Any job seeker will feel relieved when they are getting close to a job offer. Job seekers often ask whether a background check is a good indication that they will be employed.
It’s hard to provide a specific timeline, but following a background check, you should hear something in a week or two.
An employment background check might take two to five days to complete. Following that, the recruiting manager would typically require a few days to reach a conclusion or put up an offer.
Does passing a background check guarantee you the job?
Although it is a strong signal that you could get an offer, it is not a 100% guarantee that you will get the job.
The final step in the recruiting process is often a background check. Before making an offer, employers will often run a background check on the applicant. They could be investigating the background of a few applicants so that they are considering making an offer. It’s tough to tell if you’re the only candidate they’re looking at or if there are numerous others that they’re checking out.
What is included in a background check?
A background check asks whether the information on a candidate’s résumé is accurate. The recruiter learns specific details about the candidate during the recruiting process. Education, prior career history, criminal records, checks of one’s driving record or license, and credit history are a few examples of these factors. The following are some of these factors:
Identity verification
Regarding turnaround time, identity verification differs substantially from many other criteria. Some prospective employers would only want information from your passport or license, while others might make a full investigation using Social Security number tracking.
Academic verification
This check entails comparing information from the relevant schools and universities with the educational experience indicated on a candidate’s résumé. The candidate must also sign a release document, which might be difficult. This type of background check might need many days.
Employment verification
Due to the recruiter’s requirement to communicate with all previous employers or their HR personnel, this check might take two to four days or even longer. As a result, the process gets more time-consuming the more positions the candidate has changed.
The background check may take one to two weeks if the applicant has experience working abroad. The applicant should prepare to sign a release document authorizing the company to get the necessary information.
Criminal record
This check’s timeline may vary dramatically. The background check may take one to two business days if the candidate’s criminal history is restricted to a single state or country of origin.
Verifying overseas records, however, takes a lot longer. This process may take up to or even exceed 20 days if the individual has emigrated to another country or worked abroad.
Verification of professional certification
Verifying any memberships in professional associations, as well as any certifications or license authorization checks, fall under this check category. It might take two business days on average to verify these professional records.
Credit checks
This background check looks at a candidate’s credit history in general. Checking with the credit bureaus to confirm the information typically takes two to four days.
Global watch list checks
For employees at any level of government employment, this sort of background check is very important. Because references for international watch lists are readily available, this search can be done in a day.
Driving checks
Due to insurance issues, especially if you are traveling for business, your company is liable for you. In that event, companies would conduct this type of investigation to ensure they hired a responsible driver and save money on insurance.
Possible reasons that might delay a background check
Here are a few possible causes for your background check to be delayed if it takes more than three to five days:
- The most common delays include incorrect or incomplete check request forms and an employer’s inability to get the requisite authorization and release paperwork from job applicants, as federal law requires. Agency background checks cannot start until they have gotten written consent.
- Most county court records are not entirely digitized. Therefore, a county clerk or court runner must usually perform those searches manually. The duration of the manual search might range from 3 to 30 days, depending on the county or case.
- Some businesses may demand an international background check if you’ve spent the previous ten years studying or working abroad. These checks often take four to five days, depending on the country’s cooperation. However, certain nations have strict privacy protection laws, so they can take up to 20 days to complete.
- Aliases and name variations, such as Steve, Steven, and Stephen, might slow down the background check process and need a manual check of your identification. Your background check may also take longer if you’ve used various names in the past or if it turns up that you and someone else with the same or a similar name have the same records.
- For the information the employer wants, the background check service may need to look in many places, and some databases and sources—like schools or prior employers—may need more time to search or verify than others.
Questions and answers
What is a background check?
The background check process is when employers want to confirm that you are the right candidate for the position. They don’t anticipate uncovering anything during a background check; exactly the contrary. Employers only want to confirm the data you’ve previously given them.
What is the timeframe for a background check?
It varies. The background check will take roughly a week if you apply for non-federal employment. The background check may take many months if you seek employment with the federal government. These deadlines, of course, apply to the background check alone. The company is unlikely to contact you the same day they receive the findings.
Conclusion
While most background checks are completed and returned within the anticipated turnaround timeframes, unforeseen delays might occasionally happen.
Never be afraid to check with the individual or business that requested the background check if you believe it is taking too long so they can tell you why. They could ask you for further details.
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