Digging in the Dirt: Thorough Vetting of Candidates

Welcome to the September 2018 edition of our newsletter!  In this issue, we’ll examine the importance of thorough vetting for senior-level positions.

Know Your Candidate: The Need for Thorough Background Research

Headlines are rife with examples of various types of fraud among job candidates, whether those who seek to be a chief financial officer, or member of Congress.  Some claim to have degrees they never received, others invented positions they never held, or embellished low- to mid-level positions into something of greater significance. Yet all pose a risk to the unwitting employer who doesn’t do their homework.

A perhaps more current reason to carefully vet candidates is the increased scrutiny of personal behavior as part of a professional review.  Whether looking into social media behavior or older allegations of improper conduct, questionable prior activities by a candidate, should they come on board, can leave your company with considerable public relations problems.

Just the Facts: Digging Into a Candidate’s Background

Many claims can be verified by publicly available records and interviews, but allegations of a sensitive, and possibly criminal, nature can be difficult to vet if charges were not filed.  If interviews or other sources indicate the possibility of criminal activity that was not carried to prosecution, one avenue to consider is using an open records request of the city, county or state police to determine if logs or reports exist for any calls to a specific address, typically within a certain time frame.  Although often heavily redacted, these records can still establish valuable fact patterns and possibly the names of other witnesses.

By thoroughly examining a candidate’s past via public records and other sources, your company can better understand the person you’re considering hiring, and have a greater awareness of any pitfalls that may present themselves at a later time.  With a little tenacity and creativity, surprises can be avoided and risks can properly be understood.