Do you cringe when a company requires a background check? Do you worry that your less-than-stellar credit might cost you the job? Do you need a work-at-home job fast and don’t want to wait?
This article will briefly describe the background check process and also give you fifteen work at home jobs that don’t do background checks.
Why Would a Company Require a Background Check?
The company is requiring a background check to protect itself, its clients, and its other employees. The company is trying to screen out anyone that they believe could pose a potential threat (cyber, financial, terrorist, physical harm or otherwise) to its current culture or environment.
Background checks are also used to verify education, employment history, and references.
Background checks go by other names such as pre-employment screenings, background screenings, and background investigations.
Also, different states will vary on how many years a potential employer can go back in a candidates’ history for such things as arrests, convictions or misdemeanors.
Companies will also vary on what they look for in background checks. Some will also run a credit check if you will be handling credit cards. Driving records may also be screened, but usually isn’t necessary with work from home jobs.
What is the Cost of a Background Check?
While some companies will pay for the background check, others will not. Background checks can cost as little as $25 but as much as $85. You can deduct the amount from your taxes if you are an independent contractor.
How Long Does It Take For a Company to Conduct a Background Check?
A background check can take up to two weeks, but may only take a few days. Usually employment is contingent upon passing the background check.
What Are Your Rights Regarding Your Background Check?
You do have the right to see your background check once it has been completed for a work-at-home company. You may request a copy of it via email.
15 Work at Home Jobs That Don’t Do Background Checks
Note there are way more than just the fifteen listed below. A brief description has been posted with each one with a review link included, if available.
Note that many companies, even if they DO end up running a check, will still consider you for employment just depending on what your background check shows. Not everything is a deal breaker.
Here they are:
Cambly – (see Cambly review) – This is a tutoring site paying $.17 a minute where you would be tutoring non-English speaking students. You will be using your own laptop and webcam to interact with the students. You may set your own hours and shifts are two-hour stretches. Pay is done via PayPal.
Appen – (see Appen review) – One of the more popular and successful search engine evaluation companies.
If hired, you’ll be analyzing search results and helping improve multimedia post suggestion algorithms for big companies like Google and Twitter. The pay is not disclosed, but traditionally jobs in this niche will earn you somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 to $15 per hour.
Kirkus – (see Kirkus review) – This is a book reviewing site where you would be writing book reviews for companies. Reviews are around 350 words and must be submitted within two weeks of acceptance. Payment is sent out via check every 60 days.
Mturk – (see Amazon Mechanical Turk review) – This is also known as Amazon Mechanical Turk is a site that you can sign up with and begin earning money right away.
The site has numerous tasks that you can begin doing right away, and you will be allowed to do more and better HITS (Human Intelligence Tasks) as you gain more experience. There are a variety of tasks such as writing, surveys, transcription, and photo tagging. Payout is via direct deposit or Amazon gift cards.
Rev – (see Rev review) – This company hires remote transcribers to work from home, and they do not do a background check on potential workers. They pay weekly via Paypal.
Textbroker – (see Textbroker review) – This is a popular content mill for writers at all levels. Once accepted, you will be given a level from 3 to 5. The pay varies by level, and pay is weekly. They now accept proofreaders and have their own forum.
U-Haul – (see U-Haul work at home review) – This is a well-known moving company which hires at home dispatchers to accept calls from customers renting or thinking about renting the moving vans. The pay varies depending on the specific position you accept and other factors. This is an employee job and not an independent contractor position.
Verafast – This is an outbound calling center requiring workers to work 15 hours a week. You would be calling newspaper customers as part of a customer retention program. The pay is roughly $.17 a minute. Not the best reputation, but you can get up and running quickly with them.
WriterAccess – This is a content mill where writers can write whenever they want and are accepted at different levels. Pay will vary based on your level of acceptance, but it is one of the better paying content mills.
Accutran Global – (see Accutran Global review) – This is a transcription company that only hires in the US and Canada. The pay is $0.005/word to $0.0066. Like most jobs in this field, your hourly earning potential will depend largely on how fast you are.
Scribie – (see Scribie review) – A transcription service with a very simple setup, and no base experience requirements. Ideal for people interested in trying transcription out to see if it’s a good fit for them. The pay is $5 to $15 per audio hour, and you can choose which audio files you want to work on. Mostly just good for extra money.
Tutlo – (see Tutlo review) – Another language tutoring service. You need at least six months of experience teaching English in some context or another, but there’s no requirement for any particular certification, and no mention of a background check.
Fancy Hands – (see Fancy Hands review) – A virtual assistant company that pays on a per-task basis. How much you earn will depend on how fast you are, your areas of expertise, and which hours you choose to work.
First Quarter Finance – This financial blog hires remote writers and editors. Obviously you’ll need some knowledge on the subject matter to get a job here, and plenty of skill, but there’s no mention of a background check.
According to the job posting, you will earn $20 hourly or more working with them.
Time Etc – (see Time Etc review) – A virtual assistant company that pays between $17 per hour. They have openings for several different kinds of assistants, and all the jobs seem quite different.
One thing you might notice is that *most* independent contractor opportunities are background check free, while the employee positions (phone jobs, etc.) are more likely to require background checks.
There are exceptions of course — for example, transcription jobs may require checks if you’re transcribing sensitive info — but this is what you’ll usually find.
Good luck if you apply!
Leisa Good has worked in the corporate world as well as side hustled and operated a virtual assistant business full-time since 2006.. She wrote the eBook on that one! She is also a PFYP certified career coach and the owner of the blog, Powerfully Purposed For Success. She empowers folks 50-ish to find fun, flexible, and financially rewarding work both now and into retirement. However, this time it will be work/life on their terms.
