Criminal Records for Employment

Criminal Records Boost Employment Chances

It's no secret that the economy has seen better days. The same is true of the housing market and the lending industry – the global financial disaster has made life difficult for any number of people. It has even had an impact on employment. As the economy worsens, more and more people find themselves faced with stiff competition for the same position. However, job applicants have a powerful tool at their disposal that can help them stand out from the rest of the herd. Criminal records can be used to your advantage when attempting to get your foot in the door with a company.

How can criminal records boost your chances of gaining the position you seek? How can you put these records to use on your behalf? Criminal records have a wide range of different uses, though most are familiar with their role on the part of employers during the hiring period.

Criminal records are used to conduct background checks on employees prior to an offer of employment being extended. This ensures that the company is able to attain the right caliber of employee within the business. Companies as wide ranging in scope as fast food chains and Fortune 500 companies employ this method to help weed out undesirable job applicants. Of course, no hiring decision is made based solely on criminal records, but they do play an important role in the hiring process.

How can you turn this tool traditionally employed by hirers to your advantage? Actually, it is quite simple. Hirers are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time and effort during the hiring process. This is looked at as an investment, because the quality of the employees hired will be greater. However, it still constitutes an expenditure. You can reduce this expenditure when you run a criminal background check on yourself and provide it accompanied by your resume or CV to the employer. Why is this a good thing? What does it tell employers about you? Below, you will find several benefits that employers will realize from this simple act.

Saving Time

Any corporate position is busy – there are simply not enough hours in the day for everything to be completed in a timely manner. Time consumption is one of the single largest enemies of any company, large or small. When a hiring manager has to spend time conducting searches through criminal records, it takes away time that he or she could spend on other, more profitable, projects.

Therefore, one of the single largest benefits that you can give an employer when you access your own criminal records is the gift of more time. Any employer receiving your background check and resume or CV simultaneously will realize that you have done them a tremendous favor.

Saving Money

Criminal records cannot be accessed free of charge. Every employer must pay for criminal record searches conducted during the hiring process. However, corporations certainly do not have bottomless pockets, no matter what their current financial health might be. Every penny has to be carefully weighed out and spent where it will make the most impact for the company. Traditionally, spending money on accessing criminal records has been considered an excellent investment for the company.

However, when you take on the job of accessing your own criminal records, you are able to save the company money. Even a small amount of money saved is more capital that can be used for other needs. This might make the difference in a successful advertising campaign or in developing a new marketing strategy. The money saved can be put back into the business, helping to pay for more working hours, bonuses and more. Obviously, employers will thank you for doing this.

Showing Honesty

Not only does searching your own criminal records help save the company time and money, but it also shows your honesty. By providing this record during the hiring process, you show them that you are forthright, honest and have nothing to hide. Why is this so important? Honesty and integrity are two of the single most important factors that companies look for in a prospective employee.

Why is honesty so important? Obviously, employers put great stock in their employees' honesty. This is an integral element for any company. Whether the position you are applying for deals with inventory, cash, company assets or has no particular security risks at all, honesty is a vital quality. Criminal records help you display your honesty and integrity, thereby increasing your chances of being hired.

Initiative

Another quality that companies routinely look for in any employee is the willingness to take initiative. Why is initiative so important? How do criminal records help show that you possess this quality? Initiative ensures the company that you have the ability to grow within the company. Without initiative, you will never gain a promotion, never achieve anything better than what you are hired in at. However, when you show the willingness to take initiative, you have tremendous options open to you.

Criminal records help you show the willingness to take initiative that companies demand. By providing your own criminal records with your resume or CV, you have actually already displayed this quality. This will not be lost on the hiring personnel. In fact, this will contribute greatly to the decision made regarding your employment. Applicants demonstrating this quality will always be considered before those who do not seek to move up or take initiative to do things on their own.

As you can see, the simple act of providing your own criminal records to an employer during the hiring process can have tremendous repercussions – it can actually make the difference between the company awarding you the job, or giving it to someone else.