Unit 9: Medical, Background, and Attitude Review

Preparing for the Background Investigation

You should also prepare for the agency’s background investigation. Ask a few reliable people (former or current employer, teacher, clergyman) if you may use them as references. Get their exact names, addresses and daytime telephone numbers. If you have any outstanding

parking tickets or other summonses, take care of them immediately. Have a copy of your birth certificate and high school diploma ready. If you have attended college or technical school, have a transcript. Make a list of former employers, with dates, addresses, and phone numbers if possible.

The background investigation will produce a more favorable impression if you are holding the same job for a length of time rather than bouncing from one job to another. This may not be the time to change jobs unless there is a really good reason to do so. Applicants who have a history of holding jobs rather than quitting or losing them are regarded more favorably.

Background investigations vary in scope depending on the agency. At the minimum, you can expect that an agency will conduct a credit check, a criminal history check, and contact your references and contact your former employers. At the other end of the spectrum, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will look in detail at your credit history, any criminal record, and your driving and accident record. They will review your personnel records with all of your former employers to check your attendance record and your personnel evaluations and they will interview your former supervisors and co-workers. An FBI agent will visit your former high school and college to review your records and interview former teachers and professors. All of your residences, for at least the past ten years, will be visited by an agent who will interview neighbors regarding your character.