System and Method for Authorization and Disclosure for Background Information Searches
A system and automated method for verification of employment history regarding a job applicant, the method including receiving information identifying an applicant, receiving employment history information for the job applicant, receiving information identifying an identified verification contact for verification of the employment history information, automatically providing the identified verification contact with a question pertaining to employment history information, receiving an answer from the identified verification contact, storing the answer.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/138,120 and 61/170,514, filed Dec. 16, 2008 and Apr. 17, 2009, respectively, herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to information sharing systems and more specifically Internet based employment opportunity and resume listing systems and computerized personal background information search systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThere exist methods for providing interactive websites listing available employment opportunities and storing prospective employee resume and contact information. These prior methods are limited because they do not adequately filter prospective applicants and result in employers receiving a large pool of applicants not optimally matched to the listed opportunity. These prior methods are also limited because highly qualified applicants are indistinguishable within the automated part of the employment screening process from those applicants who misrepresent their background and qualifications.
There also exist methods for performing personal background information search and verification services. These methods involve varying levels of automation, however, they are limited by the lack of security and inefficiency in their manual authorization and data sharing components. In particular, existing automated methods do not include a way to provide a requestor with verified personal background information search results while maintaining secrecy about the target individual's highly sensitive personal information such as social security number and date of birth. Existing automated methods also fail to provide tools for the secure and efficient reuse and sharing of previously purchased background information reports.
There also exist methods for manual verification of employment, educational history, personal references or other information that may not be available from commercial data providers. These methods are time consuming and fail to provide control or transparency to a prospective employee.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to a software component system and method for more accurate matching of applicants to jobs and more effective and efficient filtering of applicants for requisite qualifications, as well as a system and a method for simplifying, coordinating, and minimizing the risk associated with requesting, sharing, and providing verified personal background information.
Some embodiments of the present invention include interaction between an Internet job board, an employer portal, a member portal, and a data (or background search) portal. In many embodiments, the system receives information from Internet job boards when applicants respond to an employment opportunity listed there. The system then tracks and displays applicant information providing the current status of each application for employers, and automatically communicates with applicants to gain their authorization to perform background checks. In some embodiments, part or all of the application tracking may be performed through a third-party applicant tracking system. As a result, background checking (or preverification) and initial applicant willingness screening can be performed before an employer invests time, energy, and money in the manual screening process.
Some embodiments of the present invention include systems for automated employment history, education history, or personal reference verification. In these embodiments, members or prospective applicants provide information about their employment or education history and also identify verification contacts who can be contacted to verify the accuracy of the information the member or prospective applicant has provided. The verification contacts may then be automatically contacted by email, text message, telephone, or other automated means and requested to fill out a form to verify particular information. When a verification contact submits a verification form back to the system, the prospective employer and the prospective applicant are notified. These embodiments may also include the ability for the prospective applicant or the system to automatically follow-up with the verification contact if no response is received.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an automated method for verification of employment history regarding a job applicant, the method including receiving information identifying an applicant, receiving employment history information for the job applicant, receiving information identifying a contact for verification of the employment history information, automatically providing identified verification contact with a question pertaining to employment history information, receiving an answer from an identified verification contact and storing the answer.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an automated method for minimizing human review of employment applications from a pool of applicants, the method including receiving employment application information, providing an automated request to an applicant for authorization to process the application, receiving a response to the request for authorization, narrowing the pool of applicants to those who have provided a response.
Some embodiments of the present invention include interaction between members and other members or users in which a first individual who is interested in learning about the background of a second individual sends a request through the system asking the second individual to sign up and purchase a particular preverification report (or background check) and share it with the first individual. The system manages these requests and the permission process, providing tools for the second individual to purchase the preverification report, automatically coordinating the order and delivery process with a data provider, and providing tools for the second individual to authorize the first individual to review the preverification report.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an automated method for the preverification of individual personal information, the method including providing a computer interface for use by a first individual to receive personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network, providing a computer interface for use by a second individual to provide personal information over a network, providing a computer interface for use by data vendors to provide personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network.
In another embodiment the invention relates to an automated system for researching or sharing personal information including: a network interface; a member database accessed through a network interface by the member, the employer, or the data provider and storing member information; and an employer database accessed through the network interface by the employer, the member, or the data provider and storing employer information; and a background search request database accessed through the network interface by the data provider and storing orders for preverification reports; and an auxiliary information database accessed through the network interface by the member, the employer, or the data provider and storing system or other information; and a server coupled to the member database, employer database, background search request database, and auxiliary information database wherein the server is configured to provide a computer interface for use by a first individual to receive personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network, provide a computer interface for use by a second individual to provide personal information over a network, and provide a computer interface for use by data vendors to provide personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network.
In another embodiment the invention relates to a server for an automated personal information research or sharing system, the server including: a processor; and memory operably coupled to the processor storing program instructions therein, the processor being operable to execute the program instructions, the program instructions including: providing a computer interface for use by a first individual to receive personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network; providing a computer interface for use by a second individual to provide personal information over a network; providing a computer interface for use by data vendors to provide personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network.
The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONTurning now to the drawings, embodiments of the present invention that include interaction between an Internet job board, an employer portal, a member portal, and a data portal are shown. An employer portal receives email information submitted by applicants who respond to an employment opportunity listed on an Internet job board. This employer portal tracks and displays applicant information providing the current status of each application. One component of this functionality may be viewed as an applicant tracking system or ATS as that term has become known in the field. In some embodiments, this employer portal incorporates substantial ATS functionality for tracking application information from initial response to a job listing through the entire employment process through termination. In other embodiments, the employer portal allows employers to manage and track the application receiving and background check authorization processes. In yet another embodiment, the employer portal includes tools for defining and managing the interaction between the system and any third-party ATS.
In many embodiments the employer portal manages applications for a single job offering. In other embodiments the employer portal manages applications for more than one job offering. In some embodiments the employer portal manages application submission and/or background check authorization. In other embodiments the employer portal allows the employer to control and manage communication with a third-party ATS. In one aspect of the invention the applicant filtration process automatically narrows the field of applicants by requesting that an applicant confirm willingness to undergo various background checks and consent to particular checks. In many embodiments the applicant filtration process employs a series of email communications and website forms to implement the consent process.
In another aspect of the invention, highly sensitive applicant data such as social security number and birth date is protected because it is not disclosed to an employer during the application process. In many embodiments the sensitive data is retained by the system and provided on a need to know basis to data providers. In other embodiments the system facilitates direct communication between members and data providers and does not collect or store sensitive information.
In another aspect of the invention, members retain access to preverification reports (or particular background checks) already prepared for one purpose, for example in connection with a particular job application, for reuse with other employers or in other contexts such as online dating or educational admissions applications.
A schematic block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention for integrating the automated authorization and disclosure of personal background information searches with the automated management of an employment matching and screening process is shown in
The member database 108 stores information such as a member's first and last name and email address, a member's permission settings and associated data, a member's account information such as login, password, and any password retrieval challenge information, a member's advertising and offer preferences and history, information related to a member's order history, pending orders, payment options and additional member profile information. The employer database 110 stores information such as employer name, address, and profile information, employer job offerings, employer confirmation and consent preferences, employer account information, employer contact email information, information about applicants for employer job offerings, pending orders and payment information. The background search database 112 stores information such as orders for background information and the results of background information searches (also known as “preverification reports”), information entered by members in the preverification report order process, data provider preferences and data provider identification information and account information. The auxiliary information 114 stores additional information used in system operations such as information about advertisements and offers, advertiser preference information, news and news organization information, information related to the provision of a job board such as job listings and associated data, and data associated with employment matching and resume management services.
Further the system includes an employer terminal 116 for employer access to a member database 108, an employer database 110, a background search database 112, and an auxiliary information database 114 over a network 104 and the web server 106. The employer terminal 116 allows an employer to manage the pending applications for particular jobs, view detailed information about applicants, request preverification reports for particular applicants, view background information results for particular applicants, manage preferences and account information, and pay bills. In many embodiments of the employer terminal 116, the web server 106 accesses the auxiliary information database 114 to allow the employer to manage interaction with a third-party ATS from the employer terminal 116. In some embodiments the employer may manage the third-party ATS directly through the employer terminal 116. In some embodiments the employer terminal allows the employer to manage the direct or indirect communication between the employer database 110 and any third-party ATS.
Further the system includes an administrator terminal 118 and a data provider terminal 120 for administrator and data provider access respectively to the system databases over a network 104 and the web server 106. The administrator terminal 118 allows an administrator to manage the entire system including user authentication and tracking, to control the advertising and offer systems, to select and promote stories within the news interface, and to review and remove objectionable content posted within member profiles and the job board. The data provider terminal 120 allows a data provider to view and download orders for preverification reports, enter and submit or upload the results of preverification searches, and manage accounting information associated with payment for services.
The system also includes a data provider server 122 that contains background information data provided directly by data providers to the system via the automated preverification report order fulfillment back end.
If the member submits complete information to allow the system to perform the employment verification 614, the system automatically sends email messages to the contacts identified by the members.
Several figures depict the authenticated member portal and the interfaces within this portal. For example
As discussed above with respect to
As the illustration of
Although the present invention has been described through the use of exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the described embodiments that fall within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents appended hereto. For example, the present invention may be implemented using mobile telephone browser technology and SMS messaging instead of websites and email, it could also be implemented using any technology or system that facilitates the rapid communication of complicated information between parties.
Claims
1-51. (canceled)
52. An automated method for verification of employment history regarding a job applicant, the method comprising:
- receiving a verification initiation request from an account holder;
- receiving information identifying the job applicant;
- receiving employment history information for the job applicant, the employment history information comprising at least one employment detail;
- receiving information identifying an identified verification contact for verification of the employment history information;
- automatically providing the identified verification contact with at least one question pertaining to the at least one employment detail of the employment history information;
- receiving at least one answer verifying the at least one employment detail of the employment history information from the identified verification contact corresponding to the at least one question; and
- generating and storing in a database a verification report corresponding to a result of verifying the employment history information, the verification report comprising a verified set of data corresponding to the at least one employment detail of the employment history information,
- wherein the verification report is available in the database for subsequent employment applications, and
- wherein access to the verification report is controlled according to access information received from the account holder.
53. The method of claim 52, wherein the received employment history information is provided by the job applicant.
54. The method of claim 52, wherein the received employment history information is provided by an applicant tracking system.
55. The method of claim 52, wherein the information identifying the identified verification contact is provided by the job applicant.
56. The method of claim 52, wherein the information identifying the identified verification contact is provided by an automated verification contact lookup.
57. The method of claim 52, wherein the received information identifies a plurality of contacts for verification of the employment history information.
58. An automated method for verification of background information, the method comprising:
- receiving information identifying a first individual;
- receiving background information for the first individual;
- receiving information identifying an identified verification contact for verification of the background information;
- automatically providing the identified verification contact with at least one question pertaining to the background information;
- receiving an answer from the identified verification contact corresponding to the at least one question;
- verifying the background information with the answer; and
- generating and storing in a database a verification report corresponding to a result of verifying the background information,
- wherein the verification report is available in the database for sharing,
- wherein sharing of the verification report is controlled according to access information received from the first individual,
- wherein a verification request to initiate the verification of the background information of the first individual is received from the first individual,
- wherein a report request to receive the verification report corresponding to the first individual after the verification corresponding to the first individual has been generated and stored in the database is received from a requestor different from the first individual, and
- wherein the verification report corresponding to the first individual is shared with the requestor if the access information permits access to the requestor.
59. The method of claim 58, wherein the received background information contains information about the first individual's educational history.
60. The method of claim 58, wherein the received background information contains information about the first individual's personal references.
61. The method of claim 58, wherein the received background information is provided by the first individual.
62. The method of claim 58, wherein the received background information is provided by an applicant tracking system.
63. The method of claim 58, wherein the received background information is provided by a commercial background check.
64. The method of claim 58, wherein the information identifying the identified verification contact is provided by the first individual.
65. The method of claim 58, wherein the information identifying the identified verification contact is provided by an automated verification contact lookup.
66. The method of claim 58,
- wherein the at least one question pertaining to the background information is provided to the identified verification contact by email, and
- wherein the answer from the identified verification contact is received by email.
67. The method of claim 58,
- wherein the question pertaining to the background information is provided to the identified verification contact on a website, and
- wherein the answer from the identified verification contact is received by entry through the website.
68. The method of claim 58, wherein the received information identifies a plurality of identified verification contacts for verification of the background information.
69. The method of claim 58,
- wherein the first individual is one of a plurality of verified individuals,
- wherein the verification report corresponding to the first individual is one of a plurality of verification reports corresponding to the verified individuals stored in the database,
- wherein each of the verification reports comprises a plurality of verified data points, and
- wherein the method further comprises: receiving a query from a second individual, searching the verification reports for data points corresponding to the query, generating a list of the verified individuals whose verification reports comprise the data points corresponding to the query, and providing the second individual with the list.
70. The method of claim 58,
- wherein the first individual is a prospective employee, an online dating member, a prospective student, a prospective tenant, or a business owner, and
- wherein the requestor is an employer, another online dating member, a school, a landlord, or a potential customer.
71. An automated method for research or sharing of individual personal information, the method comprising:
- providing a first computer interface for use by a first individual to receive verified personal information pertaining to a second individual over a network after the second individual grants the first individual access to the verified personal information;
- providing a second computer interface for use by the second individual to provide unverified personal information over the network and to provide access information to control access to the verified personal information; and
- providing a third computer interface for use by a personal information search provider to provide the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual over the network corresponding to results from a personal information search,
- wherein the verified personal information comprises a set of verified data.
72. The method of claim 71, wherein the first individual is an employer, a school, an online dating member, a landlord, or a potential customer, and the second individual is a prospective employee, a prospective student, another online dating member, a prospective tenant, a business, or a merchant.
73. The method of claim 71, wherein at least one of the first computer interface, the second computer interface, or the third computer interface is a web based computer interface.
74. The method of claim 71, wherein the network is a public network.
75. The method of claim 71, wherein the verified personal information is at least one of identification information, employment history, a credit report, a driving record, an address history, a criminal background check, civil records, bankruptcy records, professional license information, or regulatory sanction information.
76. The method of claim 71, wherein the second computer interface for use by the second individual provides controls to selectively limit access to the second individual's verified personal information by others.
77. The method of claim 71, wherein the second computer interface for use by the second individual implements a process of authorizing background research by the personal information search provider.
78. The method of claim 71, wherein the third computer interface for use by the personal information search provider displays orders for verified information pertaining to the second individual.
79. The method of claim 71,
- wherein types of verified personal information comprise identification information, employment history, a credit report, a driving record, an address history, a criminal back ground check, civil records, bankruptcy records, professional license information, or regulatory sanction information,
- wherein the personal information search provider is a commercial search provider that provides a search report corresponding to at least one of the types of verified personal information,
- wherein the method further comprises: receiving a request for at least one search report corresponding to at least one of the types of verified personal information, the request being received from the first individual or the second individual, providing the request to the commercial search provider, receiving the search report corresponding to the request, and storing the search report as at least a part of the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual.
80. The method of claim 79,
- wherein the verified personal information comprises a plurality of search reports each comprising different types of verified personal information, and
- wherein the method further comprises, receiving access information from the second individual to selectively control access to the different types of verified personal information by the first individual.
81. The method of claim 71, the method further comprising:
- receiving information identifying an identified verification contact for providing at least a portion of the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual from the second computer interface over the network;
- providing a fourth computer interface for use by an information verification contact over the network to: automatically provide the identified verification contact with at least one question pertaining to the unverified personal information of the second individual, and provide an answer from the identified verification contact corresponding to the at least one question; and
- generating at least a portion of the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual by comparing the unverified personal information to the answer.
82. An automated system for researching or sharing personal information reports comprising:
- a network interface;
- a member database for storing member information accessed through the network interface by members or a data provider;
- a background search request database for storing orders for personal information reports accessed through the network interface by the data provider;
- an auxiliary information database for storing system management information accessed through the network interface by the members or the data provider; and
- a server coupled to the member database, background search request database, and auxiliary information database through the network interface, wherein the server is configured to: provide a first computer interface for use by a first member of the members to: submit a request to a second member of the members for access to a personal information report of the personal information reports pertaining to the second member; and receive the personal information report pertaining to the second member after the second member grants the first member access to the personal information report pertaining to the second member; provide a second computer interface for use by the second member to: provide unverified personal information over the network; and control access to the personal information report pertaining to the second member; and provide a third computer interface for use by the data provider to provide the personal information report pertaining to the second member over the network,
- wherein the member information comprises the personal information reports,
- wherein the orders for the personal information reports comprise requests to provide verified personal information pertaining to the second member,
- wherein at least one of the members can request the orders for the personal information reports, and
- wherein the personal information reports provided by the data provider correspond to results of background searches.
83. The automated system of claim 82, wherein the member database is configured to be searched by the members.
84. The automated system of claim 82,
- wherein the server is configured to further provide a fourth computer interface for use by a third member that is different from the first member and the second member to receive the personal information report pertaining to the second member, and
- wherein the third member did not request an order for the personal information report pertaining to the second member.
85. The automated system of claim 82, wherein the server is further configured to:
- receive information identifying an identified verification contact for providing at least a portion of the personal information report pertaining to the second member from the second computer interface over the network;
- provide a fourth computer interface for use by an information verification contact over the network to: automatically provide the identified verification contact with at least one question pertaining to the unverified personal information of the second member, and provide an answer from the identified verification contact corresponding to the at least one question; and
- generate at least a portion of the personal information report pertaining to the second member by comparing the unverified personal information to the answer.
86. A server for an automated personal information research or sharing system, the server comprising:
- a processor; and
- memory operably coupled to the processor for storing program instructions, the processor being operable to execute the program instructions, the program instructions including: providing a first interface for use by a first individual to receive, over a network, verified personal information pertaining to a second individual after the second individual grants the first individual access to the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual; providing a second interface for use by the second individual to: provide unverified personal information over the network; and control access to the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual; and providing a third interface for use by a personal information search provider to provide the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual over the network corresponding to results from a personal information search.
87. The server of claim 86, wherein the program instructions further include providing the first interface for use by the first individual to submit a request to the second individual for access to the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual over the network.
88. The server of claim 86, wherein the program instructions further include providing the second interface for use by the second individual to submit an invitation to the first individual to access to the verified personal information pertaining to the second individual over the network.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 14, 2013
Publication Date: Oct 24, 2013
Inventors: Michael B. Levine (Los Angeles, CA), Christopher Cirak (Venice, CA)
Application Number: 13/918,858
International Classification: G06Q 50/26 (20120101);