Six ways to screen your employees and volunteers

Implement these guidelines only after consulting with an attorney in your locale. Your attorney can advise you of your state laws regarding criteria that can and cannot be used in the employment process.

All applicants should complete an employment application, whether the "job" is for pay or on a volunteer basis.

Include a statement, which the applicant should acknowledge in writing, certifying that statements provided in the application are true and complete and that any misrepresentation or omission may be grounds for rejection of the applicant or for dismissal if he or she is employed. This acknowledgment also should authorize you to contact any individual or organization listed in the application.

Include questions regarding:

Current and previous residence addresses
Current and previous employment, including addresses, dates, duties, titles, and reasons for leaving
Names and addresses of schools attended and degree(s) earned
References from previous employers and organizations that serve children
Pending criminal charges (where not prohibited by state law)
Review all statements made in the application, paying specific attention to any gaps in time and irregular employment patterns or unexplained absences. Pursue these gaps with employers listed and in a subsequent employment interview.
Contact in writing all listed references and employers. Inquire as to the reason your applicant left, and ask for any information that might help you determine the applicant's suitability for the position you are seeking to fill. Maintain the responses in a permanent file. If you do not receive a response within a reasonable period of time, follow up with a telephone call. Prepare a written memorandum summarizing the contact's comments, and make note of any information the contact was unwilling to provide.

If you find discrepancies between statements made by your applicant and the former employer or reference, discuss them with the applicant. You might have difficulty getting any information from a previous employer, other than dates and title. If this happens, note in your file that effort was made to obtain information, but it was not made available to you.

A special note regarding contact of present employer: Understandably, an applicant might be concerned about having his employer learn he or she is seeking employment elsewhere. If the applicant expresses this concern, agree not to contact the employer unless you are about to offer the applicant the job. Do, however, make the contact at that time--before you hire the applicant.
Conduct employment interviews with those applicants in which you are still interested. Do this after you have reviewed the application and contacted previous employers and references.

If you have uncovered some detrimental information, but still find the applicant desirable, discuss this information with the applicant. In the event you ultimately hire the individual, document your reasons for overriding the detrimental information.

Whenever possible, have an associate of yours participate in the interview. A second opinion is helpful.

Depending on the nature of the position you are seeking to fill, and the budget available for your search, two other guidelines are recommended.
Check for arrest and conviction records of your "key" applicants. This may be done through ScreenNow®, an employee/volunteer background screening service offered at a discount to Secure Trailer Lot customers. Click here for more information about ScreenNow.
Fingerprinting is commonly required for people entrusted with large sums of money. Certainly, the value placed on our children's safety is greater.

At the time you offer the applicant a job, ask for a complete set of fingerprints for your file. This might seem tough and controversial, but it serves two purposes:

A person with a criminal record involving sexual abuse may be reluctant to provide fingerprints and back out of the employment process.
If a case of sexual abuse (or theft) is ever suspected at your community, the fingerprints might be able to assist your local law enforcement authorities in their investigation.