Wondering about Walmart‘s background check process for new employees? If you‘ve received a job offer, a pre-employment screening can cause some uncertainty. Not to worry! In this detailed guide, I‘ll walk you step-by-step through exactly what to expect from Walmart‘s background checks in 2024.
Does Walmart Perform Background Checks on Applicants?
Yes, you can count on a background check being part of the hiring process at Walmart. The company conducts screening on all potential new hires across stores, clubs, supply chain facilities, and corporate offices.
Background checks have become standard practice across major retail and service industry employers today. With over 4,700 Walmart stores in the US serving 220 million customers weekly, maintaining a safe, secure environment is a top priority. Thorough background screening ensures new employees do not pose any risks to the workplace.
According to a 2022 survey by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), over 90% of US employers now conduct criminal record checks on applicants. Retail giants like Walmart depend on these checks to verify you meet qualification standards.
Why Does Walmart Perform Background Screening?
Walmart has several compelling reasons for making background checks mandatory before extending final job offers:
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Verify all details – Screening allows Walmart to fact-check that the personal information, education, and work history you provided on your application is 100% truthful and accurate. Even minor inconsistencies could be problematic.
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Uncover criminal offenses – Background checks search through county, statewide and federal criminal records to reveal any past convictions, arrests, charges or other offenses an applicant may have. For asset protection roles and others involving cash handling or machinery operation, extensive checks help mitigate security risks.
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Assess trustworthiness – Carefully evaluating past behaviors, financial responsibility, employment tenure, and other character-related data points enables Walmart to determine each applicant‘s integrity and reliability. This is critical when you‘ll be handling merchandise, cash, and sensitive customer/business information.
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Uphold workplace safety – Screening all new hires is important for Walmart to maintain the highest safety standards across all stores, clubs, distribution centers, and corporate offices. Thorough background checks provide an additional layer of protection for employees and customers alike.
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Reduce turnover – Catching potential red flags or issues early on helps minimize Walmart‘s turnover rates by only selecting candidates likely to succeed in the long run. This improves retention and reduces human resources costs associated with replacing employees that leave shortly after being hired.
What Company Conducts Walmart‘s Background Checks?
Applicants cannot directly contact the third-party vendor responsible for running the checks, but Walmart currently partners with a firm called backgroundchecks.com. They handle all pre-employment screenings on the retail giant‘s behalf, providing a fast, efficient, fully online background check process.
Backgroundchecks.com advertises its services as being compliant, secure, and powered by artificial intelligence with "the accuracy of human review." While you won‘t interface with them directly, you can feel confident they will protect your personal data and provide Walmart with comprehensive, fair screening reports.
Step-By-Step: Completing a Walmart Background Check
Wondering what‘s involved in the Walmart background check process? Here is a step-by-step overview of what to expect:
1. Submit your online application – This is where you‘ll provide essential personal details including your full legal name, current and past addresses, contact information, education credentials, and employment history. Take care to be 100% accurate and transparent.
2. Upload ID documents – After setting up your candidate account on Walmart‘s applicant portal, you will need to upload digital copies of acceptable identity documents, such as a valid driver‘s license, state ID, social security card, passport, or birth certificate.
3. Give your authorization – You must check a box to electronically authorize and provide consent for Walmart to proceed with the background screening. This permission is mandatory for your job application to be considered.
4. Complete background check application – Within 3-7 days of submitting your candidacy, expect to receive a link to complete a separate background check application. Follow it within the expiry window provided.
5. Be patient – Walmart‘s background checks are quite comprehensive, so it can take 5 to 21 days to receive your results. If you have not heard back within 3 weeks, politely follow up with your recruiter.
6. Explain any issues – If there are any red flags like criminal records or discrepancies, you will have a chance to provide context to Walmart‘s hiring manager. Proactive transparency will serve you best.
What‘s Included in a Walmart Background Check?
Wondering what exactly will be unearthed from your past? Walmart‘s screenings are quite extensive, delving back 7 years into your records to look for:
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Criminal history – Any felonies, misdemeanors, convictions, pending cases, warrants, arrests, charges, incarcerations uncovered at the county, state, and federal level will appear.
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Employment tenure – Your work history will be verified by contacting previous employers to confirm you held the positions listed on your application and left when indicated.
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Education history – The background check will validate that you received the academic credentials and degrees you listed.
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Identity verification – Expect confirming checks on your driver‘s license, social security number, passport, birth records, visa status and other identifying documents.
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Driving records – Your DMV records will also be pulled to review traffic violations, citations, license status, and accident history.
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Public records – Bankruptcies, tax liens, civil lawsuits, foreclosures, and major financial actions will appear on your report.
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Sex offender status
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Terrorist watch list status – Mainly relevant for those seeking security and loss prevention roles.
Notably, Walmart does not perform credit checks or use your credit score for standard pre-employment screening purposes.
How Long Does a Walmart Background Check Take?
Most applicants can expect to wait between 5 days to 3 full weeks after submitting their background check paperwork to Walmart before getting a final result. The full turnaround time depends on how quickly info can be gathered from various sources like courts and former employers.
I know the waiting period can feel frustrating. But any checks requiring 2-3 weeks are not necessarily a bad sign. Extensive screening just takes time for the vendor to collect all the pieces.
According to experts, roughly 80-90% of background checks are completed within 5-7 business days. However, some can take longer depending on the depth of information required.
My advice? Be patient, and avoid constantly calling your recruiter for updates. Walmart personnel can inquire with the vendor on pending checks. But pestering them is unlikely to speed things up.
Can You Check The Status of Your Walmart Background Check?
Unfortunately, there is no direct way for individual applicants to check on the status of their background screening once submitted. You will simply have to wait patiently for Walmart‘s recruiter or hiring manager to contact you regarding results.
However, if you have not heard any update after waiting 3 full weeks, it is reasonable to politely reach out and ask if your recruiter can contact the third-party vendor to inquire on your pending background check.
When you do, make sure to have your full legal name, date of application, store location, position title, and any other details available to help them look up the status easily.
Will a Misdemeanor Show Up on a Walmart Background Check?
If you have a prior minor misdemeanor offense, will it prevent Walmart from hiring you? In many cases, probably not. This is because misdemeanors are typically tried in county-level courts. Wider-scope background checks tend to search statewide court repositories, so can easily miss these.
Additionally, many minor misdemeanor charges result in pre-trial settlements, community service terms, or dropped charges rather than formal convictions that would appear in records.
However, I recommend being upfront if you have any past misdemeanors related to theft, fraud, workplace violence, DUIs, or harming others. While Walmart may still hire you, transparency will minimize risk of rescinded job offers down the line.
Can You Get a Job at Walmart with a Felony Conviction?
If you have a prior felony conviction, does it automatically disqualify you from Walmart employment? Not necessarily.
Walmart does strive to give applicants with criminal records a fair chance through their participating in the nationwide ‘Ban the Box‘ initiative. This delays conviction history questions until later in the hiring process.
However, background checks absolutely will reveal any felony arrests, charges, sentencings, and convictions on your record. It‘s crucial to be honest about your history upfront on the application. Transparency will show you have changed. Discovery of undisclosed convictions later on looks much worse.
While certain roles do have felony restrictions, applicants with records may still be considered for many entry-level store positions depending on conviction type, severity, length since offense, and evidence of rehabilitation. Be ready to explain the circumstances and your efforts to rebuild your life.
What Happens if You Fail a Walmart Background Check?
Will failing Walmart‘s background screening immediately disqualify you? In most cases, yes – especially amid stiff competition for open roles. However, a "failure" can be subjective.
Information discovered simply provides insights recruiters will want to discuss with you to understand the full context. If you have reasonable explanations for any red flags surfaced, a hiring manager may still potentially move forward with your candidacy depending on relevance.
The key is being preemptively transparent. Disclosing concerning history ahead of time, expressing remorse, and highlighting personal growth shows honesty and integrity. This builds trust – and trust is essential for Walmart‘s high stakes hiring decisions.
Helpful Tips for Passing Walmart‘s Background Screening
Some simple preparation strategies can help ensure you pass Walmart‘s background check process with flying colors:
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Disclose any concerning history or red flags upfront on your application
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Be 100% truthful – any deception discovered later causes suspicion
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Have explanations ready for previous convictions, firings, bankruptcies or lawsuits
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Gather supporting documents like dismissal letters, court records, diplomas
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Get copies of your own background check report so you know what Walmart will see
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Research state laws on fair use of criminal records in hiring
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Avoid listing references who may provide negative commentary on your past
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If needed, consider consulting an attorney experienced in employment law
The Bottom Line
I hope this guide gave you a comprehensive overview of what to expect from Walmart‘s background check process in 2024 – from why screening is required to how to pass smoothly. While waiting for your results causes anxiety, remember – Walmart ultimately just wants to ensure they are bringing honest, dependable people onto their team. With reliable candidates, background checks are merely a formality.
