Background check taking a long time; Should I call the store for an update on the background check? [duplicate]

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I interviewed for a position in May and received a call about a week or so later and the assistant manager offered me the position. We discussed salary and how many hours I would be working. She then told me she would call me when the background check and forms came through (she stated in about two weeks time). Its been two weeks and I'm getting a little worried. Should I call them and ask for an update on the background check or wait a few more days? I have a clean history so the background check itself doesn't worry me but I have no idea why it's taking them so long to call back.

Thanks!

manpreet 2 years ago

Making the dangerous assumption that you're in the U.S.

Background check industry has had some turmoil in the last few years. There have been many cases brought to court about improperly generated results, and their pertinence to the job. As a result the process overall is longer. Some searches, still, take longer to process then others, and the average for us (where I work) is roughly a week to get validated results out to the client.

Validated results can sometimes involve a physical appearance by a person at the specific county courthouse where you might have lived to search their records for you.

My advice is to be patient, maybe write a short ping-like email to the HR person about your start date and if you need to bring some specific documents with you when that happens. I would not try to contact the hiring manager about the status of your background check.