With identity thefts, cybercrime, and addictions of all sorts, it’s no wonder employers are becoming more reluctant to start hiring people merely based on their resume statements and recommendation letters. Of course, the world is also brimming with brilliant candidates, innovators, and incredibly creative thinkers all eager to join your team, but the risk of taking on someone certifiable instead of someone certified allows you the discretion and the freedom to implement a screening procedure for each and every hire in your company.
However, you might need some guidance on how to best devise a pre-employment screening strategy, and how to implement it. Here are a few pre-employment screening essentials you should take into account for every future candidate you consider for your business:
Verify your candidates’ education and training
Although many companies use job test to make sure their candidates are not just qualified but capable to perform certain tasks within their potential job description, education is still perceived as a make-or-break factor when hiring. That said, too many candidates try to exaggerate their skills and abilities, and some will even go as far as to lie in their resume when listing their education level and obtained degrees.
You’re entitled to know exactly which part of their listed education accomplishments are true, and which might come with embellishments. The same applies to their experience and responsibilities in their previous jobs. Their credentials and experience are both pivotal in deciding if they’re the best candidate for the role, so always make this a part of your screening process.
Look into their financial history
Who knew that a person’s financial history can speak volumes of their character and accountability? The need for each of your potential employees to pass a thorough credit check is especially vital for companies looking to hire for roles with high levels of responsibility. Knowing If someone can handle proper money management in their personal life can show you how capable someone is of handling complex financial decisions in their professional life, too.
Another perk of conducting a credit check of your candidates is that you’ll be able to confirm their identity. Fraud is unfortunately a common issue today, so the need to establish someone’s identity is essential before you put them in the position to make decisions that will affect your entire business.
Talk to their previous employers and references
Every resume comes with one or two references and recommendation letters to help you get a better grasp of their contribution in the candidate’s previous job. During the interview process, everyone will try to leave the best impression and to emphasize their qualities over their shortcomings, which is simply part of human nature. However, getting a more realistic glimpse of their abilities is vital for you to make the right call.
So, if they do provide you with contact details and references, use them. This is a great chance for you to verify what they’ve handed to you is indeed their assessment of the candidate’s work and success at the previous company, which will in turn help you tweak your own expectations.
Conduct a legal background check
Some jobs come with more risk, others give you access to sensitive information, while some require constant interaction with customers and clients. Although someone may seem like a wonderful person during the interview, and their resume may not give rise to any red flags whatsoever, leave no stone unturned in order to prevent any conflict, and most of all, to prevent legal issues.
If your country has such specific lists, you need to check if your candidate has any previous legal charges, felonies, a criminal record of any kind if they could be found in the registry of sex offenders, and the like. Any position that comes with high levels of security and trust means that you need to be extremely careful when bringing a new person to the team. Consider hiring a trusted company for background checks in Texas so that you do not have to worry about the kind of person you are roping in.
Rely on social networks – but only to an extent
A novelty in the world of screening, using social networks is certainly not a source of reliable information that can replace any other professional reference out there. However, getting a glimpse of their social behaviors online can give you a better grasp of who they are as people, if you share certain values, and if some of their soft skills are well-developed enough to handle certain digital tasks. If they will represent your brand online, social media is surely a well of invaluable data at your disposal.
Implement a policy to stay consistent
All of these steps may seem structured from this perspective. But when you start implementing the steps, you’ll realize that each candidate will inspire a different impression, and you might feel inclined to skip a step or two in the process. In order to ensure equal treatment of each candidate, you should create a policy that is in accordance with your legal rights and regulations, and use it as a guideline for every future hire.
Sometimes, you may want to consider getting legal advice when you’re creating such a policy for your business. After all, you want to cover all of your bases, but you also want to stay within your rights when conducting such screening procedures. Finally, some businesses choose to hire an external party to conduct the screening, since these companies specialize in such procedures, and they are already bound by law to ensure that every step they take is legal and in your best interest.
Pre-employment screening is a truly essential step in your hiring process, no matter how small or vast your company may be. Use these steps to guide you through the process, and you’ll increase your chances of hiring the right people to join your team!
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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