Okuzeka
Human Resources vocabulary · Recruitment & Hiring

Background check

Meaning in human resources, with examples

nounCommon term

In human resources, background check means: A check of a candidate's history before they are hired, which can include criminal records, qualifications, identity and previous jobs.

In Turkish: geçmiş araştırması, özgeçmiş doğrulaması, güvenlik soruşturması

How it is used

More common in US English; in the UK people also say pre-employment checks. What may be checked depends on the country's law and the job, for example roles working with children or in finance.

Example sentences

  1. All offers depend on a background check, which usually takes about a week.

  2. The background check showed a gap in his work history that we need to ask about.

Common collocations

  • run a background check
  • pass a background check
  • criminal background check
  • pre-employment checks
  • reference checkContacting a candidate's former managers or other people they name, to confirm their work history and ask about their skills and behaviour.
  • job offerA formal message from an employer telling a candidate that they have got the job, with the main terms such as pay, start date and job title.
  • screeningThe first stage of checking applicants to see whether they meet the basic requirements for a job, before deciding who to interview.
  • data protectionLaws and practices that control how personal information about people, such as employees and candidates, is collected, stored, used and deleted.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Recruitment & Hiring

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: