Job Seekers Can Check Background Before Their Boss

Yahoo!’s HotJobs.com has partnered with ChoicePoint Inc., a data vendor that collects and sells financial, legal, and personal information, which will perform the background check.

A basic background check will be available for $24.95, which will include a check of public records that pertain to an individual, including criminal records from every state. For additional fees, a more extensive report will be available. The information comes from courthouse records, credit reports, telephone directories, school records, and is verified by ChoicePoint employees.

Once the background check is complete and reviewed, the person receiving the information has the option of sending a link to a prospective employer.

The service is only offered to those people looking for background information about themselves; no third parties will be allowed to use this service. To ensure this, ChoicePoint says there will be an involved identity verification service in which an applicant will be asked numerous questions that only they would know the answers to. If someone gets a certain number of answers incorrect, they will have to call ChoicePoint to verify their identity and access their information.