Best Practices for Employment Background Checking

Best Practices for Employment hinterggroe nachfraged CheckingBest Practices for Employment hintergrund CheckingScreening job candidates has become an increasingly important step in the hiring process, yet not all employers use employment background checks to their best advantage. What should all employers understand about conducting successful employment background checks to ensure that they build the best gruppes? Look for Relevant Data in an Employment Background Check This is the information that employers should seek to find when they perform essential and professional background checks. Background checks can include an array of personal information about job applicants, such as County criminal historyVerification of addressKnown sexual offenderEmployment history verificationDriving historyEducation history and degreesHealth fraud and abuseReference verificationDrug testingCounty civil historyFederal criminal historyFederal civil historyProfessional license verificationSocial media screeningCredit checks Employers may find information about any or all of these background areas without difficulty by checking internal resources or through the use of a qualified service provider. Note that employers canbut they may not want to pursueeach of these background checks depending on their relevance to the job they are filling. For example, the average employee doesnt handle money in most jobs but employees in an accounting office or who run a cash register do. Thus, a credit check is only necessary for employees who will handle the financial end of your business. Otherwise, the credit check is invasive and unnecessary. Employers also need to make certain that they are using legal and best practices in areas such as social media background checks. In some casesas with social media screeningemployers may want to leverage a third-party vendor to mitigate violations of the law. The greatest challenge for employers is knowing how to weigh the information obtained dur ing the employment decision-making process. Another is to ensure that their background check process adheres to state and Federal laws. For example, many states restrict the time period of past history that you may consider. Most screening providers will relay information for the past seven years. To ensure that you are compliant with the law, talk with a knowledgeable provider, an attorney, or your state department of labor. Know When to Consider Criminal History Most employers who conduct employment background checks rely heavily on criminal history when screeninghowever, that information alone rarely paints a complete picture of any job candidate. What may look like a red flag could actually be a red herring. So employers need to thoughtfully consider how a criminal past may actually affect job results. For instance, a citation for walking a dog off-leash or for fishing without a license does create a criminal history, but it does little to portray the schriftart of skills a befhigungly reliable employee could bring to the job. On the other hand, when a criminal past stems from a more serious violation, employers must consider whether the nature of the crime relates to the skills necessary for the job. Be careful to look at the big picture and decide how any criminal history may, in fact, relate to the job in question. Most importantly, to ensure Equal Employment Opportunity Commission compliance, do not adopt a blanket policy regarding criminal history in your hiring. That is, eliminate statements in your policy and handbooks that state such policies as our company does not hire felons or our company does not hire anyone with a criminal record. Never say never. Discern Patterns From Background Data Thorough screening procedures provide details far beyond acriminal history that may be the best indicator of an employees capabilities. Employment history, for one, helps to confirm job experiencebut also sheds light on potential issues such as frequent moves, career changes, and other factors that could indicate a potential employee might not be a good long-term candidate. Look for patterns that show how an employee strives to succeedor how an employee displays consistent difficultiesto get a good impression of her or his ability to take on the job. Be careful, because applicants inflate their resumes more often than you may think. If you are considering someone based on skills listed, proper verification of employment, education, and licenses is a must. This is also a great way to screen out dishonest applicants. Dont Overlook Crucial Information in a Background Check Some indicators of a job applicants capabilities might surprise you. A background check might reveal a personality trait or unique response to a situation that could be a real asset to your team, despite the fact it isnt highlighted in the applicants resume. If you make the effort to conduct a good employment background check, use all of the information you can to your advantage. As important as it is to find areas of concern, it can be just as important to mine for strengths. Filter Information Carefully to Avoid Discrimination Most importantly, use the background information wisely. A single concern raised by an employment background checksuch as confirmation of a criminal historyshould never automatically eliminate a candidate from consideration. Instead, consider a candidates entire presentation and eliminate him or her based on objective details pertinent to the ability to accomplish the job. Document the hiring teams recruitment effort and decision-making process with as much detail as possible. Unfortunately, many employers dont realize that they unknowingly discriminate in the hiring process. If applicants answer honestly about past histories such as an existing criminal record, an automatic rejection based on that undesirable answer constitutes discrimination. Personal information from the past cannot solely decide an applican ts fate, so be sure to Ban the Box with an auto-rejection process and consider the whole candidate. To avoid discriminatory hiring, be sure to follow the guidelines set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with regard to criminal history, including the type of crime that was committed, the nature of the work that must be accomplished and the amount of time that has elapsed before tossing that job application. Discuss Concerns With Job Candidates Be prepared to share all background information with applicants. Employers must legally provide this information if requestedand also if any of the information found precludes those applicants from being hired. But remember, you have an opportunity to put the data into perspective by generating a discussion about the issue with the potential employee. Remember, the employment background check is a way to obtain information to aid your decision-making. Use that information to your advantage. Work through your questions wit h the prospective employee instead of dropping your candidate without the chance to explain. Avoid Costly Mistakes As You Approach Employment Background Check The greatest error in conducting background checks is not incorporating them into the screening process in the first place. The cost of replacing a bad hire far outweighs the value of a good background check, so put your procedures in place from the get-go. Additionally, you can save your organization time and money when pursuing background checks. Work with a reputable firm that conducts the work themselves, at the source, without automation.Adhere to all adverse action procedures, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other state and local laws.Have an attorney knowledgeable in this field review your process.Devise a list of background checks that are pertinent to assessing the qualifications of candidates for each of your available jobs. Courts are increasingly finding for plaintiffs if the check that affected their candid acy was irrelevant to the job. The Bottom Line on Background Checks Overall, keep in mind that a good business is built on people who fulfill their duties responsibly. Any information that is revealed to you when conducting pre-employment screening is information about real individuals. Whether that information provides positive or negative signs about a candidates potential fit within your organization, be respectful and responsible about the way that you handle the information. Information from an employment background check can impact many people who have a stake in your business and its reputation. The way you handle candidate background information can impact the candidates lives as well. It is a serious step in the talent management lifecycle that deserves proper care every step of the way. mora Red Flags for Employers During Hiring 5 Cover Letter Red Flags for Employers5 Interview Red Flags for Employers5 More Interview Red Flags for Employers

Putting Greenhouse Gases to Good Use

Putting Greenhouse Gases to Good Use Putting Greenhouse Gases to Good Use After many years of work, engineers at Stanford University have developed solar cells working underwater that can provide enough energy to produce chemical reactions for converting captured greenhouse gases into industrial fuel. The solar cells are a critical component of a new way to fight climate change in a process called artificial photosynthesis.The work is being done in the lab of Stanford professor and materials scientist Paul McIntyre, a pioneer in the artificial photosynthesis field. The researchers reported on the latest breakthrough in a paper published in the journal Nature Materials last October.The concept is that greenhouse gases are captured and channeled into giant chemical tanks, where the water-resistant solar cells turn the carbon dioxide/water combination into solar fuels. This is yet another instance of engineers observing and emulating nature for solutions to modern day problems. In natur e, green plants use energy from the sun to convert water and carbon dioxide into chemical energy, the sugar or glucose that fuels a plants functions and activities.GCEP Investigator Paul McIntyre (left) and doctoral student Andrew Scheuermann. renommee StanfordThe key challenges have been keeping ordinary solar cells from corroding under water and then finding a way for them to capture enough sunlight to provide sufficient energy. McIntyres lab was able to shield the solar cells from corrosion in 2011 by coating the electrodes with a protective layer of transparent titanium dioxide. However, even though the coating was very thin (the thickness of a sheet of paper would require 25,000 layers), the cells still could not absorb enough sunlight to produce adequate power.In the recent paper, Andrew Scheuermann, who has been working on the second challenge as a doctoral student and will soon be awarded his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, reported making the cells mora powerful by adding a layer of charged silicon between the titanium oxide and the basic silicon cell. The cells have set a record for solar energy output under water and can produce enough energy to operate various systems.When we first showed this technology in 2011, these materials lasted for only eight hours, Scheuermann says. Its now January been tested for many months and is still running. Its showing that this indeed will work.He made the solar cells more powerful by adding a layer of charged silicon between the protective transparent titanium oxide and the basic silicon cell. The charged silicon layer acts as a booster to the bottom active layer that absorbs sunlight and excites the electrons.Scheuermann likes to explain the process by calling it reverse combustion Your car combusts fuels, blows them up literally. Then exhaust comes out at the end. We take that exhaust, reverse combust it with sunlight back into the fuel.He notes that the very best material for converting sunlight int o useful energy is silicon. What this work did was figure out how to increase the power of the devices to match the photovoltaics in solar cells on roofs. Before it was only halfway there with sub-optimal silicon, he says. With the understanding reported in our paper, we were able to get an efficient device that had both the protection and the types of power that we know silicon can achieve.The a-ha moment came when the researchers were looking at a number of different cells they had made to identify why some were doing better than others. It was a long process overall, but there was that one moment where I said, Thats it referring to the charged protection layer. We knew what experiment we needed to do to prove if that was true. The experiment went beautifully, and we were able to publish the work, he says.There is still more work to be done, however. Just as photosynthesis in nature is a two-part system, most scientists, including Scheuermann, believe two solar cells working toget her are needed to complete the process. Like a battery having an anode and cathode side, we need a solar cell on both sides, which in total provides the power to drive this very efficiently. Our work has given sufficient power on the anode side. The anode is more difficult to do so thats very promising. The cathode shouldnt be as hard, and some people have already made a lot of progress with it, he says.Some additional optimization of the power is possible, but the biggest challenge is combining the different storage cell varieties into one operating system. Its an integration challenge first and then a scaling challenge, he says.The technique used to make the protection layers is actually well developed today in the semiconductor industry to make small devices like smartphones, but has not been used at the scale required. He predicts that systems should be ready to start turning greenhouse gases into fuels within five years and then could be scaled up.Nancy S. Giges is an independe nt writer.Learn more about the latest energy technologies at ASMEs Power and Energy. For Further Discussion Your car combusts fuels, blows them up literally. Then exhaust comes out at the end. We take that exhaust, reverse combust it with sunlight back into the fuel.Andrew Scheuermann, Stanford University

Under $49 Federal Career Resources

Under $49 Federal Career ResourcesUnder $49 Federal Career ResourcesUnder $49 Federal Career ResourcesHello Federal Job Seekers Introducing the new $49.95 Under Federal Career Resources written and produced by expert federal resume writers, publishers and curriculum designers.$49.95 Under Product List. We have organized our most affordable resources into an easy to review $49.95 Underproduct page, so you can find and consider the best resources published by The Resume Place, Inc. and written by Kathryn Troutman. While you are working on your federal resume for USAJOBS applications, gain the latest education, information and insight into federal job search, Ten Steps to a Federal Job, sample federal resumes (Online Fedres Database), and Federal Career books for under $49.Need Help with Strategy and Fedres Writing? After listening to the Ten Steps eLearning curriculum or viewing samples, you may decide you want more help with the actual writing of the resume, or have a consultatio n on a federal career strategy. Our professional Federal Career Consulting and Federal Resume Writing Services could make a difference in your entire campaign.Not Sure? Ask for Free Professional Services Estimate. Please answer our federal career questions and upload your resume. We will give you recommendations for the best tafelgeschirr for your federal job campaign by our Certified Federal Resume Writers and Consultant. Start here with the Federal Resume Profile for your Free Estimate.Thanks for coming to The Resume Place, Inc. for your Federal Career Information and Services. We are dedicated to helping you get Best Qualified, Referred, Interviewed and Hired into a Federal Career. Sincerely, Kathryn Troutman, Founder and PresidentMORE CURRENT FEDERAL CAREER EBOOKS, WEBINAR AND SAMPLE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR UNDER $49