
While the end results of various background checks might seem the same, the results can actually vary widely from provider to provider. Because speed, accuracy, reporting, and cost matter, it’s critical to choose a background search provider and your employment screening API carefully. Here are the three most important things to consider when making the choice:
Tech and Design
The tech is really important for your application program interface (API). Here are a few important terms to watch for:
- RESTful
Representational State Transfer is an API that can be used over nearly any protocol and typically takes advantage of HTTP. That might seem like a lot of tech gobbledy gook, but here’s what it means: creating a RESTful API requires no additional software or libraries. RESTful APIs are flexible, able to handle multiple types of calls, and can return data in a variety of formats. The result is an interface that is simple to create and meets your needs.
- HTTP endpoints
Your API is a set of tools and protocols that allow two systems to interact with one another. Endpoints are the “places” where these interactions take place. HTTPS endpoints are crucial to maintain security at these points of interaction.
- API Keys
All these exchanges of information need to be secure. API keys are essentially unique identifiers that compare access rights to the API to the application making the request to make sure that the request is approved.
Solid tech and design will streamline the integration process.
Interface
The point of the API is to make the background check easier and smoother and the customer experience is an important part of that. Your API must be intuitive and allow you to easily accomplish functions such as the following:
- Create user accounts
- Define custom reports
- Order and retrieve reports
- Credentialing
- Background