Background Checks in the Information Age

It was always my understanding that the purpose of a background check for a job was to verify the authenticity of the information provided by the applicant. That is not always true.

It would be funny if it weren't tragic. A technician in the computer industry for 20-plus years did not qualify for a help desk position because the job title of the last job held did not include the word computer. The titles at the company were generic in nature and used to describe a level of worker, not the labor being worked. Managers had one title which included the words customer, the staff doing the labor had words in their title just as generic.

The process of applying for this position went smoothly at first. There was the application which asked about previous employment, education and licenses. Then came a practical test to determine skills. It was a set of computer multiple choice questions. They were not easy ones. These were to test the ability of a skilled computer technician. After those two processes were complete, the employer sends the candidate to the background investigation web site. This was a simple, online process where the candidate could chose to undergo and education, employment or license background check.

In the case of the candidate here, employment was the best choice. This person had been in the information systems field for over 20 years and held both a staff position and a manager position for a data services provider. So far, it all looked like it was just a matter of waiting out the time to process the background check.

When this candidate got the letter of rejection which included words that indicated that the person didn't fulfill the requirements, shock was the most mild of the responses felt. Upon reading the paperwork, it looked like a mistake. It turned out that the letter and the form attached did not match. The candidate was briefly relieved and proceeded to contact the employer.

Here is where the most unusual of events began to unfold. The employer told the candidate that it appears that the candidate has no qualifications for the position because the job they held for 9.5 years was in customer service, not computers. So there was a mistake alright, but, this one is not going to be corrected easily. The title of the last job held was the reason the company could not verify that this person could do the job. Did you hear that? The title, not the work performed, or the accomplishments.

In the age of information, the background could not be identified as IT or systems based because the organization doing the background could only ascertain the candidate's title.

A few emails back and forth with the prospective employer has not improved this situation. There is a live person corresponding from the employer, however, the company has policies and one of them is the background check. The information age is a great thing. It can also be a bad thing. The good thing is this candidate is not going to give up. At this point, it is not the job, but the principal. Some policies should be reviewed for quality and effectiveness. Some companies could be hiring staffers with no real qualifications, but terrific titles.