Do Internships Run Background Checks?

It is difficult for felons to return to society. Getting a decent job is one of the common challenges faced by felons. Society most of the time turns its back towards felons. Opportunities for felons to restart their career is not a cakewalk.

Felons can prove good employees. For many felons however returning to school becomes a challenging task. Felons require additional education to restart a new career.

When a felon goes to college, he can apply for suitable internships that provide him basic skills for any job or career. This article focuses on whether internship programs conduct background verification checks for felons.

Define An Internship

An internship offers a temporary work opportunity for someone who completes a course in college or specific study in a particular field before taking a job. Internships provide industry experience to felons and the internship period begins from 3 months to 1 year.

A student learns how his course applies in the real world. An internship also practically trains felons to become better candidates for any job. Felons become potential employees for the future and employers receive a fair chance to assess felons in a practical world. It also provides felons the opportunity to secure a permanent offer at the end of an internship.

Which Departments Offer Internship?

Recently many felons apply for internship programs to get trained in specific departments. 67% of interns complete internships during college semesters. 84% of employers offer summer and winter internship programs to allow felons to gainfully occupy themselves by learning relevant job skills.

Is Background Check a Normal Practice for Internships?

1 Many businesses conduct background verification checks for new employees.

2 In the case of interns, however, this practice is not common for all companies as a consistent regulation.

3 Interns receive the privilege to access resources of the organization like regular company employees.

4 Interns also face a similar round of standardized screening like permanent employees.

5 Background verification check however depends on the exact nature of the industry.

6 Incase felons handle company assets, sensitive information to the company, or cash transactions for the company, this requires a background verification check to get executed.

7 Felons use internship opportunities to shadow existing employees of the company.

8 In companies however where background verification check is not a normal practice, the reporting managers ensure strict supervision.

Define A Background Check

A background check permits the employer to review driving records, credit reports, educational records, and also criminal history. It also helps the company to determine details about past mistakes, financial fitness, and the good character of felons. Further, it eliminates the security and safety concern for an organization.

The criminal record for a felon examines the criminal offenses and conviction as well as non–conviction cases. These cases are neither prosecuted or get dismissed with time. Non–conviction cases get removed from the criminal record of a felon. This helps clear their record easily. Employers also request a driving license to conduct a background verification check.

For eg: A driver’s agency will require a driving license for a background verification check if the felon interns for a commercial driving job.

Role of Background Check for Felons

The organization protects its interest, employees, and customer interest. It evaluates results and looks for possible discrepancies between the background verification report and the application form. It also evaluates the nature of criminal offenses that get revealed in the report.

Self – Background Verification Check for Felons

Next Course Of Action

Felons face many challenges when they apply for an internship. Like a proper job, a felon’s records should be expunged for an internship. Training programs rehabilitation and on–the–job training makes an essential difference for felons to succeed.

Supportive family and friends create a genuine difference in minds of felons. Felons get encouraged to use better opportunities for career advancement, good internship opportunities are one of them. The felon’s mistakes do not define a felon rather strategies he adopts to overcome his mistakes hold greater value to achieve success in jobs.

Felons believe in restarting an honest life through making the best use of internship opportunities which opens doors for permanent employment.

Summer Internships add additional people to the workforce who specifically shadow regular employees to gain professional knowledge the internship provides. It is a stimulus to the young minds of felons who create a specific impression in the minds of interviewers. Felons can become temporary workers till they find suitable roles as permanent employees.

Full-time salaried employees use internships as a learning opportunity where they can make mistakes and gain experience to use in future career opportunities. Background verification checks allow felons to demonstrate longevity. They should also not prove a security risk, interns become temporary fillers for permanent employees, interns can work as reverse mentors to train other employees in newer technology applied in the company easily, for eg: if an intern is passionate about cars, he can share relevant knowledge about different cars and its features to employees new in the company.

Bottom Line

Internships are a good opportunity to assess different skills a felon has to achieve new career opportunities in long term. The authorities hire felons as temporary workers to re-enter society. This helps them re-establish themselves on the professional front.

The background verification process also allows felons to understand what holds for them in a formal background verification process. Internships are a good way to assess and develop organizational skills for felons so that they can choose to work in full-time employment in the long run.