Why employers do background screening before hiring

By PETER KAMURI

You have just received an invitation to attend an interview for a job you had applied for recently. You are optimistic you will pass the interview and land your dream job. But just before you pop the champagne since you think the hard part is over, your prospective employer says he is going to carry out a check on your background.

This puts you off balance. Who are they going to get the information from? What will they be looking for? What are they going to unearth? Will they discover that you falsified those academic certificates?

This is what happened to one Isaac Mutoka Shivachi, a lawyer, when he appeared in an interview for the yet to be formed Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Shivachi, who graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1980, was disqualified during an interview by the panel recruiting officials to the IEBC for non-payment of a university loan advanced to him by the Higher Education Loans Board over 19 years ago.

He was dismissed

This came after the Higher Education Loans Board CEO Benjamin Cheboi, brought the candidate’s background information to the interviewing panel. Of all the candidates who had been short listed, he is the only one who had not repaid the loan. He was consequently dismissed for failing to meet requirements for the interview.

In the same interview panel, another candidate, Ken Nyaundi, also a lawyer by profession, had to fight off claims that he received kickbacks from a law firm that represented IIEC, which allegedly inflated its legal fees.

Before new employees are hired, most companies will undertake a background check. Many organisations and companies dig a candidate’s past for a number of reasons, but most want to establish the integrity of the potential employee.

Employers, especially those in the financial fields, may want to establish whether you have ever been involved in any financial impropriety. A bad credit history can ruin your chances as it may be used to gauge your level of responsibility.

Do you have a criminal background? Employeers are skeptical of applicants with criminal pasts since they might cost the firm both in terms of cost and reputation. That is why criminal history matters.

‘employability’

Most companies also want to do job applicant’s background checks to establish what former employees can say in relation to the ‘employability’ of the job seeker. This may be on matters of integrity, dependability and the values one stands for.

Did you cheat in your curriculum vitae (CV)? Through background checks, your employer wants to find out whether your CV is telling the truth or not.

Recruiters say almost half of most CVs contain falsehood and that is why it would be important to corroborate the information given.

Other critical information the employer may want to authenticate may be on your educational background.

Calls your school

So do not be surprised if he calls your former school to confirm your grades you got, and whether you actually graduated from the college indicated on your CV.

Pre-employment screenings can determine whether you will get a job or not. Many employers take them seriously and prospective job seeker should be well prepared to avoid last minute embarrassment.