A candidate story is candidate-submitted context about their arrest or conviction records and self-improvement efforts. After a candidate submits their story, you can read it in their report in the Checkr Dashboard.
Candidate stories help you comply with fair chance hiring practices and Ban the Box regulations. Some jurisdictions require you to collect relevant supplementary information from candidates during the adverse action process.
To disable candidate stories, contact Checkr.
Note
You can use the Checkr API to create and retrieve candidate stories.
Request a candidate story in the Checkr Dashboard
To request a candidate story, use the steps below:
- In the Checkr Dashboard, open the candidate's report.
- In the Actions section, select "Request candidate story."
Candidates can also submit stories without you requesting them.
Play the Checkr Academy video below to learn how to request a candidate story in the Checkr Dashboard.
The Tag field on the Candidates page shows who you asked for additional information and who submitted it. Checkr uses the tags below:
- candidate-story-requested
- candidate-story-submitted
Learn from Checkr experts
Go to our Fair Reviewer Certificate course on our free learning hub, Checkr Academy, to learn and practice how to fairly review reports with records.
Notifications
To set notifications for candidate story submissions, use the Account page. By default, your adjudicators receive notifications for candidate stories submitted before the pre-adverse action process begins.
To manage candidate stories you receive, you can make an account for your adjudicators to share:
- Create a new user with an adjudicator role.
- Set the new user’s email address as the address for the group.
- Set the new user to receive notifications of candidate story submissions.
After submission, the story and supporting documents appear in the Additional Information section in their report. After you read the candidate's story, you can mark it as read.
Candidate experience
Once you've requested a candidate story, the candidate receives an email invitation that includes a link to "Share your story." This email encourages candidates to log in to the Candidate Portal and voluntarily submit additional context or supporting documents.
In the Candidate Portal, the candidate selects "Share your story." The candidate then provides general information or context for a specific record and submits documents.
The Candidate Portal clearly states to candidates that you, the customer, decide whether to review submissions and that Checkr doesn't guarantee that you will.