Your credit score tells potential creditors how risky of a borrower you are by gauging how responsible you've been with handing credit and managing debt. It makes good sense that lenders would want a good idea of how likely it would be for a borrower to default on a loan.
There's someone else who might be checking up on your credit history — your employer! Discover more about how you, your credit score, and employers may be connected when you read more.
Your employment history is not part of your credit score, but your credit score could be factored into your chances of getting a job. A good credit score will give you access to the best interest rates and it could also give you an edge if a potential employer runs a credit check for applicants. Just as lenders may see you as a risky borrower if you have a poor credit score, employers may also view you ask a risky employee.
If you're interviewing for a position that involves finances, confidentiality, and handling money then it's likely that your employer will run a credit check before they make you a job offer. Some companies check applicants' credit regardless of the specific position under consideration.
K.E. Varner, author of The Insider's Guide to Credit Repair sums up the concept like this: "Overall, it's a reflection of a person's character. That's the assumption these companies make. Given everybody is equal in their backgrounds and skill set, if one person has a better credit score, you're probably going to be better off with that person."
Issa
Woolrich
Acne Jeans
i never got the reason for employeers to check your credit score
1I have been turned down for at least 3 jobs because of this. I want a better job so I can pay off the dang debts and improve my credit score. To judge a person on their credit score is absolutely ridiculous.
2"bluepuppybites"
do you mind me asking what range your score is in? i agree that judging a person based on their credit score is off, but i also see how it raises a red flag if they have a really low score and want to work in a financial type job. i think they should bring it up with the person interviewing, before saying no. there are many reasons people have bad credit, and alot of typical, average, smart, successful, people (especially in their 20's and 30's) have just gotten themselves into a hole and are working on it.
i have a little debt, but thankfully my credit is still good.. i watch it like a hawk for these reasons. I guess my suggestion is, if you're interviewing and already know that your credit isn't great and could become an issue, bring it up. I think it's better to explain you were younger, had no idea, had student loans, unexpected emergencies, etc than nothing at all.. also.. you can set request notification if someone asks to view your credit.. that way, if you are in this position, the potential employee won't just beable to view it without you getting a heads up. that may be a stupid suggestion, but i guess i am saying i would rather know what's going on, and have the opportunity to explain and sell why i would be great, instead of not knowing anything.
3I understand for positions that relate directly to money or finance but I do not understand the use in other positions. It can be hard for people to get ahead who have credit trouble thereby decreasing their chances of getting out of this debt.
4it does seem like they should at least give people a chance to defend themselves if they have lower credit...
which reminds me, I should check my credit report soon...
5fortunately i don't think that i work in an industry that would mind much about what my credit score was. granted mine is fine (i check it every month) but sometimes i think that there's too much information out there for people to be questioning .
6I can see why they would do it...if they definitely want the "best" candidates. It's unfair to us who are struggling but I guess they gotta do what they gotta do to feel like they've made the best choice on a candidate. Fortunately for me, I don't think my employers have relied on that!
7I can understand it if you're handling money or finances, but other than that it seems kind of irrelevant. I guess it could potentially tell you about a person's "character," but I think the interview process should probably do a good job of determining character more than the credit score would. I think at times it's warranted, like I said, but other than that I think there are better ways to judge candidates. Hopefully I never have to worry about this!
8frankly, i think it's an invasion of privacy. i have a decent credit score, but i don't want anyone except lenders looking at it!
9do they think that people with less than perfect credit are more likely to steal or something if they work in the financial industry? I think credit score has NOTHING to do with whether you make a decent employee. Maybe you had a spouse who screwed your credit (as I did years ago). My credit is better now, but still not where I would like it to be. I am working on it. My current husband had the same thing happen to him so it is a double whammy with us. Luckily neither of us work in finance or retail (which some do check). But, my husband did work for Motorola a few years back and they even did a credit check. Thankfully it was fine.
10Well, I don't know if my current employer did this, but when I worked for the Feds they definately checked scores. Their reasoning is that if you have bad credit and are heavily in debt, you will be more open to being bribed to hand out classified info.
11I refused to allow my current employer to check it, mostly 'cause there's no reason for it. I'm 23 and my credit is ABYSMAL, but I need to work to earn the money to improve it.
12It is unusual and sometimes frustrating that employers check your credit. It’s terrible that many highly qualified people cannot get a position or a promotion because of things that happened in the past that they might not have necessarily have control of. Not everyone with bad credit is a “dead beat”. Sometimes, like I’m sure a lot of you know, bad things happen to good people. People get sick and get medical collections and put them out of work leading to other late pays and possible collections, go through divorces that put them in bad financial situations, etc. And then, your punishment is 7 years (unless a collection is sold which starts the whole 7 yrs over again) of bad credit but even worse the money you waste in high interest. This is the killer. Some people pay $200-$300 more a month on their car payments than someone with the same car, financed for the same term, but with great credit.
13This is actually what I specialize in professionally. Over the past 11 yrs I’ve come to find that a lot of items are removable after several round of dispute audits.
I wish you all good luck and I’m here for any advice you may need.
It is unusual and sometimes frustrating that employers check your credit. It’s terrible that many highly qualified people cannot get a position or a promotion because of things that happened in the past that they might not have necessarily have control of. Not everyone with bad credit is a “dead beat”. Sometimes, like I’m sure a lot of you know, bad things happen to good people. People get sick and get medical collections and put them out of work leading to other late pays and possible collections, go through divorces that put them in bad financial situations, etc. And then, your punishment is 7 years (unless a collection is sold which starts the whole 7 yrs over again) of bad credit but even worse the money you waste in high interest. This is the killer. Some people pay $200-$300 more a month on their car payments than someone with the same car, financed for the same term, but with great credit.
This is actually what I specialize in professionally. Over the past 11 yrs I’ve come to find that a lot of items are removable after several round of dispute audits.
I wish you all good luck and I’m here for any advice you may need.
14I got burned in a divorce and every potential employer used my credit score against me. If you are a white heterosexual male, you stand NO CHANCE in this system. You are just a number to THe enEMy.
15So I finally struck back against one of those companies that denied me. I used the talent I could have given them to obtain my freedom. Sure, what I did was illegal, but I didn't get caught and the company in question has plenty of money, and could always go crying for a bailout from Nanny government if they ran low.
Point is, now I am free. I've given up on the system and all of its numbers. I have no mortgage, no credit cards, no permanent address. I pirate every service (cell, internet) that I can instead of giving money to the billionaire bastards and their numbering system. Screw the system forever!
I'm only posting this because I've got my RV parked in a neighborhood and am tapping into an account. So if you're a systemite snitch reading this, you're wasting your time trying to bother me. I encourage any and all people out there who have been reamed by the system to figure out a way to stick it to them. It is the path to true happiness.
Unless you have some sort of absurd vocation in which you receive monetary compensation for services rendered that you are then required to return to the employer with interest, credit should have nothing to do with employment.
16Don't forget about identity theft. If someone has stolen your identity and created bank accounts and credit card accounts and then absconded, you get stuck with the fraud on your name. Then there is the theft of credit and debit card numbers also. For those situations you should always file a fraud report with the police and send that information to the credit bureaus, and keep a copy for any interview process.
And if a criminal steals your indentity and commits crimes in your name with a forged driver's license, remember that to the court system it is the fingerprints that identify the person who is convicted, not the name or other fraudulent identification they gave the arresting officer or the court system.
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