5 Questions with AmericanChecked CEO Julie Hakman

by Adam Daigle

 

Julie Hakman is president and CEO of AmericanChecked. The Native American-owned business, which specializes in pre-employment background screening, was founded in 2005 and was named to the Inner City 100, which ranks the fastest-growing, inner-city businesses in America by revenue growth. The company has 50 employees in Tulsa.

 

1. Your company was awarded again for being among the fastest-growing, inner-city businesses in the country. What has the last year been like for you?

 

It’s been an incredible year for AmericanChecked. We’ve expanded our integrated services and have partnered with companies that are some of the best of the best and complement our services within the industry. We’ve expanded our already impressive footprint in the niche market of gaming and have also added new national retail clients. Looking ahead to 2018, we will be introducing several new products and services that we’re very excited about. 2. Were you involved in starting the company in 2005? What were those early days like and how did you all find success establishing the company in the business of background checks?

 

I have been here since the very beginning. Many of the AmericanChecked staff members, including the leadership team, have worked together in the background screening industry for decades. The principals of AmericanChecked knew from experience what to do, how to do it and, most importantly, how to ensure every customer has a direct, focused relationship with our team. Our motto is “Make their day,” and it is one that we embrace every day both with our clients and with our team members. We’ve come a long way since 2005 when there were just a few of us making sales and processing orders to the team of FCRA-certified experts in the industry.

 

3. What is one rewarding aspect of being in the business of background screening that has kept you and others with the company?

 

I often say, “At the end of the day, it truly is about people,” and I really believe that. It is rewarding coming into work every day knowing that our customers trust us to help them with one of the biggest challenges of any company — hiring a strong, qualified workforce. The team at AmericanChecked is the finest group of people that I ever had the privilege of working with, and they go above and beyond to ensure that our clients’ have exactly what they need when they need it. The culture of making someone’s day is what separates AmericanChecked from other companies. Our focus on customer service is second to none.

 

4. Your bio indicates you’re from California but went to the University of Oklahoma. How did you land in Oklahoma and what’s made you stay?

 

I am proud to say that my family is originally from Oklahoma and, while I grew up in California, summers and holidays were spent in Oklahoma with my grandparents. I’ve been a Sooner fan for as long as I can remember and graduating from the University of Oklahoma was a lifetime goal and achievement. Job opportunities then brought me back to Oklahoma and, when I later decided to open my own business, I knew that Oklahoma was where I wanted it to be. I’m a Southern California girl with Oklahoma in my heart.

 

5. Being in the business for as long as you have, what is a simple thing people can do to get through a background check without any issues?

 

A background check is about two things — determining an applicant’s feasibility for a job and validating information provided by the applicant. Our responsibility as a background screener is to present employers with the necessary information for them to determine if an applicant is suited for a position and to ensure the information we supply is accurate and truthful. AmericanChecked believes there is a job for every American and encourages every applicant to be truthful when applying for a job.