Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 Employers getting nosier about your background Job hunters need to weigh their privacy against a potential employer's hiring practices. By Eve Nicholas In the past, background checks were reserved for high-level jobs with financial institutions or government agencies, such as the FBI. Serious job seekers signed the necessary authorization forms and waited with sweaty palms as agency officials interviewed their friends and neighbors, reviewed their financial statements and evaluated their criminal, academic and employment histories. These days, background checks are not limited to job-seeking in the government and financial sector, and since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, they have become commonplace in many areas of the job market. Very few employers actually interview your acquaintances, but plenty of companies and recruiters insist on accessing your private and personal information. The term background check or "consumer report" refers to any number of reports or investigations that an employer may use to verify your experience. Depending on the company, it might encompass your finances, work history and civil-criminal records. The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets national standards for employment screening. It requires organizations to obtain your permission prior to running reports, and then keep you in the loop if your background review negatively influences the hiring decision. These standards don't address the fact that some businesses investigate candidates when they simply don't need to. Far too many companies perform background checks on all job candidates, regardless of position. This means that some of you will be asked for immediate access to your private information, even if you don't work with money, classified files or even other people. With identity theft on the rise, I believe that across-the-board background checks are unfair. They cross the line -- the invisible line that separates your best interests (i.e., your right to privacy) from those of the company. Don't get me wrong. I agree that certain kinds of reports make sense for specific jobs. But I feel strongly that privacy is important, and confidential details should not be used to screen job candidates unless it is absolutely necessary. Here's an example. Let's say that you are a child-care worker applying for a supervisory role in a preschool classroom. You will be working directly with children, so it is not unreasonable for the employer to request a criminal background check. But since you will not be dealing with finances in any way, it would be inappropriate for this company to demand access to your credit history. Now, it's true that organizations need to protect themselves from theft, fraud, litigation and other factors. And as long as they follow the federal guidelines and pay the necessary fees, it is within their rights to do so. But as a job hunter, it is your right and responsibility to protect yourself, which includes restricting the number of people and businesses that view your personal information. As you proceed with your job hunt, be cautious when potential employers request your consumer report. Find out which aspect of your background they will review. Then, ask yourself the following question: Is the company performing a background check that is relevant to my industry and position? If not, then I suggest that you take a good, hard look at the organization to determine if their hiring practices align with your needs, interests and level of integrity. You might want to focus your job search somewhere else. Send your job search questions to eve.getajob@gmail.com.

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