Why You Should Run a Background Check on Yourself

Getting a job is a grueling process of interviews and job searches. To make matters worse, it all ends with a background check that can cost you a great job. That’s not to say that people shouldn’t run background checks—employers need to protect themselves, and there are many reasons people fail a background check. However, a background check is just an out-of-context report on situations that may be completely harmless in reality. That is why you should run a background check on yourself. Knowing what a report says about you can be the difference between getting a job or not.

Knowing What It Says

The biggest reason to run a personal background check is to know what it says about you. There is nothing you can do once a hiring manager sees your background report, so it’s better to know in advance what it might say. Perhaps you forgot about some speeding tickets, or maybe it reports on your bad credit score. These are all things you can clear up easily with an employer during the interview process—but only if you know in advance.

Fighting for Yourself

A background check is just a report of the results of a situation; it has no regard for any odd circumstances or context. For example, identity theft can have a large impact on your credit score. A background check will report your credit score but not the identity theft. This omission may cost you a job through no fault of your own. But if you know what your report says, you can forewarn your potential employer of the situation.

Correcting Bad Information

Background checks are not immune to mistakes and misinformation. Sometimes, they confirm the wrong address or link other reports to yours. If you’re able to see this, you can fix it before it confuses a potential employer. Human mistakes happen, and people input the wrong data. Doing a background check is the only way to protect yourself from such clerical errors.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you should run a background check on yourself. However, the most important one is simply to protect yourself. A misinformed background check can damage your chances at a job and affect your livelihood. Only by performing a background check can you make sure your public information is accurate and fair.