Credit and Job SearchI am in the market for a new job and I have recently ran upon some hard times. I work in an industry that is currently in a recession of sorts (as does my wife). We are both commissioned sales people and it has been tough. Now I am in the market for a job and I am really worried to whether it is going to get me bounced from getting a position. Anybody out there who has experience is this area? My credit was so bad I was surprised I even qualified for a car loan. I was approved for a 14% APR car loan when people with good credit was offered 0%. I had only $23 in my savings and checking account and that had to last me two weeks until my next unemployment check! What matters is your criminal history, employment history, education history and references. Credit history will be a small part of the hiring process unless you are applying for any position involving money (banks, financial companies, casinos, etc). I work in a casino BUT my primary job is not in the vault. It is on sales so I passed the credit check portion. Believe me, I learned how to eat cheaply. I ate a lot of pasta, rice, bread and crackers. On days when I had no money, I sucked on ice cubes to stave off hunger. It took me exactly 14 months to find a job and I accepted the first job that wanted me. That was a menial and degrading job BUT at least I was being paid something. I kept on applying and kept my attitude in high gear. One day out of the blue my current company called and flew me out the Las Vegas and the rest is history! In all honesty, being a sales or marketing person makes your credit history less of an issue. For a number of years, I worked for a company that administered a personality test to all applicants. The test results gave a ranking in each of four categories with each having an animal name- Tiger, Bull, Owl and Lamb. The results of my test were highest in the Owl category which was perfect since I was applying for an accountant position. Owls are highly-detailed, analytical and a number of other attributes you' d want in an accountant. The company owner would only hire Tigers for sales positions. These were the socially adept, go-getter who excelled in a number of interpersonal areas and in closing deals, but had some faults as well. We had one salesperson who was notorious for turning in all paperwork late, never having all her receipts to turn in on her expense report and letting a lot of small details fall through the cracks. The owner and my direct supervisor both excused these behaviors because she' s a "Tiger". Moral of this story- a lot of hiring professionals overlook things like credit problems for a sales position because they expect it. Paying bills on time and keeping up with all that paperwork or impulse buying sprees often are traits seen in highly successful salespersons. As a final note- MANY companies that will have you sign an authorization to check your credit don' t actually do it. It' s a formality and they assume if you were willing to sign an authorization to let them check it, you must not have anything to hide. VERY IMPORTANT- never volunteer credit information to your potential or existing employer. Many feel it' s none of their business and I tend to agree. Some states have laws in place or are considering enacting laws that prohibit credit history being used in hiring decisions. Volunteering detailed credit problems (that otherwise might never have been considered) could raise red flags and work against you more than the credit report itself could have.
I actually did bring it up yesterday in an interview - I asked the guy if they ran credit checks and I told the guy that in addition to ID theft several years ago I had also just started getting back on my feet after moving 1800 miles so I let him know if anything funky comes up but also that I was working on it. Might have hurt might not | |
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