As the world becomes smaller due to technological advances and connected economies, odds are that you will stumble upon candidates who will have international experience that will need to be included in an Employment Background Check.
This type of background check tends to have its own, unique challenges and can be difficult to do on your own. You will almost always need assistance with an international background check, and there are a few things that you should keep in mind when you hire a company to perform an international background check.
One of the things that you will find when trying to do an international background check is that you will likely be able to get information from a developed country like most of Western Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other similar countries, but you may have issues with developing countries as they do not have a lot of easy to access electronic records. There are some background check companies that advertise themselves as “international background specialists”. Though they may be able to help you, make sure if you need records from a developing country that you are getting a good value. In other words, don’t let the company charge full price when it will be impossible to find information.
You should be able to find out rather easily if a country has electronic records or not. Simply calling the embassy in the US should be enough for you to get that information. If the country has electronic records, most background check companies, specializing in international searches or not, should be able to find information. Another option you will have is to have the candidate bring in their records themselves; however, you run the risk of false or doctored documents. It may be easier for a candidate to get the records in their home country than it is for someone else.
Hiring a firm to perform the international background check is of course, the best option, but you want to make sure that the firm is reputable. No matter what firm you choose, you want to make sure that they are verified by companies like the Better Business Bureau and members of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners. You should also make sure that they are verified by companies like VeriSign or Norton, as well.
Professional background screening companies who are focused on quality for their clients will do all they can to get the information you are seeking on international searches. You shouldn’t expect that you will get all of the information on an international candidate that you can get on a domestic candidate. You should at least try to get licenses verified as well as any criminal records available. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you can get when you use a professional background screening company instead of attempting an international background check on your own. If all else fails and you still can’t get information, you may be able to hire a private investigator who has experience in a particular country.