How Tenant and Pre-Employment Background Checks Can Protect You

Did you know that up to half -- half! -- of all applicants provide inaccurate or downright false information on their resumes and applications? Is your company following through with proper employee screening so that you'll know if a top candidate has been truthful?

Most people think of themselves as honest and hardworking. They believe it's OK to "fudge" a bit when it comes to ensuring they can get a job, or a place to live -- they feel it's justified so that they can provide for themselves or for their families. They figure "everyone's doing it, so what's the harm?" They don't even think that someone may do a tenant credit check on them, or conduct a pre-employment background check to verify what they claim.

But the applicant deems as “fudging” can sometimes turn out to be blatant falsehoods. These errors and omissions are often subconscious, but sometimes deliberate.

A pre-employment background check and tenant credit check company can help you discover which applicants are being less than honest. You can then take that information and apply it to your interviewing process.

A good employee screening company will provide the following services to employers:

• The company will perform a Social Security Number (SSN) trace to verify a candidate's number and to see if there are any glaring problems associated with that number. - Screening companies can also check the criminal records of one or more of the counties where an employee says he or she has lived in the past.

Depending on the level of service you require, a pre-employment background check company will verify:

• Professional license or certification
• Motor vehicle/driving records
• Employment verification (the number of employers they check is up to you) - Educational degree(s) - Credit history
• Federal criminal records as well as county civil records

Landlords also should verify a potential tenant's rental and credit history. A tenant credit check gives a property owner the background, eviction and criminal record (if any) of a potential tenant, which will help the landlord find low-risk renters. Doing this kind of screening helps a landlord improve tenant decision making efforts, cuts down on delinquency rates and helps increase profit margins.

Other screenings a good background check company can perform include

• Verification of Social Security Number
• Search of OFAC/ Patriot Act Search
• Check for evictions and lawsuits, bankruptcies, judgments and liens
• A search of county criminal records and even a sex offender search

Most people are honest. Most are trustworthy. Most are people you'd want to have as employees or tenants. But too many are not. Don't trust "your gut." Trust a pre-employment background check or tenant credit check performed by a reputable screening company!