If youre applying for a job today, the chances are excellent that you will have to pass a background check to get hired. In fact, over 90% of companies now run background checks on all applicants. Before you sit down to fill out that very important job application, here are 12 facts you might not know about background checks:

* According to Workforce Management, over 45 million background checks were run during the past year.

* Most companies use a candidates job application, not resume, when running a background check.

* 86% of businesses say that inaccuracies on a job application can take a job candidate out of consideration.

* Half of all job applications contain discrepancies.

* Well-known people who were caught lying on their resumes and job applications:

- Jan Maxwell is the author of “A Job Hunter’s Secret Weapon: How to Survive a Background Check and Get the Job You Really Want” www.jobhunterssecretweapon.com. It’s the first book that takes job applicants inside a real background check, explains how information gets verified, and shows them how to fill out a job application that will sail through pre-employment screening.