JohnBurke

When you say you "sent in," what do you mean, and what do you think a "full FBI background check" is?

I very much doubt you're getting a "background check."

The national crime information computer is maintained by the FBI, and a criminal history ("III" or "triple I") check comes through NCIC.

The NCIC only contains what individual units have submitted, whether local, county, district, state, or federal. In other words, if you committed a crime in a particular jurisdiction and it wasn't uploaded to the NCIC, the record won't be there.

You won't get a "FBI background check," because you don't merit that level of effort and attention; what you're looking for is simply your record. This is the same record that comes up when a law enforcement dispatch center runs a wants and records check if you're detained or pulled over; a quick check using your vitals (date of birth, ssn, d/l number, sex, and specific discriminators to eliminate false returns: height, hair color, eye color, weight, etc). If you've ever had fingerprints entered into NCIC, these can be checked as well to further verify identity, and also verify that the identify information you've provided it true and correct.

A "wants check" is performed, looking for outstanding warrants or other reasons that you might be wanted. When a law enforcement officer looks at this, he wants to know if you have anything outstanding for which he may need to cite or effect an arrest; he also wants to know if your history involves things that should concern him such as violent behavior, a history of drugs, etc, and may want this information to verify that you're being truthful.

An employer is interested in essentially the same things; chiefly that you're being truthful and forthright in your statement.

A typical "background check" only looks back a few years: 5, 7, or 10 years, depending on the check; NCIC history, however, is a lifetime number, and will record offenses uploaded as long they've been put into the database.

For a number of years, not all states belonged to the "driver compact," which was an agreement between states to share driver information. One could actually have a suspended license in one state, but it would be unknown if you were pulled over and a check made in another state. Likewise, not all states uploaded to NCIC, for various reasons. At one time it was actually possible to be guilty of various felonies or capital crimes in one state and be unknown in another state. Virtually all those loopholes and gaps are closed now, but there was a time when certain jurisdictions didn't enter into NCIC, and in many cases local matters do not get uploaded to NCIC. If you've had matters come up before a local court, it's possible that there's no record.

As you mentioned background checks, they're an entirely different ballgame. The degree of effort involved in a background check varies; the most cursory (typical for airlines) involves a look at your driver record, criminal history, credit history, etc, and may also look at school transcrips and other data. This isn't really a background check, either.

A true background check will involve calling former employers, sending enquiries, interviews, fingerprints, and multiple searches. Actual background checks involve interviewing people who knew you, verifying all the data that you've submitted, looking into your banking information, visiting former neighbors, associates, landlords, etc, and interviewing them. As noted before, someone who is simply wanting to see their records isn't going to be getting a background check from the FBI or anybody else. The cost of conducting a background check starts around 80,000 dollars and goes up from there. It's typical for someone seeking a security clearance of Top Secret and above, and takes about a year to complete. More detailed ones may take longer. My personal interviews for my own checks and clearances have been 8-10 hours, and the complete background check between eight months and eighteen months. Airlines don't do this, so it's really not something you'll likely have to concern yourself with.

To answer your question, what is produced from a check of your records really depends on the depth of the research. For you, a simple check of your criminal history, and wants will suffice. You can obtain a copy of your driver history, and should check your credit report. Get a copy of your school transcrips.

As all this is preparing you for an interview, a good practice is to make a small file with all your data in one place; education, past employment, etc. This is especially important as your employment history becomes more complicated. (Mine involves seasonal and temp jobs, concurrent employment, contract work, and a really broad range of activities, which I can't keep straight off the top of my head: everything is neatly laid out on my computer, however, which makes it easy to fill out an application, answer questions, etc). If you have a file that includes all the details for a former job (names, address, phone, fax, job description, wages, titles, awards, promotions, etc), you can quickly pick out what the future employer might want. I've had a number of employers just ask for a copy of what I've got to make things quicker, and I always take copies to interviews.

As others noted, if you have skeletons in your closet, don't hide them. Some employers take a very dim view of that, and operations like Fedex will fire you if such things crop up at a later date; they don't tolerate what they consider dishonesty or deceit. Far better to address it up front. Look for key words when asked about your past: if the employer asks if in the last seven years you've had any of the following; then answer within the context of the last seven years. If the employer asks if you've ever been arrested for, convicted, or charged with, however, the key word is "ever." The employer isn't limiting the question to the last seven years or ten years. Read the question carefully before answering.

There are some matters which seem minor now; a very old DUI, for example, but which may have impacts on entry into other countries (Canada, for example), which in the context of your new job could mean the company can't use you. For this reason, the company may be interested in your past history. Other operators may be interested only insofar as your disclosure demonstrates honesty. The questions about one's past are as much about character as they are checked boxes; the interest may not be so much whether you did it, but were you honest and open about disclosing it.