As companies make their business transactions more international, and as they make every effort to become multilingual in an age of increasingly international trade, foreign nationals are more likely to become job candidates for U.S. companies and their international subsidiaries.
A foreign national who is a candidate for employment in the U.S. or for a position serving a U.S. company in a foreign market is a logical subject for an international background check. So is a legal permanent resident of the U.S who has a work and education history in another land.
But how about U.S. citizens applying for work? Should they undergo international background checks too? Sometimes, yes.
An employer has a responsibility to make sure applicants’ resumes are accurate. By some estimates, nearly 80 percent of job applicants lie at some point during the hiring process. Failing to confirm their claims could lead to liability claims in the event of incompetence by hirees who inflated their experience, capabilities and education. When companies are public, failure to confirm backgrounds also could result in shareholder suits when unqualified employees make costly decisions.
International Background Check Subjects
All job candidates should undergo a U.S. background check if applying to work for a U.S. company.
Foreign nationals who are candidates also should undergo an international background check, particularly in the country in which they have lived, obtained an education and worked.
Just as importantly, a U.S. citizen should become the subject of an international background check after having lived, worked or been educated in another country. If they have a high-level position with a foreign company, certain aspects of that company’s performance also should undergo a check.
Here’s a short list of people who should be the subjects of international background checks:
Foreign nationals who have always lived in other nations but are seeking work in the U.S.
Foreign nationals who have always lived in other nations and are seeking employment with a U.S. firm’s overseas branches or subsidiaries.
Permanent U.S. residents who have worked, lived or obtained an education in other countries.
U.S. citizens who worked and lived for appreciable periods overseas.
U.S. citizens who frequently travel to another country, even if just for pleasure.
U.S. citizens who live part time in another country, such as in a vacation or seasonal home.
Let’s look at the different types of international background checks and see why the potential hiring of foreign nationals is not the only time international background checks should be ordered:
Business Credit Report
An international business credit report comes into play in three circumstances:
When a U.S. company is considering a foreign company as a significant trade partner.
When a foreign company is a candidate for purchase.
When an employer is considering hiring someone who has played a key role in the finances or management of a foreign-owned company.
A business credit report supplies such information as payment histories; lawsuits involving the company; and on publicly traded companies, such financial information as revenue, balance sheets, cash flow and income.
Personal Credit Report
Job candidates, even U.S. citizens, who spend significant time in another nation may have a credit history there. This would be especially true if, say, the candidate purchased and maintains a property in another country. Keep in mind that personal credit reports are nation-specific, so an applicant can have a clean record in the U.S. but a spotty record in a Caribbean island nation or a country in Europe.
Civil Records (Local Level)
A civil records background check reveals whether a candidate has been involved in civil lawsuits at a local level. These could include low-level lawsuits that would be adjudicated in small-claims courts, including personal injury suits and breach of contract. These reports may have not just legal ramifications for a candidate, but also ethical and moral overtones.
More serious civil cases might include bankruptcy, divorce, foreclosures, personal restraining orders and defamation.
An American citizen who lives part time in a foreign country would fall into this type of search as well as a foreign national. Do you want to hire someone who was sued by three domestic servants alleging failure to pay, or by two women who allege sexual misconduct? Does a lawsuit show that an applicant invited legal action by disrespecting a neighbor’s property rights? A report will present facts; a potential employer must draw the relevant conclusions.
Criminal Records (Local Level)
Criminal records on local levels could reveal convictions for serious crimes, including assault, domestic violence, child endangerment, homicide, theft, embezzlement, fraud, resisting arrest, forgery, weapons offenses, drunken driving and drug offenses.
Federal Criminal
Tax evasion could become evident in this search, as would violations of drug laws, weapons laws, environmental regulations and such offenses as fraud, bribery, theft of trade secrets, spying and counterfeiting.
Education Verification
Falsification of educational accomplishments, often through exaggeration and misrepresentations, is commonplace among all types of job applicants. Online recruiter Indeed.com has said education is among the most frequently falsified areas on a resume.
The primary focus of an international education background check would be to verify educational levels achieved. Does the applicant really have a doctorate, and is it from the prestigious institution on the resume? Did the applicant teach at a level claimed and at the institution named?
It’s not unheard of for a U.S. citizen to earn degrees overseas, but an applicant’s claims for having done so should be verified in the appropriate country. Also needing to be verified is the status of the institution. An international background check (as well as a domestic check) will verify that a college or university is accredited and not an organization that sells bogus degrees.
Employment Verification
Yes, job applicants lie about former employers, too. Many employers, for legal reasons, will supply nothing other than dates of employment, but those are important. They’re especially significant in foreign countries because little may be known about the company that employed the applicant—including whether the company exists.
More Information on International Background Checks
To better understand the international background checks available from Global Backgrounds, and how we can help you make safe, secure employment decisions, Contact us at our headquarters in Miami, Florida, or call 877-70-GLOBAL (877-704-5622).