Whether you know it or not, someone has done a background check on you before. From those who run small organizations to HR teams in massive corporations, everyone checks out who they’re hiring before they offer them a job. And while you can have the most impressive resume and the best references, if your background check comes back with something unfavourable, you might be disregarded for a position. So, you may be wondering, “How do I background check myself to find out what others might find?” and “How can I make myself look as favourable as possible to potential hirers?”
Well, you’re in luck; we’ve got the answers to your questions below!
What Can Background Checks Tell about a Candidate?
Of course, background checks can differ greatly from job to job. Depending on the position at hand, a hiring professional may merely confirm a candidate’s work ethic by performing a reference check. However, a job with higher stakes and certain skilled tasks may require a more thorough search. In these kinds of positions, often, recruiters and hiring managers perform criminal reference checks, social media scans, and checks on academic credentials and driver’s abstracts, as well. This is to ensure the worker can perform the necessary tasks at hand in everyday work. This is also useful in industries like daycares and long-term care facilities to ensure the clients or customers are in good hands.
Nevertheless, there are still employers who find an imperfect criminal record or driver’s abstract and still hire the candidate. This is called “second-chance employment” and it’s encouraged to better support those who have had charges in the past and deserve to have a fresh start in the workplace. So, even if you have a criminal record, you may still be able to land your dream job!
Can I Background Check Myself?
The short and sweet answer is: yes! But there are numerous ways to do so. One check that you can do on a surface level on your own is a brief scan of what pops up when you search your name in a search engine, like Google. This can show you at least what social media platforms you should be making private to avoid appearing unprofessional to future employers and clients. Still, this is only the first step in scanning your social media, as professional social media scans perform deeper dives to ensure you won’t showcase any red flags to future employers. To do a thorough search, you’ll need to perform professional checks.
Many professional background checks, particularly if your workplace has certain requirements for its workers, can be quite thorough. Some organizations will offer these checks as a one-time offer to ensure its authenticity and up-to-date status. On the Workwolf platform, however, reference checks, for example, are completed once and are reusable over various job applications.
As well, some organizations can perform checks, but may not do so by using the most reliable sources. We at Workwolf work directly with a credential issuer so that every service performed is coming directly from the source. This means the institution itself is confirming your academic credentials, including graduation status and date. But that’s just one of the many services we offer!
With Workwolf, you can perform the following background checks for yourself:
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Criminal record
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Driving record
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Credit strength
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Employment history
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Educational history
- License / Certification
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Social media profiles
- References
How Can I Impress Future Employers?
Many of these checks can and should be done ahead of applying for a job, regardless of the position. After all, performing these checks yourself shows you have nothing to hide (in fact, you have many things to showcase!). But more importantly, it shows that you take your career seriously, and you want to stand out in your field of work.
And certainly, background checks can showcase a lot about a worker. However, there are aspects about you that background checks alone cannot confirm. After all, a worker can be both certified in all necessary areas and also a poor worker in certain tasks or environments. So, in addition to performing background checks on yourself, make sure you complete a soft skills assessment, as well!
When you use the Workwolf platform, you immediately gain access to a free Packfinder assessment. Packfinder is our psychometric soft skills assessment that determines your personal potential to succeed in 60 unique job functions. It measures various aspects of your personality and your soft skills to determine what role and environment is best suited for you. That means that you can use your results to showcase how suitable you are for a given position.
So, when you’re using your verified credentials, especially with your Digital Work Passport from Workwolf, make sure you’re also showcasing your Packfinder results. Make hiring you an easy and well-informed decision with Workwolf! Sign up for a free Workwolf account by clicking here.
