Criminal records are public records and as such can contain errors and/or omissions. Name mix-ups can occur within databases or entered incorrectly or misspelled and the transposition of data can occur.
If you are applying for a new job and they perform a criminal background check on you, you are entitled via the FCRA to be able to view that criminal report if it is part of the reason you didn’t get hired. This is an important step to take to ensure the reasons you didn’t get hired were not because of an inaccurate criminal record that accidently presented you as someone else who shares certain characteristics as you such as name and date of birth. The best way to avoid this entire scenario is to perform a background check on yourself to see what if anything is on your criminal record. Doing a self background check before others perform a background check on you can give you extra confidence in what may turn up along with making you aware of what is out there on you and most importantly give you the opportunity to correct any errors on your criminal report before you apply for that new job.
For more information on pre-interview background checks and why it is a good idea to do a self background check before you get background checked read recent press release found at: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2011-11-08-Pre-Interview-Background-Checks.html