Interview Chatter

Criminal Background Checks: Honesty Never Goes Out Of Style

by Gina on July 17th, 2008

These days there are very few companies who hire employees without doing a basic criminal background check.  Spending a few dollars up front to filter out candidates who could potentially cause big problems later just makes sense. 

So what if you’ve been convicted of a crime?

As Darlene said in her recent post about the “have you been fired” question, it’s always best to be honest.  If you’ve been convicted of a crime, it’s best to answer that question honestly on the application.  Here are a few reasons why:

1. Most companies have a no-tolerance rule against falsifying applications.  It’s better to never accept the job than to be fired from it after you’re all settled in.
2. Just because you answer “yes” to the crime question does not mean an automatic exclusion from the candidate pool.  Usually an employer will want to know more about the circumstances before making a decision.  For example, they’ll likely ask if there were weapons involved or if the crime was of a violent nature. 
3. There are certain jobs where any felony excludes the applicant.  Some direct patient care jobs in hospitals are like this.  So, depending on the career you are in, it may be worth really fighting to get the conviction expunged.  Be sure you have proof if the conviction has been expunged.
4. Just because they offered the job does not mean they did not discover the conviction.  Background checks can take a while and many companies will extend an offer before they get the final report. 

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POSTED IN: Coach's Cornor, Ethical Dilemmas