10-year background check
 

What exactly is a 10-year background check? (US)

What are they checking, how do they check it, and how do they use the results?

Stuff like that's always seemed rather mysterious, so I wonder what's going on behind the scenes.

As I understand it it's basically a check of your whereabouts over the past ten years. Specifically they check that you've been working/job hunting/studying in the UK for the past 10 years. I think the aim is to verify that you haven't spent a significant amount of time out of the UK. The way I understand it is that they are effectively checking to see if there is any possibility that you've spent any time at terrorist training camps etc.

As for what they check, I actually have no idea. I would imagine that it's a check to say that you actually worked where you say you worked, and how much time you worked there.

Perhaps someone from an airline recruitment background can provide more information.

The airlines will outsource your information to a professional background check contractor, unless they do it in-house (doubtful). They are checking that any and all information you have furnished is indeed true and correct. Any gaps in work history must be corolated by a reference to state that you were in training, school or on the job hunt. They will check your criminal history, if any, and if they have requested it, your driving record.

Most will be checked by telephone calls to your prior employers to verify employment dates and last position held at said company. The FBI database will be reviewed for criminal history. If you have been fingerprinted by the air carrier, they will verify those too.

No mysterious at all, just SOP, to ensure you are who you say you are and that you have not provided any misleading information that may disqualify you from being given the job you have applied for. It's half standard HR stuff and half security measures.

Key point: Don't fib on a job application. They will find it and you will be disqualified quickly and in most cases won't be given the specific reason. You'll just receive the old "we're sorry, but this position has received many applicants and the competition is at an all time high....you may re-apply in X months....we wish you luck in your career goals."

Why? You got somethin' to hide? :hmm:

I think they check your PPRUNE posts too ;)

Something to hide? Well, I wouldn't want anyone to know about that time I jumped out of an airplane with a parachute after stealing $1,000,000 ... might get a fine for unauthorized skydiving ....

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Very interesting - thanks. So they hire a third party to call around.

Actually, at least one of my former employers doesn't exist any more. Another one is iffy due to Katrina. And yet another one is so disorganized that if someone called them to verify a past employee, they'd say "Who? Never heard of them" and hang up.

So a background checker, looking for discrepancies, would think, "AHA! CAUGHT ANOTHER ONE!" You know the old saying, if you carry a big hammer, everything starts to look like a nail ....

And then there's the extended time spent traveling, or being the stay-at-home S.O. Large blocks of unverifiable time.

Ah well, such is life. At least I don't have a criminal record. But wait, my name is fairly common ....