Pre-Employment Screening – A Complete Guide

Pre-employment screening is one of the essential steps that must entail the hiring process. Conducting these screening procedures can significantly increase the chances of finding the perfect employee for the job.

The hiring process is very complicated, and finding the perfect candidate is not easy. With social media and mobile workforce coming to the picture, the challenges have significantly increased. The times when hiring decisions were made based on the interview process are long gone. Nowadays, people heavily rely on pre-employment training to make sure that the candidate is suitable for the job.

What is Pre-Employment Screening?

Pre-employment screening is the term for verifying the information that candidates provide in their applications and resumes. The screening process includes investigations where a third-party aim to uncover criminal tendencies and character flaws that may jeopardise the firm or employer, endanger staff, tarnish the company’s reputation, or limit the effectiveness of the client. Screening is done primarily to check whether the candidates can be trusted with the confidential or financial information of the company.

There are many methods adopted for conducting pre-employment screening. We are going to discuss them in detail.

Background Checks –

Background checks are probably the most common aspect of a pre-employment screening process. It involves investigating the professional, financial, criminal, and personal records of the candidates. Background checks are typically used by non-profit organisations, schools, law enforcement, and other employers.

Pre-Employment Drug Screening –

Employers take urine tests for drug testing in order to protect the firm proactively from the adverse effects caused by individuals who have drug-related problems. Federally-regulated employers conduct drug screening for safety-sensitive jobs. By having active drug testing programs, one can make the workplace drug-free.

Personality Testing –

Personality tests are used for assessing the applicant’s cognitive ability, personality, potential and current skills, and several other traits. The information obtained from these tests can significantly help in finding the best match for the job along with weeding out the ones who might be problem hires.

Medical Pre-Employment Screening –

Pre-employment medical examinations take place to find out whether the applicant is fit to carry out the responsibilities of a job that demands public safety. It is necessary to see that the candidate is not a threat to others or themselves.

Credit Card Checks –

In this screening procedure, a 7-year financial history will be derived that contains the monthly payment histories, trade, lines, judgements, charge-offs, bankruptcies, collection accounts, and public records of the candidate. These checks will also look for credit card accounts, car or student loans, mortgage payment history, and so on. These checks are useful in uncovering lifestyle habits or the presence of massive debts as well. Signs of financial irresponsibility are taken very seriously because they could impact the work environment.

Social Media Pre-Employment Screening –

The blueprint of an individual’s character can be easily established using social media accounts held by the person. Employers many times go through Twitter or Facebook to gain an understanding of the personality traits and lifestyle choices.

Character Assessment –

Another essential tool to screen candidates would be to ask questions regarding drug usage and his/her employment. This technique has rather become very popular in present times. Character assessment is surely a new revolution in the history of pre-employment screening.

The long-term benefits are quite high when you look at pre-employment screening. Therefore, every organisation should make use of these techniques for finding the right candidate for a job.

The author writes articles and blogs on pre employment screening Australia. He is associated with http://www.cleard.life/.