Company demands candidate pay for their own background check, vaguely claiming they will be reimbursed, leaving candidate unsure about proceeding: 'I want to give them the benefit of the doubt'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jan 25, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Sometimes, sadly more often than not, when we are desperate for a job, we tend to gloss over some serious red flags that are meant to warn us from accepting certain jobs.

There is a reason why people say you shouldn't quit your job before you have something else lined up, and it is not only because of the financial risks. This lack of security can make us oblivious to what is right in front of us. If we're desperate for a job, we can't really value our options truthfully. We tend to settle and compromise on things that we shouldn't, or ignore important signs. 

When looking for a job while already working in another one, you value yourself more. You know what you currently have, and what you consider an improvement. But if you have nothing, everything is considered an improvement, and that is not necessarily the right mindsight to have.

The job candidate who wrote this story might not be desperate for a job, but they are willing to ignore a red flag to secure a job, and we are not sure if that is the best call for them. Keep scrolling for the full story, and decide for yourself the best move for their future.

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  • "I haven't even signed an official offer letter yet"
    via 89Stocker

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "Company asking me to pay for my own background check and then they will reimburse me, but not being super clear about the details?"

    hey all! I recently got a job offer for a nonprofit, but was told by them that I would need to go get fingerprinted and pay for my background check and
    via theteacupishattered
  • then they would later reimburse me. I've never experienced anything like this before, I've had to get d tested for a new job J before but even then it
    via theteacupishattered
  • was billed to the company or whatever so I didn't have to pay. I asked about the timeline for reimbursement, whether it would be immediate or
    via theteacupishattered
  • if I'd have to work there for a certain amount of time etc. and they said they would reimburse me after I submit the receipt. I don't have any reason to
    via theteacupishattered
  • believe they're lying about reimbursing me it's just a weird practice to me... anyone have experience with this? like why not just pay for it if you're supposedly gonnal reimburse me ASAP?
    via theteacupishattered
  • to provide more details this is just gonna be a temporary job for me, the pay is a bit lower than I was looking for and they can only offer part-time
    via theteacupishattered
  • work so while I don't desperately need a job right now (I have savings and live with my parents) I've been out of work since september and
    via theteacupishattered
  • would really like to get a full-time job sooner rather than later. this job will be fine in the meantime but this background check
    via theteacupishattered
  • thing is making me doubt how positive of an experience it'll be, am I being dramatic? any advice??
    via theteacupishattered
  • also wanted to add that I haven't even signed an official offer letter yet, they sent me an email offering me the position and I accepted but I have
    via theteacupishattered
  • not been sent an official offer letter to sign like you usually would get. they're a fairly new nonprofit (2022) and I know they have employees with the same title I'll have so it can't be a scam right? is this okay?
    via theteacupishattered

  • Any company that forces candidates to spend money on the hiring process is a red flag in our books. Candidates should not be expected to offer anything other than their talent and their time. Even if the company eventually follows through with the promise to reimburse the candidate, it's still not the best look for them and could testify to much worse decisions on the job.

    At the very least, the job candidate should not proceed without an actual offer letter, but that is eventually up to them. What would you have done in this situation? Let us know in the comments down below.

  • Olivia Presteign Is this a legit nonprofit and are you sure you're talking to the nonprofit and not someone impersonating them? Because this is a typical scam.
    via OliviaPresteign
  • theteacupish... OP I interviewed on location. with the same woman I've been emailing back and forth about this, I don't think it's a scam but I really can't be too sure because if I were reading all of this I would think it's absolutely a scam. I'm so confused lol
    via theteacupishattered
  • jgroovydaisy If this a local non-profit that you know isn't a scam then they just might be bad at this. They likely will reimburse you on your first check. However, I work at a
    via jgroovydaisy
  • small non profit and we still have accounts with the background check vendors so it is a red flag if the company isn't doing this.
    via jgroovydaisy
  • theteacupishattered OP yeah I want to give them the benefit of the doubt because they're local, small, and new so they might not know what is “appropriate” HR-wise. and I also used to work in HR so I
    via theteacupishattered
  • have high standards on how onboarding processes should go... but then they haven't even presented me with an offer letter to sign, just an email stating that they would like to offer me the position and the pay rate and everything??
    via theteacupishattered
  • sara11jayne Are you positive you have the job? Did you get a signed document of employment?
    via sara11jayne
  • theteacupishattered OP I got an email with “I am happy to offer you the position" which also included pay details etc. but no document per say
    via theteacupishattered
  • JOB OFFER LETTER RE: LETTER OF OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT Dens
    via Andrey Bukreev
  • CareerCapableHQ What state?
    via CareerCapableHQ
  • theteacupishattered OP Florida
    via theteacupishattered
  • OliviaPresteign Well, if you interviewed at their site and you've been communicating with the same. person, I don't really see how this is a scam. It's likely just a little backwards (because they're a small nonprofit).
    via OliviaPresteign
  • theteacupishattered OP thank you! yeah I do want to give them the benefit of the doubt for that reason but then they haven't even presented me with an offer letter to sign, just an email stating that they would like to offer me the position and the pay rate and everything??
    via theteacupishattered

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