Make sure you background check student interns and student employees before hiring them. Students offer several key benefits for employers of all industries and sizes. Students tend to be ambitious and eager who are hungry for your employment opportunities and to make a great impression so that they can get started in the industry of their choice. For employers, these employment trends of hiring fresh young talent can often be a much-needed boon to alleviate work backlogs or to try new processes without redirecting full-time salaried employees or taking on a new full-time paid hire before the position is really ready.
However, while student interns and employees can provide some really outstanding benefits to companies and neatly fulfill employment gaps when and where you want them, it’s still important to background check student interns before hiring them. Even unpaid seasonal interns should undergo a professional background screening and here’s why:
3 Reasons to Background Check Student Interns and Student Employees
- Trust in handling sensitive information. Just last year, a House of Representatives intern was fired and charged with second-degree burglary, identity theft, witness tampering, and making public restricted personal information after he published to the internet personal information, including home addresses, of several high-ranking Republican senators. This intern did not hold an official position and yet he still had access to critical information, information that his employers probably never thought he’d leak — and yet he did. Any company that retains sensitive information, whether it’s the home addresses of leading politicians or your biggest clients, should take care before giving anyone access and background check student interns, including unpaid interns. Workplace background checks can better help you ascertain whether the person you are hiring is a potential threat.
- Trust in handling expensive merchandise and similar goods. There’s also the more physical merchandise that employers need to consider. Businesses that are taking on student interns that will handle cash or valuable company merchandise should absolutely approach those interns with the same level of scrutiny as they might a seasonal or temp employee and background check student interns. Every year, the news reports on various seasonal delivery workers who take advantage of their position to steal holiday presents and other packages. These big upticks in package theft invariably happens during peak seasons with seasonal employees who are more willing to take the risk of theft due to their not benefiting from the long-term employment those delivery companies have to offer. When hiring student interns, approach hiring similarly and background check student interns to prevent something like the theft of $90,000 worth of equipment by this intern who had inside knowledge and access to that equipment.
- Trust in long-term prospects. Sometimes background checks aren’t only about preventing the worst from occurring, but are also about laying a foundation for the best relationships. Interns can be much-needed workers but often times it’s also the employer and their skilled employees who are giving those interns valuable insights in the industry and at the end of their internship, you may find that you want to keep them on. Well, the smart thing to do is to not wait until the end to see if they are an appropriate match for long-term employment but to instead only start with interns who you envision would make great additions to your company and background check student interns. Have them undergo a thorough background check as you would a full-time employee to better determine their suitability.
Contact Our Team Today to Get Started
Are you ready to incorporate stringent background checks in your hiring process for both employees and interns? If so or if you need to background check student interns and want to know more about these employment screening processes, contact our team today!
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/04/654264122/house-intern-arrested-for-reportedly-doxing-senator-during-kavanaugh-hearing
https://www.news10.com/news/seasonal-ups-workers-accused-of-stealing-from-packages-at-processing-facility/
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960423&slug=2325547
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