Then you got laid off. Down-sized. The recruiters aren’t calling any more, and now you are asking for help. The trouble is that employers have an uncanny ability to smell your desperation. Changing jobs when your employed is all about a power play; higher salary, better benefits, work-life- balance, what can you do for me? You’re a mercenary, and your smiling the whole time. But looking for a job when your out of work is a desperate play. It’s a survival.

The hard part is trying to maintain that swagger, that game face during the interviews and the rest of the hiring process. You may be tempted to claim you are still employed. Yeah, you only got laid off last week, perhaps you can still submit that resume with “2006 to current” for your last job. The thing is, employers will uncover the truth during a background check. It’s better to be truthful upfront and avoid any exaggerations, especially easily verifiable ones. Exaggerating your sales numbers might be easily concealed, and only discovered during a reference call with your former boss, but your employment status is easily checked with Human Resources. Be smart, and be honest. You can get that job, just get because of your merits, your real skills.

Complete Integrated Background Screening
You may want to consider using Corra Group’s applicant tracking system, which is fully integrated with their background screening service.   After you candidate’s have signed up, you can decided which candidates to send through the background screening process.  Corra makes the background checks easy by providing you with various screening packages, including an Executive Screening Package called the “Corner Office”, which retails for about $179 per candidate.    This package not only provided criminal records search, employment and education verification, but also looks for federal crimes and county civil actions.   You can never be too careful in this age of corporate unethics.

Lastly, consider your overall background screening policy and decide whether to review social networking sites such as LinkedIn, etc. to determine if your candidate identity could be confusing to your public. As an executive, the public identity must be consistent or our corporate message is muddled up.

background checks
executive screening
Corner Office