Advice,please: Authorizing credit check to potential employers

[Jo March]

Well, my recruiter wants me to fill out an authorization for a credit check so she can run a credit check on me.

Well, since hubby became disabled and we ran through our savings before we were able to stop the free fall, you can imagine that my credit is not that great. It's not horrible but it's not that great, either.

What should I do? Should I just say, "Sure, check it but it's not that great?" or refuse to sign it and hope to find something else?

I'm just not sure at this point what to do.

Thanks, DUers. :) Any help is appreciated.

Arnie

[0rganism]

1. Why would an employer need to run a credit check?

A background check, that's another matter, but credit checks I usually associate with getting a loan rather than finding a job. Maybe you're getting a job at a bank or an investment firm? I dunno. It seems odd to me, but on the other hand, if you need the work, there's really not much use in withholding the information. Your credit rating is unlikely to improve if you don't have a source of income.

[frylock]

4. many prospective employers require a credit check now..

it's total bullshit, and as invasive as making someone pee in a cup to ensure they haven't toked up in the last several weeks.

[spindoctor]

7. Only for positions that deal with finances

Its a fraud prevention tactic and it is very common.

[Jo March]

11. These are for IT departments but not all are in banking

That's just the thing that made me wonder why I'm having to do this.

[spindoctor]

25. I'm in IT myself

And we're often in the perfect position to commit all kinds of fraud.

Again, I have never seen a credit check if it wasn't applicable (maybe it happens, but that would be news to me).

Is this a potential employer or just a recruiter? If its a recruiter tell him/her to go to hell. They don't need that kind of information up front. If it's an employer you're not mandated to comply to anything, but unfortunately they are not mandated to hire you either ;)
It should give you a frightful indication of what the atmosphere in the place is like though.

But hey, IT is tough these days. Can't pass up opportunities :/

[Jo March]

29. Oh, I've been in IT for over 8 years. I know the trouble I can spread!

I just haven't been asked to have my credit checked in forever. As I said, I work for a bank and didn't have my credit checked. They did a background check for felonies, etc. and did a drug test. NO credit check.

I can't pass up anything. My contract ends in 2 months and I'm so worried that I won't have a job that I'm looking out of state for jobs!

The IT field gets suckier and suckier all of the time.

[Atman]

19. HR uses it as part of your "psychometric profile."

If you have really horrible credit, the theory goes, you're more likely to steal from the company, or put the company in compromising positions with vendors and such. It's like Pre-crime, but not as sophisticated.

[Jo March]

21. I am beginning to think that you are 100% correct

I would never steal. I have paid the debts that I could and we are slowly working on the others. The thing is, though, that you can pay something off completely but if it's late, you are still a deadbeat. It is very frustrating.

[noiretextatique]

2. what type of work do you do?

personally, i think it's and invasion of privacy, but i know it's becoming a more common practice.

[Jo March]

8. I'm a project manager for primarily IT projects

Right now, I work at a large bank and had to have a background check and a drug test but no credit check. So, when this came up, I was surprised.

[NewWaveChick1981]

3. Just be honest.

Arnie, the best thing you can do in a situation like this is to tell her sure, run the credit check, but there are extenuating circumstances. Most of the time, if you let them know ahead of the game, you're a lot less likely to have problems. :) An acquaintance of mine went through a Federal background investigation for a job a while back, and she told the recruiter ahead of time that she worked as a call girl to put herself through college. Although that might seem questionable, she was up front about it and got the job.

[Jo March]

10. I hate having to tell them about it, though

I am well qualified for the positions and I'm willing to travel for them. I have no problems clearing the background check or the drug tests. My credit rating should be no reflection on me or my ability to do the job.

I know that I'll just have to be upfront about it but it just sent me into a panic.

[jojo54]

5. Personally, I don't know what your credit has to do with

employment. It's none of their business IMHO. You're getting a job because A) you lost your previous job and need money to get your credit back in order, B) you need a 2nd job to earn money to get your credit back in order or C) this is your first job or first in XX years so you can earn money to get your credit back in order. Either way, it's not really any of their business what your credit looks like, unless you're going to be handling lots of money, in which case the background check should be sufficient.

Another dilema burdening middle class Amerika brought on by Bushco and their uncaring, undiplomatic, wasteful and damaging "mandates"!

[Jo March]

13. I guess I'll have to take "ownership" of my crappy credit

Darn it. I hate looking for a job. My contract is up in a few months and I was trying to be proactive about getting another position.

In this economy, it takes a while to find a job. x(

[Mandate My Ass]

6. At my last job interview I was told

if you refuse to sign the authorization, we tear up your application and the interview stops right here. The job had nothing to do with handling money, it was an editorial position.

[Jo March]

9. That is what is so weird

These are project management positions. They aren't all in banking or for financial institutions, either.

[katinmn]

12. the only legit reason is that they might give you a corp credit card for

expenses. Do you travel (not by plane :-) very much?

Otherwise there is no reason they should even ask you for a credit check.

[Jo March]

14. No - no corp credit card

I would be paying for my own travel and getting reimbursed for it. I think that it's just one more way to stick it to the workers. x(

What a darn mess just to find a job. It's bad enough that I am having to look in another state just to find a job. I shouldn't have to jump through all of these hoops to get one when I am 1) well-qualified and 2) recommended by others whom I've worked with.

[Modem Butterfly]

28. I have done that before, too

Our credit checks are part of our background check, which includes criminal history. I could give a shit if you're late with your AmEx payment, but I do want to know if you did ten years for manslaughter. If someone refuses to submit to a background check, I figure there's a good reason why and I end the interview process there.

[Nay]

38. It's the same for us. The credit check is actually part of a

background check -- they use your credit check to collect addresses where you lived, and they can make sure they run state criminal checks in addition to the reg FBI checks. That way, they catch crooks whose state or county crimes have not hit the fed computers. They don't necessarily care if you have so-so credit -- but they will know all your past mailing addresses for the criminal check.

[sweetheart]

15. Ask for reciprocity

Demand that you be able to run a credit check on the corporation
with moodys, and see their last financial statement. How do you know
they'll still be around to pay your wages... demand equality with an inorganic legal entity.

[Jo March]

18. LOL! That would make a point

I wouldn't get hired but it would make one heck of a point!

:evilgrin:

[amazona]

16. I do not know what to say

I believe if they find out your hubby is disabled, you won't get the job if spousal health benefits are offered. That is scary.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Jo March]

20. We are very scared of that

Also, I was in the hospital in late 2003 and that didn't help the money situation but I'm scared to tell anyone that.

Fear. I have to be afraid while looking for a job. Great.

[tjdee]

17. I would never be able to get a job if they did this.

I have rotten, in the toilet, credit. I am also a single parent (which is part of the reason I can't run out and work two other jobs to pay off my debts).

So if everyone who wanted to hire me ran a credit check, I'm sure I would run into problems. I'm smart, a good worker, arrive on time and stay late when I can...but my credit sucks.

So can a lurking freeper explain to me how the fuck I would stay off welfare, or pay my debts, if I couldn't get a job because of my friggin CREDIT score?

[Jo March]

22. But tjdee, aren't you a Welfare Queen who is driving a Cadilac?

I mean, all single mothers are on welfare and living off of the hard-working repubs' wages. :sarcasm:

Being a single parent is very difficult and the way things are set up, it's almost impossible to get out of a hole when you get into one.

There is a single mom here in my office. Her baby is 8 months old. She is a bushbot. It just blows my mind. She just doesn't realize what is going on. At least that's what I tell myself so I don't smack her.

[tjdee]

27. I'm typing this from my yacht.

:silly:
It's just so ridiculous.

I can't believe you know a bushbot single mom! That's kind of like, a purple elephant....eh, depending on where you live, LOL.

[Jo March]

30. Not only is she a bushbot, but she just bought her first SUV

Isn't that precious? Also, she told her mother, a widow of a retired Navy man, that she (the mother) was "living off of my tax dollars" because the mother still gets the dead husband's pension!! LOL!

BTW, how's the weather out there on the high seas? Hope your yacht is comfortable. ;)

[Sgent]

23. Declare bankruptcy

Seriously (to above mom), employers dont usually look at credit scores, they are rather looking for someone who is in debt over their heads. Take the case of the project manager. Say she's put in charge of selecting the new servers for a location, or software, etc. Is she likely to accept a 500 bribe from the vender? Statistically she is more likely if she has a lot of debt, than none.

[tjdee]

31. Yes, that is true, but it still stinks.

It's such an employer's market right now, and if they are conflicted about who they should hire, a bad credit report could sink someone. Their credit gets worse, they look worse to employers, etc.

[Jo March]

32. Oh, no. We don't have enough debt for bankruptcy

Besides, I pay my bills. It may take me 5-6 years, but I pay them. It's silly but it's something that I feel that I have to do if I can.

My credit is not that bad. If it was graded, it would be a C. It's just ridiculous to me to have to explain why it's not great.

[chalky]

33. In my experience, it doesn't matter how far in debt you are--

They're actually looking at any late payments.
We almost walked out one temp who applied for a permanent job because she had a $400.00 bill that was in dispute on her record. Luckily she could provide a letter from the bank to prove that she'd paid it, otherwise she'd have been SOL.

[Modem Butterfly]

24. The credit report employers see is different than lenders' reports

Employers see your entire credit history, not just the last seven years. They also see contact information that you have provided lender's in the past, such as your stated employers (sometimes people leave employers off their resumes, not realizing they may show up in the credit check). Usually credit checks are done in conjunction with criminal checks as well.

[Jo March]

34. Well, that's just great.

My first spouse nearly wiped me off the planet financially. It took me years to get past that and pay off what I could.

This is just great.

Dang.

[Modem Butterfly]

37. After viewing HUNDREDS of credit reports...

...I can tell you that there are very few people with perfect credit. Those that do are regarded as an anomaly, or even with some suspicion (particularly people who are older than 35 and have only one or two items on their credit history). These days, everyone has some bad credit haunting their past.

Look, some employers do consider credit in part of the overall hiring decision, but it's usually not a make or break thing unless the credit is seriously ugly (multiple repos, evictions, a history of kiting checks, etc) or the position is in finance. Those employers that do consider it that much are usually not people you'd want to work for in the first place. Don't worry about it so much.

[chalky]

26. I posted a rant on this issue a few months ago

after our company walked out a temp who'd had the nerve to apply for a permanent position even though she had less than perfect credit:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3181121&mesg_id=3181121

And no, it's not just jobs that handle finances. It started there under the guise of "Sarbanes-Oxley reforms". But it's spreading like a cancer.

Oh, and the amount of debt doesn't matter. The credit-dings do.
The amount the temp was walked out over was about $2000.00. Another temp barely missed being let go over a dispute over a $400.00 bill. Luckily she came up with letters to prove that it had been paid.

[Jo March]

35. I just read your post - scary stuff

BTW, what happened to the young lady who was walked out? What type of company do you work for?

It's just going to get harder and harder to get a job. It's bad enough that hubby is disabled and we have to rely on my income but I work in IT which is disappearing quick, fast and in a hurry.

[chalky]

36. The young lady

went to a smaller company as temp. The smaller company doesn't have a credit check requirement. Yet.

And I work for a high tech manufacturing company. (Well, we were doing high tech manufacturing. Then all of our assembly jobs went overseas. Now our site is just administrative and project management. But that's another story.):eyes: