You applied for a job. The interview went well. They made you a conditional offer. Then they said they'd be running a background check.

For most people, this triggers a wave of anxiety — even if they have nothing to hide. What exactly shows up? Can they see that arrest from ten years ago? What about your credit score? That old social media post? The data broker profile listing your ex's address as yours?

Understanding what background checks actually reveal — and what you can do to clean up your digital and public record footprint before one is run — is one of the most practical things you can do for your career.

What Employers Actually See

A standard employment background check can include several different types of searches. Not every employer runs every type, and what they're allowed to check varies by state and position. But here's what's on the table.

Criminal History

This is the most common screen. Criminal background checks search federal, state, and county records for felony and misdemeanor convictions, arrest records, and pending charges. Depending on the search scope, this can include records from multiple jurisdictions.

Important: many states have adopted "ban the box" or "fair chance" laws that restrict when employers can ask about criminal history. Some require that background checks happen only after a conditional offer is made. Several states have also passed "clean slate" laws that automatically seal or expunge certain old criminal records.

Credit History

Credit checks for employment show payment history, outstanding debts, bankruptcies, and accounts in collections. They don't show your credit score — employers see a modified credit report. These checks are most common for positions involving financial responsibility, access to sensitive data, or security clearances.

Not every state allows employment credit checks. Several states restrict or prohibit them for most positions, only allowing them for specific roles like banking or government security clearances.

Employment and Education Verification

Employers can verify your previous job titles, dates of employment, and education history. Misrepresentations on a resume are more common than you might think — and they get caught. Screening companies contact previous employers and educational institutions directly, or use databases like the National Student Clearinghouse.

Driving Records

For any position that involves driving, employers typically pull motor vehicle records showing violations, accidents, suspensions, and DUI convictions.

Social Media Screening

Increasingly, employers review candidates' public social media profiles. Some use AI-powered screening services that analyze online behavior and flag content. Public posts, comments, and photos are fair game if they're visible to the general public.

People-Search and Data Broker Results

Here's the part most people don't think about. Even if your formal background check comes back clean, any hiring manager can Google your name. What they find on people-search sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, and WhitePages can include old addresses, relatives, age, and sometimes inaccurate information — like criminal records belonging to a different person with a similar name, or outdated addresses that make it look like you lied on your application.

Data broker profiles can also surface in searches alongside your professional presence. A hiring manager Googling your name might find your LinkedIn profile on one result and a Spokeo page listing your home address, phone number, and family members on the next.

The Hidden Problems

Inaccurate Records

Background check errors are more common than most people realize. Outdated records, records belonging to someone with a similar name, incorrect addresses, and improperly reported criminal histories can all appear on a background check report.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), if an employer takes adverse action based on a background check, they must provide you with a copy of the report and a summary of your rights. You have the right to dispute inaccurate information.

But many candidates never dispute errors because they don't know the information was there — or because the employer simply moves on to the next candidate without explanation.

Your Data Broker Profile Tells a Story

Even if you pass the formal background check, your data broker footprint tells a story to anyone who searches your name. Frequent address changes might suggest instability. A list of relatives might reveal personal information you'd prefer to keep private. Old phone numbers and email addresses linked to your name could be associated with accounts or activity you've forgotten about.

For people who have left abusive relationships, data broker profiles that list a former partner's address alongside yours can create confusion — or worse, reveal your connection to someone you're trying to separate from professionally.

Social Media Archaeology

That photo from a college party. A political opinion you posted in 2016. A heated comment thread from years ago. If your social media accounts are public, they're searchable — and AI-powered screening tools can surface content from years ago in seconds.

Even deleted posts may exist in cached versions, web archives, or screenshots shared by others.

How to Clean Up Before a Background Check

1. Run a Background Check on Yourself

Before an employer does, run your own. Several services offer personal background checks that show you what would appear on an employment screening. This gives you a chance to identify and dispute errors before they cost you an opportunity.

2. Remove Yourself from Data Broker Sites

Opt out of Spokeo, BeenVerified, WhitePages, Radaris, TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch, and other people-search sites. Each has a different opt-out process. Removing your information from these sites ensures that casual name searches by hiring managers don't surface your home address, phone number, relatives, and other personal information alongside your professional results.

This also cleans up Google results for your name. Many data broker profiles rank high in search results, sometimes higher than your LinkedIn profile or professional website.

3. Audit Your Social Media

Google your name. Check what comes up on the first two pages of results. Review every public social media account associated with your name. Either set accounts to private, remove content you wouldn't want an employer to see, or delete accounts you no longer use.

Remember that even private accounts have some public-facing elements — your username, profile photo, and bio are often visible regardless of privacy settings.

4. Dispute Inaccurate Criminal or Credit Records

If you find errors in your criminal record, contact the court where the record was filed to request a correction. If a criminal record has been expunged or sealed, it should not appear on an employment background check — but errors happen. Keep copies of any expungement or sealing orders.

For credit report errors, you have the right to dispute inaccurate information directly with the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) under the FCRA.

5. Check for Court Records and Civil Filings

Civil court records — lawsuits, judgments, liens, evictions — can also appear on background checks. Search your name in your county court's online records system to see what's there. Some records may be eligible for sealing depending on your jurisdiction.

6. Clean Up Your Google Results

Data broker profiles, old social media accounts, and outdated web pages can all appear when someone searches your name. Removing data broker listings often causes those search results to drop off within weeks. For other unwanted results, you can submit removal requests directly to Google for content that contains personal information like phone numbers or addresses.

The Bigger Picture

Background checks are a normal part of hiring. But the information available about you extends far beyond what a formal screening company pulls. Every hiring manager has access to Google. Every data broker profile is publicly searchable. Every social media post you've ever made publicly is potentially discoverable.

Cleaning up your digital footprint isn't about hiding who you are. It's about controlling the narrative. You deserve to be evaluated based on your qualifications, your experience, and your interview — not based on a Spokeo listing that shows your ex-partner's address or a decade-old Facebook post that has nothing to do with your professional capabilities.

The best time to clean up your footprint is before you need to.