Background Investigation vs. Background Check

SeekingSitters performs a Background Investigation on every Contract Professional Sitter that is referred to the members of the service. A background investigation is much more thorough and accurate than a "Background Check." Read below to further understand the differences of SeekingSitters sitter screening process in contrast to other companies that simply provide an online "Background Check."

What standards can you expect in a “Background Check?” Is what is termed “Background Check” truly an “investigation” of a subject’s personal history? You will be surprised to know some facts about this misunderstood service that has become essential in providing personal character profiling on today’s job applicants.

When you read or hear that a company performs a “Background Check” on their contractors, employees or volunteer personnel , the consumer immediately feels a bit safer, a bit more at ease. But what you don’t know is that the information sold as a thorough background check can be grossly inadequate and inaccurate to the point of being outdated, missing, or just plain wrong! We come to trust the words “background checked” and assume that all background screening is performed professionally and thoroughly, perhaps in the manner of law enforcement agents – NOT SO!

Online information has helped investigators in a tremendous way over the past 20 years through the development of the internet, but this readily available information is only the preface of a true professional background investigation – the “hot off the press” data retrieval only scratches the surface of the individual’s lifelong behavior and does nothing to dig for the dirt! The availability of electronic information to the general public for the purpose of performing background checks has greatly raised the risks to employers for failure to perform due diligence in employment screening. Therefore, “Buyer Beware” when it comes to choosing a qualified, professional background investigator!

It is important for a consumer to understand that a company claiming to run a “background check” on someone could merely be retrieving online data and passing it on to you without any further verification of the information – this is not a background investigation! Such “background check” data retrieval providers merely scratch the surface of a person’s character profile history.

There have been cases of job applicants that have omitted criminal information on an application knowing that a standard "background check" will not identify this information due to incorrect filings or name misspellings. If the company you are utilizing is performing a true background investigation, this information will be found as a hand-on investigator will verify name accuracy as well as other detailed information.

In order to ensure that background information on a person is accurate and up to date, a professional background investigator must not only search all sources of public records readily available from information vendors, but also from the investigator’s own personal research and contact with the actual sources. Professional background investigators must know how to traverse through the maze of records repositories nationally and worldwide, and know exactly who-what-where their sources are in order to get the desired information on a subject.

There are tragic cases every day that example the lack of thorough background screening practices and it is not unusual in this era of online public records databases that background checks can be obtained anywhere for any price; therefore, the professionalism of a background screening company must be scrutinized. There is no such thing as “instant” results on a true background investigation, but it is true that “instant turnaround” or “same day results” are sold as background checks; a thorough personal character screening may take several days, or even several weeks, by a professional background investigation company, but it is well worth the wait when you can be assured that true due diligence has been performed on the subject.

What you can do to make sure you are getting the best background information possible from your background check supplier is to ask questions: How long have they been doing background screening? What specifically is their method of background investigation? Is a credit history analysis part of the background investigation? Is each assignment a personally operated hands-on project? Do their investigators have specific training in the areas of law or paralegal work, or are they trained research professionals? Do their investigators hold any credentials that are relevant to performing background investigations? Is your applicant’s investigation reviewed for accuracy and due diligence before it is sent to you? Are their investigators qualified to give personal character profile opinions if asked to do so? How often are the company’s sources of information updated?

After you have evaluated these questions accurately you can be assured that you are gathering the most accurate and up to date information on your job candidate and come to trust your background screening provider.

Joanne Whitney has been a licensed private investigator for over 30 years and founded Hide and Seek USA Corp, performing over 1,000 investigations nationwide for attorneys and corporations. Adrienne Kallweit is a licensed private investigator for over 10 years and founder of SeekingSitters, a national babysitting referral service that began in 2004. Through the extensive background investigation screening process developed by Hide and Seek, Adrienne and her husband David founded the on-demand babysitting referral service where every member and sitter are screened prior to acceptance into SeekingSitters, providing the safest babysitting service available. To find out more about background investigations, visit www.seekingsitters.com or www.hideandseekusa.com.

10 Parenting Tips

1. Get ready to work hard…without any instruction. Parenting is tough work. Whether you are a stay at home parent or juggling your family with a full time job, it is tough stuff. My job history only extends from meconium to elementary t-ball so I definitely do not yet have tenure in this parenting career. Every day I remind myself that it is hard work. Work that comes with little hugs and kisses as a paycheck. And what is better than that.

2. There are good days and bad days. My sister told me early on to hang on if you and the kids have a bad day because tomorrow will be better. And if tomorrow still stinks, hang on until the next day… because it will get better.

3. You can do anything with sleep. As a parent, you may think this is impossible but it is so important that you have enough sleep. You can do anything with rest and a clear head. Lean toward family, friends and babysitters to help allow you to get rest so you can recharge!

4. Be careful what you agree to. During the 400 questions asked by a typical toddler throughout a day you may find yourself unconsciously answering “yes” to things that you really have no idea what the question even was because you were actually daydreaming of a quiet moment alone. And then coming home to find your son dressed in last halloween’s batman costume and climbing on top of the car and finding out that you had agreed to strap your son to the roof of the car so he could be a flying superhero. (Of course the idea was quickly retracted but he definitely reminded me I had sad “YES!” to his grand idea.)

5. Seek out support. Have someone you can lean on to answer the tough questions, someone that has been there before. If only we had a child expert hotline to dial in the middle of a situation, like the movie Click where you can hit “pause” and call the emergency hotline. “Yeah, my 4 year old just sat in the 3 year old’s chair and then the 3 year old just pushed him out of the chair and now they are both lying on the floor screaming uncontrollably. I have tried to reason with them. Where do I go from here.” The perfect solution on the other end of the line as if they glanced into the room and determined the perfect outcome and within two words everyone is smiling and laughing again.

6. You are going to make mistakes. Parenting is definitely trial and error and you must have patience with yourself as you learn. I feel that the reason that memories really start to kick in around age 4, so that the parents have a trial and error period that the children don’t remember.

7. Keep good notes. Keep a journal next to your bed, one for each child and jot down notes about your kids, what they said for the day, what you were doing on a particular day. Don’t stress about how often you write in it, just grab it whenever you remember. You will forget the little things and it is so fun to look back and laugh. Tell them what they were like at 2, at 6 and at 16. They will love to hear the little stories when they are older.

8. Never miss your kid’s plays or performances – no matter how small. I almost missed my daughter’s play performance at the end of last year. No, I am not a horrible mother but it was 8th performance of the year and I just didn’t know how they were going to mix up twinkle twinkle little star a new way that would require me jump away from work. Of course at the last minute I grabbed my keys and ran out the door. It was the sweetest twinkle twinkle she ever sang.

9. Don’t judge. I have learned not to judge other parents for what they are or aren’t doing because they are likely trying their hardest and you don’t know their circumstances. You may find yourself judging a parent for something that you end up doing yourself. Have compassion for other parents and know that we are all in this journey together.

10. Tell your kids you love them, often. Kids can never hear this enough.