In a former life working for a US defense contractor, I went through what you might consider the gold standard of identity verification and background checks: a Secret and later Top Secret defense security clearance process. These investigations start with an extensive background questionnaire and often include reference checks, field interviews of friends and colleagues, fingerprint checks, and polygraph tests. At the conclusion of the investigation, which can cost thousands of dollars, I’m pretty sure Uncle Sam’s confidence in knowing your identity and trustworthiness is “high”.
By contrast, a basic Honesty Online Verification takes just a few minutes, is conducted completely online, and can cost ten bucks or less. How can this level of identity verification provide value when the background-check bar goes so much higher?
An Honesty Online Verification won’t substitute for a DoD Security Clearance. But it will help you with what “Blink” author Malcom Gladwell describes as “thin slicing”, those first two seconds when somebody looks at your online profile and jumps to some conclusions about you.
Somebody scanning a lot of online profiles is making spontaneous, “thumbs up/thumbs down” decisions about each one. When people see your profile for the first time, do they think “yes/maybe” or “no”? On a dating site, that intuitive response will determine whether somebody makes an overture. On an employment site, that response will determine which pile you go into: interview or “no thanks.”
To verify your identity and your background, Honesty Online uses the leading commercially available identity and background data sources. For career verification, we go straight to the source (your employer or school). In many contexts, our verification alone will be sufficient. But in any context, by showing that you’ve been verified by Honesty Online, you can help make sure somebody glancing at your online profile takes a second look.
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