The decision to hire someone new for a position with your company is an important one. Not only will this person represent a significant investment on your part, but you’re trusting them with a lot about your business’s future success. You don’t want to rush the process or choose a candidate without being absolutely certain that they’re the right one for the job.
Performing a background check before making your final decision is a no-brainer, but it’s essential to make sure your checks are thorough enough. In addition to checking criminal records and credit, you need to background check education information, as well. Here are some of the best reasons to add it to your repertoire immediately.
1. You can be sure your candidate meets legal requirements
If the position you’re hiring for requires that the person filling it be certified or hold a specific level of industry training, you can’t afford to simply take them at their word. If they turn out not to meet basic requirements and anything goes wrong because of it, you could wind up liable for the fallout. You could be fined, penalized, or even sued. Your reputation could wind up permanently tarnished, and your business may never recover.
A quick education check is all it takes to verify a person’s education claims, ensure that any necessary licenses are up to date, and see that they’re adequately certified in every way they need to be. It takes minutes of your time, but it can save you a fortune in time, money, and risk.
2. You can verify the person is skilled in all the right ways
An education check doesn’t just confirm key credentials like certifications, degrees completed, and so forth. If you need to, you can obtain transcripts from the institutes where the person studied, meaning you can see where they were weakest and strongest as far as the courses they took.
This gives you a solid idea of what a potential new hire truly understands and what they don’t. You can decide whether they meet standards as they are or can be quickly brought up to speed with a bit of additional training. You’ll be better able to foresee how the person will perform when it comes to various aspects of their future job, as well.
3. You gain valuable insights into the person’s character
Everyone wants to make a good impression on a potential employer and will want to look as good as possible in a job interview. And more people than you realize want to make that good impression badly enough to fudge the facts or even outright lie. It’s estimated that a shocking 85 percent of all people lie on their resumes, so verifying an applicant’s claims is a must.
Knowing whether or not a potential hire has been as honest with you as they should have been can give you valuable insight into the person’s integrity, as well. Suppose someone would lie about something as important as having a degree or being adequately certified to work in a particular field. In that case, you’ll probably want to think twice about bringing them onboard.
4. You can drastically streamline your hiring process
Although it will always take time and consideration to find precisely the right candidate for an important position, education checks can definitely make the process faster. The sooner you can confirm or disprove someone’s claims regarding their qualifications, the sooner you can make an informed decision and – if necessary – move along to the next candidate.
Dedicated checks help take the guesswork out of the process. You don’t have to rely entirely on gut feelings, instincts, or first impressions. You can get to the bottom of whether a hiring decision you’re considering is a smart one and enjoy some true peace of mind instead of worrying that you might have made a mistake.
When you run your own company, you don’t have time, resources, and energy to waste taking chances on people who aren’t who they say they are. Running thorough background checks that include all the necessary steps ensures you don’t have to. Explore the possibilities today, and start making better, more confident hiring decisions!
