A Low Credit Score and the Job Hunt

According to a survey performed by VISA, the majority of people do not realize that a bad credit rating can hurt their chances of being hired for a job. What many people do not realize until they experience it firsthand is that companies have the right to refuse to hire job applicants because of the information in their credit reports.

Companies who reference your credit record as part of the employment process contend that your credit score is a good predictor of your character, judgment and reliability as an employee. Some consumer advocates argue against this and claim the practice is an unjust method of discriminating against applicants. Regardless of which side of the story you agree with, the fact remains that the information contained by the credit bureaus could have bearing on whether or not you are hired for a new job.

Tory Johnson of Good Morning America authored the article How Bad Credit Can Affect Job Prospects in which there are a number of helpful tips to think of when applying for a job. The first tip is finding out if the employer will request a copy of your credit reports. Prospective employers are required by law to get your approval before conducting a credit check so look through the small print of any application. You will typically find the consent statement in the small print where you lend your consent upon signing the application.

If you have good credit, you probably won't have anything to worry about. If, however, your credit reports show difficulties making timely payments or other credit issues, it is advised that you take steps to minimize their impact. Of course, if you don't know what is on your credit reports, make sure you request a copy of your reports before beginning the job hunt. You can request free copies of your reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.

If your score is sub-par because of reporting errors or other questionable damaging information listed in your credit reports, work to get these items corrected or removed. If you don't have time to take care of these issues before applying for a job, there are substantial benefits to correcting these issues so it is still advisable that you do so. But for the time being, you will have to try to help a prospective employer see past your bad credit score.

When you know an employer wants to perform a credit check, consider coming clean immediately instead of having to perform damage control after the fact. Many people with poor credit have perfectly reasonable circumstances such as unexpected unemployment, fallout from a divorce, or medical issues that can wreck havoc their credit rating. After confidently and truthfully explaining your situation, you may find that employers will be understanding of your difficulties.

Article Source: http://tk4.org

Since 1991, Lexington Law has been helping clients legally dispute the questionable negative information in their credit reports. To date, Lexington Law's credit repair services have assisted thousands of clients with disputing these credit listings resulting in over 1,000,000 removals in 2009 alone.

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