How Can You Prepare for a Background Check?

Background checks can range in scope from narrowly tailored to wide-ranging. The three most common types of background screenings ordered by employers are:

• Criminal and civil record searches
• Employment and education/license verification
• DMV records check

Other background screening subject areas include drug and alcohol test history, social security verification, past residences, sex offender registry, and credit history.

One advantage you have to being on the job candidate end of a background check is advance warning. Any time you make it to the interview stage of a hiring process, you can assume you may be subject to a background check. When that becomes the case, keep these five tips in mind to ensure you are prepared.

1. Consider criminal record expungement

Be honest about your criminal record in the hiring process, and look into expunging and sealing your criminal record. Check out the Restoration of Rights Project for information on what paths each state offers to remove the criminal record. 

2. Review your social media profiles

Around 70% of employers screen potential candidates’ social media as part of the hiring process. Some even use highly sophisticated software to scan your accounts on sites like Twitter and Instagram to find potentially incriminating information that can go back several years.

Be aware of what you post, and do an audit before your potential employer does.

3. Obtain your own copies of your public records

Each state has its own guide to obtaining records through its public records law (with Massachusetts and Virginia as two guiding examples). If you want to know what potential future employers will see if they request your records, you don’t have to dig into your memory to get an idea. Simply request your records and see for yourself.

You can use the Freedom of Information Act to get federal records on yourself and go by state processes to get state records. Check out your drug and alcohol testing history, criminal record, driving record, credit history, and more. Once you know what will show up, you’ll sound better explaining it.

4. Get your 1099s and W2s in order

Past employment verification is the cornerstone of any background screening hiring process. If you have your own record of past employment, as represented by pay stubs, you can shorten delays as records are requested and build trust with potential future employers.

5. Be honest about your background

In a 2023 survey of 1,250 Americans, Resume Builder revealed shocking findings concerning the hiring process. 35% reported lying during the hiring process, 68% lied during an interview, and a staggering 72% lied on their resume.

You can understand why employers would want to take every measure available to ensure their candidates are honest – and honestly qualified. The most important thing you can do with respect to background screenings is to be honest about the findings. Employers care less what comes up than how you address it.

Obviously, certain criminal charges and drug and alcohol violations might be immediate grounds for dismissal. But you can turn a potentially incriminating situation into a trust-building one if you own up to your own record.