Background checks are an essential part of the identity verification process for employers, government agencies, and even for people learning more about personal relationships.
A good background check will reveal everything you need to know about a person including their work history, education history, criminal records, sex offender status, and much more. For these reasons, background checks are a normal part of the employment process.
Unfortunately, background checks don’t always go smoothly. In some cases, background checks may fail, take too long to finish, or result in other issues. Therefore, it’s important to understand the background check processes and why the results may take longer in rare cases.
What Is a Background Check?
Background checks occur when an organization wants to learn more about you and your history. Organizations use background checks to verify the identity of employees and other people they do business with. The government, small companies, big corporations, and even organizations from outside of the United States all use background checks.
There are also a few types of background checks. Some background checks include searches for traffic records, court records, and a history of substance abuse. It’s important to note that it’s possible to pass or fail a drug test depending on the results a company finds.
What Information Does A Background Check Contain?
Background checks contain a lot of information about you. Most background checks will verify your identity, which includes your name, phone number, address, and other types of personal information. Additionally, background checks will contain your criminal records, traffic records, and sex offender status.
Another key component of background checks is someone’s employment history and academic history. Employers may call your previous company for references or look for records of you attending a university. Ultimately, if something is public record it will appear on a background check.
How Long Do Background Checks Take?
On average, background checks will take between two and five days. Some background checks for CDLs or government jobs may take longer, even upwards of two to three weeks. It’s also important to note that federal background checks for agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may take up to 12 months.
What Holds Up a Background Check?
Background checks are delayed for several reasons but some reasons are more common than others. We’ll focus on the most common reasons to help you get your background check approved faster.
The Wrong Information
Writing the wrong information on a background check will pause the process. When you don’t properly write your work history or leave things out, background checks will take longer to process. Therefore, it’s always important to make sure the information you provide for a background check is accurate and up to date.
The Background Check Company and Employer Aren’t on the Same Page
Companies and employers aren’t always on the same page when running a background check. When this happens the background check process becomes less smooth and the process gets delayed while they communicate.
The Background Check Has Red Flags
When your background check has red flags or things that may lead to failure the process will take longer.
Background checks that find criminal records or sex offender status will take longer to evaluate because the company must determine if that person is hireable. If these things are on your background check it’s important to contact the company before running the check to clear things up.
How to Check Your Background
Checking your background is an important part of being prepared for an interview, especially if it’s taking a long time. When background checks are held up by something, checking your records on your own may help you clear them up faster. For example, you may find some information that you left off of a form. We’ll show you how to check your background.
Checking Your Background with Information.com
Information.com is the best place to check your background. It will help you see what’s on your background check and help you speed up the process if the information is missing. Information.com is easy to use and the simple background check tool is more accurate than other online background check websites.
What’s more, Information.com will give you results in a few minutes. Having results fast will help you resolve any potential issues with your employer sooner rather than later.
With an Information.com background check you’ll find the following information:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Spouses
- Divorce records
- Sex offender status
- Bankruptcies
- Court cases
- Charges
- Misdemeanors
- Traffic violations
- Social media profiles
- Dating profiles
- Phone numbers
- Addresses
- Email Addresses
Overall, running a background check on yourself with Information.com is one of the best things you can do if a background check is delayed.
Why It’s Important to Check Your Background
Checking your background is important for a few reasons. The most important reason to check your background is to be prepared before an interview. You’ll want to see what employers will see so you can address any issues before they come into play.
Viewing your background check can also help you identify any issues that are causing it to be delayed, which will help you speed up the process. There may also be items on your background check that aren’t true, which you can dispute if you know what to expect.
Final Thoughts
Background checks are an important part of the hiring process for small businesses, large companies, and the government. The rise of background checks is not surprising either. More and more companies use resources to learn about potential applicants. Doing so helps companies screen employees and ensure that they’re hiring the right person.
Thankfully, Information.com always has your back for background checks. You’ll find plenty of tools to learn about yourself, others, and anything else you need to find. Give it a try today!