Our search firm has completed over 3,500 searches for churches and religious organizations over the years, and it still amazes me how much verification needs to happen to make sure a person applying for a job really is who they say they are.
If tech is the reason so much disinformation exists, it can also be the remedy for it. So, what tech solutions can a search committee use to help with background checks? Here are two tangible steps to take when hiring for church staff. You’ll find, l’m sure, that a little bit of legwork upfront can save you a lot of heartache later.
1. Comb Their Social Media.
Start by searching the candidate’s socials—Facebook, X, Instagram, etc. Résumés might not always tell the truth, whereas social media doesn’t lie once you’ve gotten below the surface. Check out the person’s social media persona, profile and activity.
Look at their social media behavior. Are they highly political? Do they post things that are incendiary, emotional or dramatic? Do the things they “like” match the culture of your church? Does the way that they’re behaving for all of the world to see match the kind of candidate that you want to hire? Searching someone’s social media can give you a sense of who the person is or at least help you form good questions for your final interviews.
2. Run a Credit Check.
This might sound a little obsessive, but the longer I have been interviewing people, the more I believe that if a person cannot manage their own finances, they probably shouldn’t be trusted with the church’s finances, or even a part of the church’s budget.
Running a credit check is a sound practice that can provide information you won’t get on a résumé. Dave Ramsey told me one time that he estimates the majority of workers in the U.S. spend a significant part of their work week worrying about their personal finances. If you hire someone who has significant debt or a very low credit score, you’re going to get someone with divided attention. And it could turn out that person can’t manage the part of your church you will be entrusting to them.
While AI can be a wonderful tool, remember this caution: Don’t trust everything (good or bad) that an AI query reveals about a candidate, if you choose to run one. I know that AI is all the rage, but for background checks, it is severely lacking.
I think it is easier now than it ever has been to look better on paper than you are in reality. Online résumés come across my desk every day, and they just seem to get fluffier and fluffier, so I tend to take those with a grain of salt.
But if you do a social media search and run credit reports, you will be on your way to finding out if a candidate really is who they say they are, or if you’re getting less than you bargained for.