviewing for has been open for almost 2 months now so I'm wondering if maybe they want to fill the position as quickly as possible and want to expedite the process, maybe even perhaps because they think I'll be a good fit for the position? Haha, wishful thinking.

Xyro

Haunt wrote: »

Hey all, have any of you ever been asked for a background check BEFORE you have interviewed? I got an interview coming up and they asked me to fill out a background check authorization form to take with me to the interview to turn in.

Yes, I have. I have even filled out those forms when even just submitting applications.

leefdaddy

Cpl.Klinger wrote: »

Well, background check is completed. Now just to wait the final answer....

Be careful... verify it is a legit company. There are some scams out there that do things like this.

Haunt

Well I realized the obvious. Just because they asked me to bring a filled out background check form to my interview doesn't mean they'll actually spend the money to follow through with it.

If they interview me and don't like me, they can scrap the background check and be done with it....

jimmyrobs

No reason to worry. Since background screenings cost money, organizations won't run them on anyone they don't intend to hire.

ansionnachcliste

Background checks are normally a good thing.

However... I recently had 3 great interviews with one company and then a background check where they called two of my references.
The feedback from the references was that it looks like I "have it in the bag".

A week later I get an email and a call later saying that they chose me for the job but the company backed out.

I guess that's my fault - Know the company, see if they know where they're going, if they have a plan and seem organised.
I got the vibe that they were a little lost, although I was excited to try and push them further.

LonerVamp

Thread necro!

Infosec_Sam

ansionnachcliste said:

Background checks are normally a good thing.

However... I recently had 3 great interviews with one company and then a background check where they called two of my references.
The feedback from the references was that it looks like I "have it in the bag".

A week later I get an email and a call later saying that they chose me for the job but the company backed out.

I guess that's my fault - Know the company, see if they know where they're going, if they have a plan and seem organised.
I got the vibe that they were a little lost, although I was excited to try and push them further.

That's odd - I wouldn't consider it to be your fault for not realizing they were going to back out of the deal. At some point, the employer needs to take responsibility for their actions! Either way, you probably dodged a bullet!

ninja2

Cpl.Klinger said:

I know I've probably got the worries for no reason, but no one in any industry is going to run a background check if they're not seriously interested, right? I had my second pone interview on Monday, and at the end they told me it might take a week or two to get an answer (they're hiring a bunch of people right now, so they're got a lot to do). I've been in retail management for a long time, and I'd never start a background check on someone I didn't intend to hire. Even though we have contracts for the background check, I never thought it was worth it to run checks on people I wasn't interested in. So should I cease my worrying?

Is a background check a good sign that I'm likely to get a job offer? please let me know,
I know this is an old discussion but the answer to my question is very important I am
appealing to the admin. Please approve my post,Thanks

JDMurray

It depends on what you means by a "background check." In the past, background checks cost money, and therefore they were not performed until after a job candidate had passed through most of the hiring process, and was "interim hired" on condition that the background check proved satisfactory for the job position. Today, it's possible to do an inexpensive background check on the public records information of every job candidate at any point in the hiring process. A background check that, twenty-plus years ago, took weeks to perform can now be completed in under 30 minutes.

ryanjohnson333

You're right to feel optimistic—background checks are typically reserved for finalists in the hiring process. Most employers won’t run one unless they’re seriously considering making an offer. While it’s not a done deal yet, it's a very positive sign.