How long does an employee background check take? Does Home Depot do it?
If there is one question that can make an expert in employment background checks cringe, it is: How long will the background check take?
It depends, like many things related to background checks such as cost and scope.
The background check has a wide variation in the specific elements that make up it.
Typically, a check takes two to four business days unless there are unforeseen circumstances.
Hire Right is often asked if there is a way to speed up the background check.
There are things that can slow it down since there are elements out of the candidate and the screening provider's control.
While the time it takes to execute a background check varies depending on the individual services that comprise the check, we hope the general guidelines above help both recruiters and candidates better understand what may affect the final timeline.
If you want to learn more about the timelines of background checks, you should read our new book Background Checks for Dummies.
Getting someone's complete background in a matter of seconds is pure Hollywood fiction.It usually takes several days to complete a background check.Here is why.You want to check the criminal history of a candidate.You might want to look for courts in which the candidate has lived, worked or gone to school.In the United States, there are more than 3000 places where public records can be obtained.The way in which these records can be accessed varies from court to court.Approximately 30% of US courthouses require in-person direct access for their records to be made available for online searches.In-person courthouse record searches can be done with the help of a network of court runners.It takes time to conduct in-person searches.There is a tic.It adds up.Real-time criminal records searches have been conducted by your background check provider.They need to review any information obtained from the courts before reporting it to you.Your background check partner should help make sure that the information belongs to your candidate and that it is legally reportable in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.Other search dependency may come into play if you want to verify the candidate's professional references, education, and previous employment.If a previous employer, school, or reference doesn't respond in a timely manner or worse, then the background check may be delayed.A thorough background check is important for many employers.To help expedite the background check process and achieve a faster time-to-hire, you may want to advise candidates to have W-2s from previous employers and records from schools they attended available in case they are requested.Candidates may want to contact people they used as references and request they respond to a reference check quickly.Let your candidates know where they are in the process by staying in touch with them.The candidate, prospective employer, and Hire Right all want the same thing: accurate information in the screening process.
Kim Nelson leads a team of highly creative people that inspire her to find new and engaging ways to help HR professionals stay current on trends in human capital management.She likes to travel and look for the best food and drink in the world.