Top 5 Red Flags Found In Online Employee Background Checks

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The main purpose of running a background check on a new hire is to protect your company assets, current employees, and your customers. Confirming that a new employee is who they proclaim to be, and actually have the qualifications they claim to possess, is a vital step in any hiring process.

Reviewing an individual’s personal, criminal, credit, and educational references is a critical part of the decision-making process for any manager. How do you determine what signals potential trouble ahead if you bring this new team member on board? Let’s take a look at the top red flags in a criminal background check and what to do if you find any.

Online Employee Background Check Red Flags You Should Not Ignore

Without a comprehensive new hire background check, your business takes on unnecessary risks that can have dire impacts on your budget, investment in training, and possibly lawsuits or harm to other employees. These types of scenarios are not as uncommon as you might want to believe, so you must vet your candidate thoroughly before sending that offer letter.

Watch out for some of these red flags on a potential hire’s background screening:

Refusal to Allow a Background Check

Before running a background history on a prospective employee, federal employment law requires you to get their permission first. It is perfectly legal for a job seeker to refuse your request, but it is unusual. When this happens, treat it like a warning sign and try to explain what concerns you have regarding the job role and why their personal history matters. Taking this action may help calm their anxiety and open up an opportunity to discuss any prior incidents that make them not want to share their information.

They Falsified Their Qualifications

Lying about the qualifications on a resume is one of the top red flags that employers encounter when searching for a new team member. Your candidate’s education and licensing references should always get priority when screening their qualifications. A business counts on its employees to be who they say they are, and those who falsify this information can jeopardize your company’s reputation and legal protections.

Dishonesty About Previous Job Roles

It isn’t all that uncommon for a candidate to embellish their previous job duties on their resume. Adding a little shine to achievements or work experience isn’t completely unusual, but purposely misleading you about prior positions is a problem.

If you find inconsistencies or discover outright misinformation regarding previously worked job roles, clarify these instances right away. The candidate you made an offer to may not be qualified for your open position.

Gaps in Employment History

While employment gaps revealed in an online employee background check are a red flag, keep an open mind. The job market has been difficult, even after the Great Recession ended in 2009, and many workers endured multiple periods of unemployment.

Other reasons for these gaps include:

● Raising children at home
● Taking care of a sick loved one or being ill themselves
● Pursuing further education

If your candidate doesn’t have a reasonable explanation, this could signal underlying employment issues they regularly suffer. Whether they have difficulty with transportation or did not include jobs lost because of firing, it’s important to communicate with them the need for transparency.

They Have a Criminal History

After sending a job offer to a candidate, finding criminal history on a background check is a significant warning sign you should take seriously. This is especially true if the nature of the crime is severe, and they purposely didn’t mention it when asked. Omitting this information from their interview shouldn’t immediately disqualify candidates from accepting your job offer. There are many reasons job seekers aren’t forthcoming about their legal issues, including:

  • Embarrassment
  • Worried about disqualification for the job role
  • Want a chance to prove their trustworthiness and reliability
  • Have faced discrimination in past interviews

Many offenses like speeding tickets are not a cause for worry, but fraud, theft, or crimes involving violence, demand serious evaluation before proceeding with your plans to hire. Keeping your current employees safe and mitigating risks to your business is crucial, no matter how talented your candidate is. 

Use an Online Background Check Service to Find Red Flags

When trying to be sure your chosen hire is right for your company, using an online background check service like Pre-employ is a reliable way to accomplish this task. Our organization saves you valuable time and money when vetting candidates. We use our accredited investigation methods to show you how an in-depth criminal history report helps to protect your assets from potentially dangerous hiring situations. With an intuitive, online interface at your fingertips, your business can get the information it needs to verify new and existing employees’ information quickly.

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