What Pre-Employment Screening Can Reveal That Interviews Can’t

Pre-Employment Screening: Key Summary

• Social media checks in pre-employment screening can uncover unprofessional behaviour or views that don’t match company values.

• Criminal background checks help employers assess risk and ensure workplace safety.

• Fake references are becoming more common, so verifying them is now more important than ever.

• Screening helps employers make better hiring decisions by checking what interviews can’t.

Finding the right candidate for a role is more challenging than simply having a good conversation in an interview room. Interviews offer an opportunity to explore a candidate’s personality and communication style, but they may not reveal important details hidden in the fine print of a CV or digital profile. Pre-employment screening steps in where interviews might fall short. It provides extra layers of verification and insight by checking everything from work history to online behaviour. This extra step helps companies be more confident in their hiring decisions.

In this article, we explore the concrete methods used in pre-employment screening and explain what they reveal that a traditional interview cannot.

Social Media Checks in Pre-Employment Screening

Employers are increasingly looking at candidates’ online presence. This can include platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Public posts, comments, or shares may reveal a candidate’s views, behaviour, and overall online personality.

Some candidates have lost job offers after employers discovered insensitive or inflammatory comments on their profiles. For instance, a candidate’s public disagreement on a sensitive political issue on Twitter has led to rejections by companies wanting a neutral or team-friendly image.

In other cases, employers have used social media to gauge whether a candidate’s online persona aligns with company values. If posts indicate behaviour that contradicts the organisation’s ethos during pre-employment screening, the candidate might be passed over even if the interview went well.

What It Reveals:

• Character Insights: Social media platforms often reveal a side of a person that might remain hidden in a structured interview.

• Risk Management: By reviewing online conduct, companies can foresee potential issues, ensuring that employees won’t later cause reputational or internal cultural problems.

Recent studies and reports have highlighted how these checks are becoming more decisive, with some candidates openly discussing having been informed their online activity had cost them a job opportunity.

Criminal Background Checks

Criminal background checks (often referred to as a DBS Check) are a standard part of pre‐employment screening in many industries. They involve verifying whether an applicant has any past criminal convictions or records. Depending on the role, the depth of these checks can vary:

• Basic Checks: These might involve a search of publicly available records.

• Enhanced Checks: For roles in sensitive sectors – such as finance or working with vulnerable groups – employers may require more thorough investigations that can include spent convictions or historical records.

In some instances of pre-employment screening, a criminal record, even minor or old, has been enough to derail a job application.

While these pre-employment checks aim to safeguard the workplace, there have been calls for a more nuanced approach. In a few high-profile cases, individuals with minor or long-resolved issues found that an overreliance on these checks resulted in losing otherwise promising opportunities.

What It Reveals:

• Risk Assessment: These checks help employers assess the risk of reoffending or issues that might affect workplace safety.

• Trustworthiness: They serve as a method to verify a candidate’s claim that they have maintained good conduct over time – information that might not surface during an interview.

The Rise of Fake References: When Paper Trails Are Not Enough

Reference checks have long been a staple of hiring processes. However, the digital age has seen a rise in fake or exaggerated references. Candidates might provide contacts who are not familiar with their work or even create fictitious recommendation letters to fill the gaps in their CVs.

With some references coming from unverifiable sources or online recommendation tools, employers have had to adopt stricter pre-employment screening procedures. Pre‐employment screening that verifies these references can protect an organisation from hiring someone who isn’t as qualified or as reliable as their CV suggests.

The rise in technology-based falsifications means that employers must remain vigilant and increasingly rely on accredited services to confirm the authenticity of a candidate’s background.

Conclusion

Interviews are useful, but they rely on what a candidate chooses to share. Pre-employment screening offers a clearer, fuller view.  From uncovering fake references to reviewing public social media content, these checks play an important role in making informed hiring decisions. At Tremark, we help businesses make those decisions with confidence. Our experienced team carries out discreet, thorough pre-employment screening tailored to your needs, so you can be sure the person you’re hiring is exactly who they say they are.

Get in touch today to find out how we can support your hiring process.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pre-Employment Screening

Q: What is pre-employment screening exactly?
A: It is a process used by employers to verify a candidate’s background in various ways. This includes checking educational and work history, reviewing public social media activity, conducting criminal background checks, and verifying references to ensure the candidate’s information is genuine.

Q: How can social media checks impact hiring decisions?
A: Employers use social media reviews to see if a candidate’s online behaviour aligns with the company’s culture and values. Instances have been reported where controversial posts or unprofessional conduct publicly displayed on platforms led to job offers being withdrawn.

Q: How should companies balance pre-employment screening with the interview process?
A: Screening should complement interviews, not replace them. While interviews show personality and communication skills, screening confirms that the candidate’s background and references are reliable. This comprehensive approach leads to better, safer hiring decisions.