Friday, May 29, 2015

Should your cedit score dictate whether you get the job you applied for?

Brad (name has been changed)  recently received a formal offer from a large institution for a management position he had been interviewing for. The offer was subject to the ‘normal’ background check. Brad had been selected out of many candidates, and had all the skill sets they were looking for. He was very excited to have been offered the position as he had been looking to work for this organization for many years. The formal offer had a start date of 2 weeks from the date he received the letter.

Thankfully he did not give his current employer his 2 week notice, and waited for his background check to be finalized.

Approximately after 1 1/2 weeks he was informed that they were rescinding their offer due to his credit score “dings” and “dents”. Unfortunately Brad had been one of the thousands of citizens who had been caught in the Housing Bubble.  In 2009 one of his properties he owned had gone into foreclosure.  Due to delayed credit reporting it only started showing on his report in 2013.
Prior to the foreclosure and since, Brad has been extremely diligent on paying all his bills on time and building up is credit ( per Brad currently in the 750’s). Brad has continued to work in the same field during this time frame, and continuously receives good reviews from his employers on his management and sales skills.

If you are qualified, have the necessary skill sets and are the best candidate for the position being offered, should a Foreclosure/ Credit Score prevent you from getting the position you were offered? Should interviewers now be asking during your initial interview, “What is your credit score”, or “Do you have any negative history on your report?” When doing a formal application should a question be regarding your credit if the organizations are placing a big emphasis on this number?

Organizations in different fields will either place a large emphasis or small emphasis on credit scores subject to the field they are in. Does human element and common sense come into play or is it not allowed due to laws and regulations?

I am neither for or against using credit scores in deciding if we will get the jobs we dream about.  I am in favor of common sense.

What are your thoughts?

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." — Confucius
 For your interest below are some links to articles regarding credit scores and job hunting:

http://credit-debt-management.yoexpert.com/credit-reports-and-scores/how-can-a-low-credit-score-affect-my-chances-of-ge-1864.html
http://info.theladders.com/career-advice/will-bad-credit-hurt-job-chances
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/bad-credit-and-your-job-search/article.aspx


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