Pre employment background check.
 

Does anyone with knowledge of HR procedures know when airlines typically conduct background checks? Before inviting you for an interview? After your interview? Once you are already on property and in class? Additionally, when conducting credit history or driving record checks, do airlines require your written permission to conduct these checks? If so, at what point in the hiring process do airlines obtain this signature? Thanks.....

It depends on the company. My last two companies did it differently. One did the background check after inviting me to the interview but before the interview occurred, and my last company did it after they extended the job offer.

I know exactly when they did it because there's an issue that comes up in my background checks related to a guy with a similar name, birthdate, and city.

Different airlines can do it differently.

The ones that are cost conscious (esp. regionals) will do it after class starts so they don't spend the money on someone who might not show up. They don't mind if they have to fire you, and are not bothered by the fact that you already resigned your previous job.

NDR should require your written authorization. A credit check might not require your authorization but I suspect most employers would obtain it anyway just to avoid any confusion.

A background check generally does not require your authorization. In some states it may, and they may need your authorization if they use a background check service (as opposed to doing it in-house).

If you're playing games with your career, you need to find out the specific practices of the company in question, and the specific rules of the state where the interview occurs.

Rickair7777 pretty much has the right of it. Each company tends to do it a bit differently. When I received an invitation to interview at one regional, they emailed a bunch of documents that I had to print out, sign, and send back prior to the interview. Once I was offered a position, they sent additional forms they wanted signed and returned before my class date. I also had to have a drug test conducted between the interview and class date. When class began, they brought in another round of forms, but at this point they were largely related to health insurance, tax witholding, etc. Most of the background check-related forms they'd had from before the interview, but I doubt they did much with them prior to selecting candidates.

One thing to bear in mind is that just when they conduct the background check isn't nearly as important as what it turns up. If you read the fine print on some of the disclosure forms you sign, they say that "an offer of employment is contingent on the results of the background check" or something along those lines. This means that even after you've been offered and accepted a position, any surprises could mean you're back out on the street. It doesn't matter if it's prior to the interview or after you've been on the line for a month. The company still has the right to fire you.

Sign the forms whenever each particular company gives them to you, but be sure you've been forthcoming about anything they could possibly turn up.

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