In this article today I would like to discuss several simple tips, tricks, and techniques that any human resources manager or business owner can use to help screen out violent or potentially violent applicants for a job before you hire them.

It seems like not even a week or a month goes by when we don't turn on the news to hear some report of workplace violence. This can take place in the form of brawling or in the much more serious and deadly case of workplace shootings. As a human resource manager or business owner, hiring people who are not apt to explode in bouts of violence can be a critically important thing and that's what I'd like to talk about in this article today.

So how can you realistically screen out people who may resort to violence in the future? It's a tricky subject and a fine line to walk to be sure. Unfortunately there is no fail safe way to do this and sometimes people are exceedingly clever at disguising their own violent nature in order to get a job. Let's face it, everybody who applies for a job tries to put their best face forward and it's your job to discover what lies behind the polish in an interview.

Luckily there are several things that you can do that can reduce the chances of hiring somebody who may turn out to be a problem down the line.

The first thing you can do is submit all of your applicants to psychological testing. There are many widely used tests that companies use such as the Myers-Briggs type inventory test. These tests generally aren't very expensive to administer and don't really require any expensive training either in order to give the tests yourself. These are generally personality tests and not really psychological tests.

True psychological tests cost much more money and really should be administered by trained psychologists which will also increase the costs but still may be worth the expense and effort. There may also be legal considerations to think about so you should always discuss your plans with your attorney before hand.

The other thing you can do is to run background checks on all applicants. This should be standard operating procedure at every company in existence. With the rise of the Internet, running a background check can be very quick and relatively inexpensive. You don't have to dig deep into a person's personal life, but you should check to see if they have had any sort of criminal record or if they've been in prison for violent crimes and things of that nature.

So there you have several simple tips that you can use to help potentially screen out violent job applicants. A little prevention really can go a long ways to creating a safe and healthy work environment free of the threat of ongoing violence.

J.P. Morton runs a big and tall shirts web site where he also reviews the best van heusen shirts for work. He has been an article writer online for well over 10 years and also enjoys rock climbing and white water rafting.