Applicant process explained for many civil service openings

By Test Ready Pro

Background investigations typically happen after you've applied, been screened during the application process, are interviewed and are then assessed. This often where applicants with a lack of volunteer involvement, post secondary education or work consistency get turned down. If you're competitive enough you will be put through to the background investigation portion. Some services will just put you through their background when you're successful with interviews however, some will first assess your application/resume and make a decision from there compared against other applicants who are also waiting for their background investigation. If selected to move on to the background investigation, a specific investigator will be assigned to your check, they will check with your school, volunteer, work and personal character references. Now, keep in mind you've offered these references but at anytime you could receive a call saying that you need to supply extra references as the ones you've provided could not be contacted or any variety of issues that could occur. Also this is the time when your pre-background questionnaire is drawn upon for reference against traffic accidents, tickets, criminal charges etc. Typically they take four weeks but can take as little as two weeks. Problems with the length of your background investigation occur if you were not born in Canada, have studied outside of Canada or lived abroad.

Letters of reference are great for this process because you know exactly what the person who wrote the letter feels about you. Letters of reference can even be from your friends/personal character reference. Letters of reference are great to bring along with your during your early interview stages, put them in your portfolio along with your OACP COR, other certificates/awards. I highly recommend having letters of reference written specifically to the job you're applying for, either "I have no hesitations in recommending ______ for a career with the _________ Police Service."

A quick note about references: Don't just assume that because someone agrees to writing you a letter of reference or agrees to be a reference that they will give you a good reference. Letters of reference in sealed envelopes intended only for the recipient can be bad news if you're not sure that the reference writing the letter is absolutely happy with you. Also, make sure you references are available, because they write a letter doesn't mean they're off the hook.

If you don't have any letters of reference, dig up your old bosses, current bosses, teachers etc. and have them write something simple. Make sure they include the date, their name, mailing address and a phone where they can be reached. If they're having a hard time writing one or don't know what to do, use google to search reference letter form generators or simply "how to write a letter of reference."

Background checks include credit checks and it's important that you take the responsibility to use the resources out there to check your credit score and determine if it needs to be improved upon.



Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

New Zealand writer enlightens readers on needs for background investigations

By Gill South

In a tight labour market, it can be tempting to hire someone who can start as soon as possible, without doing a thorough background investigation of their references, says Peter Sherwin, New Zealand spokesman for Grant Thornton, which recently published a survey on undiscovered fraud in New Zealand private companies.

Some people are lax when they take someone on. "It's, 'Oh yeah, I know that firm, when can you start?"'

And some of us may have grown up with the idea that it was fine to "massage the facts" when writing our resumes. Once we had our foot in the door, it wouldn't matter any more; we'd just work hard and prove they were right to hire us.

But these days, embroidering details of your employment history is not a smart move. Increasing numbers of companies are using what are called pre-employment background screening organizations - companies that are trained to root out the anomalies in people's employment histories. As a result, you are unlikely to get offered the job - and may suffer some embarrassment as well. If there's a suggestion that you have blatantly lied about a key factor, like your qualifications, it can even lead to police investigation, as in the admittedly extreme case of Immigration Service head Mary Anne Thompson.

New Zealand companies are, like others around the world, taking recruitment more seriously in a market where human capital is so precious.

What they want to check is: has this person delivered in their previous jobs and what will they deliver in the future? Hence the increasingly common use of psychometric checking and professional reference checking. As well as employment history and qualifications,these companies look at people's integrity and honesty, and financial backgrounds. Have they ever been bankrupt? Perhaps not the best life history for a chief financial officer.

And a tip for job-seekers: make sure your past employers really are fans of yours. When checking references,quite frequently the employer will say: "They're not that great."

You might assume that background check companies are used just for top management but they may actually be working right across the board, from the receptionist to the general manager for some companies.

Even if the person is reasonably well known to the management, they are still using background check companies. executive boards don't "want any surprises". That's why there is a procedure in place.

Companies prefer to find out about a problem, rather than have a journalist discover the issue.

Be warned about changing your story or reinventing yourself when you go for a new job. The problem in New Zealand, of course, is that if you have blotted your copybook, you can never escape. Background Investigations are very important for people who have "access to the cheque book", such as chief executives, chief operating officers and chief financial officers.

Some common problem areas, such as the person's behaviour in the workplace, are often not to be found anywhere on a resume and those are the things that can make someone a poor fit. Do they use intimidating tactics in the office? Do they regularly slope off home at 4.30 to go to a "meeting"?

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

FBI assistant director William Hooten responds in Washington Post editorial letter to articles posted at this blog

ARTICLES FROM THIS BLOG RELATED TO MR. HOOTEN'S LETTER CAN BE FOUND HERE AND HERE

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The June 14 editorial "The Name Game" told readers only half the story.

The editorial implied that the FBI is, through indifference, "punishing immigrants" by taking too long to complete some background checks for the Department of Homeland Security.

For years, the FBI did this job with great efficiency. We ran a computer check to see whether a person had been the named subject of an FBI investigation. After Sept. 11, 2001, however, the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service resubmitted 2.7 million names to be rechecked on a much broader criterion: whether they had been referenced in a negative manner in an FBI file.
From a processing standpoint, this meant that the FBI was required to review many more files in response to each individual background check request. This sometimes requires tracking down paper files across the country and overseas, or interviewing agents about current and old cases.

This avalanche, and the much deeper research required, created a backlog that no agency could have dispatched quickly. Even so, FBI employees complete almost 90 percent of these checks on time and have substantially reduced the number of pending Homeland Security checks this year.
While files containing possible derogatory information are found in less than 1 percent of Homeland Security requests, it is important to recall that it only took 19terrorists to kill 3,000 people. We take these checks very seriously.
We agree that some people were not well served by this process, and we continue to work hard to fix that. But we believe the other half of the story matters, too.

WILLIAM L. HOOTON
Assistant Director

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Canada RCMP official suggests stricter background investigations for Parliment Members

Maxime Bernier arrives to be sworn in as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs accompanied by Julie Couillard during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on in this Aug 14, 2007 file photo. (The Canadian Press)

By Daniel Leblanc
Globe and Mail

Background investigations on cabinet ministers could be improved by expanding them to include spouses and family members, an RCMP official indicated Wednesday.

In his second appearance before the House committee on public safety, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Raf Souccar was guarded in his comments, but he told MPs the current background investigations could be beefed up.

“The process is what it is. If it is not the right process, it has to be changed, and government has to make that decision,” Assistant Commissioner Souccar said. “Can this [process] be improved? I'm sure it can.”

Assistant Commissioner Souccar and Bob Paulson, the assistant commissioner for national security, were under fire over the RCMP's handling of the case of former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, who recently dated a woman with ties to men with criminal backgrounds.

The opposition is concerned that the RCMP never raised a red flag about Mr. Bernier's ex-girlfriend, Julie Couillard, with the government's top bureaucrats at the Privy Council Office.

Assistant Commissioner Paulson said he noticed Ms. Couillard with Mr. Bernier last August at a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall. However, the RCMP had no responsibility to conduct further background investigations on her or any other minister's spouse.

“At the time that I saw her, I had none of that knowledge [about Ms. Couillard's past] and didn't make that connection,” Assistant Commissioner Paulson said.

In 1998, according to court records, the RCMP ordered a surveillance operation on Ms. Couillard's home as part of a drug investigation.

Assistant Commissioner Souccar pointed out that the RCMP have no responsibility to look at the immediate family or the people surrounding a potential or current cabinet minister.

“We don't go around and do spot checks on ministers or anybody that is subject to a pre-appointment check to determine if they have anybody in their life … who has had a questionable past,” he said.

Assistant Commissioner Souccar said that future changes to the screening process are in the hands of the government, and will depend on the extent to which ministers “are willing to expose themselves.”

During Wednesday's hearing, opposition MPs criticized Assistant Commissioner Souccar for refusing to tell them last week whether the RCMP informed the Privy Council Office about Ms. Couillard's past. The PCO, however, later acknowledged that it had never received information on Ms. Couillard from the RCMP.

Assistant Commissioner Souccar said the PCO warned him that it was about to make public that information last week, although he did not see a reason to do it.

“I had some difficulty understanding the need to go public with the statement indicating that we had not contacted them. They nevertheless chose to do that, and it's their right to do that,” he said.

Two days ago, the Prime Minister's national security adviser, Margaret Bloodworth, said that Mr. Bernier cleared a full background investigation by the RCMP and CSIS just weeks before allegations of missing documents led to his resignation from cabinet.

Ms. Bloodworth stated that while she had read allegations surrounding Ms. Couillard in the newspapers, she has no evidence to suggest what is true or not true.

Assistant Commissioner Souccar said he has obtained new information about Ms. Couillard in the past week, but he refused to say whether the RCMP are investigating the matter.

Ms. Couillard and Mr. Bernier have refused to appear before the committee.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Background Investigations: What you need to know

by Chad Terhune
Business Week Magazine


Most jobs nowadays, from cashier to a senior executive, require a background check. And more employers are vetting longtime employees, too. These investigations are done increasingly by outside screening companies. Here's some things applicants and employers need to know:

JOB APPLICANTS
Check prior background reports. Under federal law, you are entitled to a copy of any background report that had been done on you, for a minimal fee of $10 or less. In three states, California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, they're free. You need to know which screening firm out of the nearly 2,000 nationwide did the report. A previous employer can tell you and then contact the screening company directly.

Know who's checking your past. Examine the consent form that gives an employer permission to conduct a background check. It should list the screening firm doing the work and the scope of the investigation, whether that includes criminal records, credit history, driving record, or reference interviews.

Act fast if something's wrong. If you're rejected for a job based on your background report, an employer must tell you this and hand over a copy of the full report. Federal regulators have said employers have to wait only five business days before hiring another applicant while you dispute information in your background report. Contact the screening firm immediately and demand, in writing and by phone, a reinvestigation.

EMPLOYERS
Know what you're getting from a background investigation. The quality and depth of background investigations vary widely in an industry where many companies are startups offering low prices to win business. Be wary of Web sites offering instant checks. They may not be familiar with compliance and federal law. Some background companies search for criminal history in only one or two counties where an applicant has lived primarily, possibly missing information elsewhere.

There's no national database of all criminal records. Despite some marketing claims to the contrary, no master file exists of all state and federal criminal arrests and convictions. Searching criminal records remains a fragmented task across 50 states and thousands of courthouses. Diligent searches require screening firms to send workers to pull court files by hand for accuracy.

Know how reference checks are done. Some screening firms grant anonymity to friends and former bosses and co-workers in exchange for unvarnished opinions about applicants. Others identify all sources to guard against unsubstantiated gossip and innuendo. Ask how a screening firm checks references and whether you can provide specific questions to be asked that pertain to the position being filled.

Posted by Tyra Hearns of www.pebiservices.com

Edmonton school bus driver fired; lack of background investigation by Canadian bus company alleged

By Glenn Kauth,
Sun Media

A city bus company didn't get a criminal background investigation on a driver facing allegations of "inappropriately touching" a kindergarten student, a Catholic school board spokesman said yesterday.

The driver has now lost her job, but that hasn't stopped school officials from sending the bus company, R.L. Smith Transportation, a "strongly worded letter" about the breach of its contract with the board.

"We're very, very concerned that this is a serious breach and that the safety of our kids is always a priority," said board spokesman Lori Nagy.

Gordie Mayes, the owner of R.L. Smith, declined to comment yesterday.

But Nagy said the board learned the company hadn't done the criminal background investigation or a child welfare check, after it began its investigation into the allegations.

On Wednesday, Mayes told Sun Media that R.L. Smith runs background investigations on all of its drivers before they come on staff.

The driver, now under investigation, had been working for the company since February, Nagy confirmed.

The case first came to light Wednesday, after a parent of the six-year-old girl at St. Angela Elementary School in northwest Edmonton came forward with allegations against the driver, who ran a noon-hour kindergarten route.

Officials have said little about exactly what happened, but Nagy said she doesn't believe the touching was sexual.

Police are also investigating the case.

Since learning R.L. Smith hadn't done the background investigations, the board has changed its requirements of the company.

In particular, R.L. Smith must now give the board proof it has complied with its contract terms - which state that new drivers have to undergo background investigations before they start work - every month.

"The newest piece is that we have verification those checks have been done," said Nagy, who noted that under the previous rules, R.L. Smith only had to submit the information at the beginning of the school year.

"They're the only company that we will be doing this with, but we will be looking into whether to expand that to the other carriers," Nagy added.

Posted by Tyra Hearns of www.PebiServices.com

Australian doctor appointed to top trauma unit despite background issues

The Victorian Government appointed a surgeon accused of fraud and malpractice to its top trauma committee despite official complaints being lodged over his conduct several months earlier.

The state Opposition yesterday accused the Government of failing to conduct necessary background investigations on Thomas Kossmann, the suspended head of the trauma unit at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne. Professor Kossmann was stood stood down on November26. An investigation found he charged for operations he did not perform and carried out unnecessary procedures.

The Opposition yesterday produced documents revealing the surgeon applied to join the State Trauma Committee in August 2005. By this time, it is believed the first complaints had been made to The Alfred hospital by other surgeons. Guidelines for positions on the committee warn applicants they will be subject to strict background investigations.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said the Government needed to declare what it knew about Professor Kossmann when it made the appointment. "The Brumby Government has refused to reveal whether they complied with the probity requirements before appointing Professor Kossmann to this top ministerial advisory role," he said. "Either the Government has been grossly negligent ... or they are covering up their involvement with him."

A leaked copy of the findings of a three-month investigation into Professor Kossmann by an expert panel, also reveals he allegedly performed surgery he was not capable of doing. Professor Kossmann has always denied the claims. He is challenging his suspension by Bayside Health in the Victorian Supreme Court.

A spokesman for Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the minister was first informed about complaints against Professor Kossmann on October 11 last year.

"These complaints are the subject of a process being run by Bayside Health. That process is robust and should be allowed to run its proper course," he said.