Poor Credit Could Cost You A Good Job

Times have changed in the job market. A couple of decades ago, a prospective employer would call the applicant's last employer and ask a few questions about the former employee's time there. What kind of worker was he/she? Did he/she work well with others? Complete tasks on time? Engage in any criminal behavior? Such questions were routine and were used to screen out the "bad eggs" before they could be hired again. Today, those sorts of interviews rarely happen anymore, as companies fear lawsuits by former employees. The most a company is likely to get out of a former employer is acknowledgement that the person in question worked there and the dates of employment. With so little to go on, companies are resorting to other sources of information and the most common one is a check of an applicant's credit report.

A credit check will not reveal whether or not a prospective employee completed tasks on time, but an employee who pays his or her bills on time and in full is more likely to complete tasks on the job than one that does not. Furthermore, an employee with financial problems might be considered a risk for certain types of sensitive positions. The military uses credit screening to keep some soldiers from working in some positions that require a security clearance, for instance.

If you have financial troubles and you think you may be looking for a job soon, you should make an effort now to clear up any problems on your credit report. Check it and see if you have any outstanding bills or delinquencies. If you do, make an effort to pay off as many of the bills as possible. While you are checking your report, look out for any errors that might exist. As many as one in four credit reports contain errors, and rarely do such mistakes improve a credit score.

In today's job market, your credit report is almost as important as your resume. Make sure that yours speaks well of you.

Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to as affiliate marketing and informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site about debt consolidation, credit counseling, payday loans and personal bankruptcy.

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