anon
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Post by anon on Sept 4, 2011 15:26:39 GMT -5
How many departments/schools run a background check on finalists? Second, is a DUI likely to hurt your chances? I figure they're only running checks on people they're really, really interested in or about to hire, so a DUI isn't likely to ruin it (unless the school is BYU or something). Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
Please only serious and helpful responses.
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Post by anonyyy on Sept 4, 2011 18:17:56 GMT -5
I have never heard of schools running a background check without saying so. You are probably just psyching yourself out...soc profs just aren't that sophisticated. Better put that energy into the cover letters instead.
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Post by two times on Sept 4, 2011 18:31:00 GMT -5
Based on my experience (I've had two tenure track jobs), the schools (departments don't really care...it's really at the administrative level) do criminal background checks only on finalists (once a candidate accepts the position). This was true when I worked for a public institution but also true when I joined a private liberal arts institution. From what I know, they are looking for major stuff (e.g., drug offenses, sexual assault). I'm not sure if a DUI will disqualify you but you might want to let them know about the offense AFTER you've been offered the position. Unless they ask you something like, "Is there anything that might prevent you from working for our institution?" during the interview, don't volunteer the information during the interview.
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anon
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Post by anon on Sept 4, 2011 18:40:21 GMT -5
Many of the job ads in the ASA job bank mention criminal background checks. I also checked around the HR sections of several major universities' websites and they all say they require checks. I know they'll let me know they're doing it -- I'm not concerned about that. I'm concerned about what they'll find and whether a DUI could make them rethink their job offer. Fortunately, it won't show a conviction. This is my first, and my state has a program that allows you to be on probation for a year and then get it wiped off your record.
I'm definitely not going to volunteer the information, but I don't want to seem like I'm hiding anything. Plus, I can honestly say I've never been convicted of anything.
So, you think I should just come out and tell them at some point, if they ask me a pointed-ish question about my past or whatever?
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Post by two times on Sept 4, 2011 19:43:06 GMT -5
Personally, I would be very honest about it if I was asked a "pointed-ish" question. But that depends on the context. The times I was asked these similar questions were right after I was told that they do criminal background checks and asked if I was a citizen/able to work in the U.S. Though I never had anything to worry about, I can see this being a problem if you are not honest (even if you think it MIGHT not show on your background check). Put it this way, my advisor told me about one of his other advisees who got a really good R1 position. This person was convicted of a felony and it was a major concern for the school. However, because the department really wanted this person, the department convinced the school to hire this person. My point here is that if you are honest and come across as a genuine person, certain people are more likely to fight for you if it's reasonable. I think it would be reasonable to defend a DUI versus a sexual assault charge. The chair might say something like, "A lot of people make poor decisions like this (DUI). We've talked with him/her about this and see it as a genuine mistake on his/her part." Again, I certainly would not volunteer the information and would only bring it up if necessary (i.e., if asked a "pointed-ish" question).
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anon
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Post by anon on Sept 4, 2011 19:55:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice. I'm certainly planning to be honest and as forthcoming as the situation requires. This is the only spot of any kind on my record. I think most people would be really surprised to even find out about it. My only concern is whether it could hurt my chances. My thinking has been that if they really want to hire me, it won't keep them from doing so. But I just don't know.
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Post by two times on Sept 4, 2011 20:14:47 GMT -5
It may be an issue at some of the more conservative schools (e.g., some of the religious schools that may want their faculty to be of good Christian "character") and may be an issue at state schools that rule out candidates with felonies, which may include felony DUIs.
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anon
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Post by anon on Sept 4, 2011 20:27:01 GMT -5
Mine is just a misdemeanor, and I wasn't even convicted of anything. It's just a charge -- there's no trial, no plea, or anything. I'm in a program for first-timers.
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Post by Notalawyer on Sept 5, 2011 1:36:03 GMT -5
I am not a lawyer. However, I think you should consult a lawyer and not a job-board on these matters. This is totally consult a lawyer territory. However, my advice is to never proffer ANYTHING that could damage you without consulting a lawyer on exactly what you need and need not divulge. And trust me, admitting a DUI or any mistakes from your past (or present) to could be so damaging. I could tell you that hearing such a confession would likely influence my feelings towards a candidate.
I had a background check run for my current faculty position, which included both a credit history check and criminal history check. The chair mentioned this in the interview and said in jest "so if you have anything it will probably come up, you don't have anything to hide do you?" At that moment, I felt the urge to confess to being taken home in a police car on Halloween in seventh grade for toilet-papering the neighborhood and being turned into a credit agency when I was 21 for accidentally forgetting to pay the remainder of a cable bill in a college apartment. Of course I didn't say anything, I just smiled, shrugged, and said "I can't think of anything."
Remember, your personal life, both the triumphs and failures, are yours to share or keep to yourself. But once you let them out, they become part of the public record and can be used against you. I never heard what happened with my checks, but I bet they are buried somewhere down in the bowels of the HR dept. Maybe no one even looked at them. Who knows? JUST TREAD CAREFULLY.
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charge vs conviction
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Post by charge vs conviction on Sept 5, 2011 11:18:15 GMT -5
A charge is very different, legally speaking, than a conviction. Most criminal record checks are for criminal convictions. If you were not convicted, than you do not have to bring it up.
I realize that on some applications, they will examine all previous charges, and not just convictions, and this is different. If their background checks say they investigate previous charges (on an online application), I would write 1-2 sentences explaining you were young, and were not convicted.
I was charged with being in parks after hours when I was a teenager (sue me, I lived near a park), but still to this day, if an application asks about charges, I have to explain this in 1-2 sentences, if it asks about convictions, I do not.
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anon
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Post by anon on Sept 5, 2011 11:34:15 GMT -5
charge vs conviction,
Yes, it is just a charge. It will never be a conviction, since my state has a program for first-timers that allows them to be on probation and have it never require a guilty plea or trial.
I thought that background checks would show charges, too. It would be cool if they didn't. The thing is, it was pretty recent. Early this year. Next summer I'll be able to wipe it off my record, but for now it's there.
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Post by Mr Magoo on Sept 5, 2011 14:01:43 GMT -5
Anon,
I honestly wouldn't lose sleep over this. Some of the faculty and admin probably have more skeletons in the closet than you. In the larger scheme of things, a DUI is a mere hiccup. Hell, many of us have driven drunk but we just weren't caught. And it's not like you killed someone or molested a child or took great delight in offering subprime mortgages to slews of people, then seeing them default on their payments and go into foreclosure while you ran off into the night with tons of profits, laughing evilly all the while, right?
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anon
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Post by anon on Sept 9, 2011 17:51:05 GMT -5
A criminal record includes only convictions. If you have no convictions you have no criminal record. A criminal record furthermore includes only convictions for misdemeanors and felonies. For example, being in a park after hours is likely not a misdemeanor or felony but a violation and will so not show up in a criminal background check.
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Post by before on Dec 6, 2011 10:18:13 GMT -5
I was just invited for an on-campus interview and they're required to run a background check before they can bring me to campus. That's not common, is it?
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ohh
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Post by ohh on Dec 6, 2011 10:45:02 GMT -5
On that note, are we always notified when someone runs a background check on us?
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