Should Credit Affect Chance of Job?

[ericaej]

As more potential employers conduct credit checks, do you feel that this should influence a job offer? I believe that a credit score is an arbitrary number that may or may not reflect poor choices made in the past.

I have bad credit. I admit I made mistakes in my past. I trusted too much and put myself in a dangerous financial position. I was a stay at home mother that relied on her husband for income. I was sixteen when I got married.

I've learned a lot since then, especially since going through a painful divorce. I have been trying to raise myself out of the mistakes. I want to help others. It's part of why I want to be a nurse. I want to set an example for my eleven year old. We all mess up. Some of us more badly than others, but we can't go around feeling sorry for ourselves.

We have to pick ourselves up and say, "Okay, this was not a good thing. I really messed up big time but I'm going to work to fix this." So how can someone work to fix it when you're going to be judged by the fact that you lost your house...your whole life...? If you have bad credit you're automatically a bad person or thief...? Dishonest? I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind it and wondered if anyone else is now in school due to divorce or the economy? Thoughts...? :)

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

It really doesn't matter what you or I think about it.

It is what is currently standard in much of the industry. You and I do not get to make that choice.

So it is moot what we think.

[ericaej]

Seven states have now banned employers from pulling credit scores. In this economy many people have faced bad financial times. If no one said anything about what they thought, then possibly women's suffrage might have never occurred. It's rather asinine that some employers think that one with bad credit is likely to be untrustworthy. "Deviant Behavior: Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups," states one is more likely to "embezzle funds if they have an unshared financial problem."

I am open about my bad credit and my efforts to raise myself out of that dark time in my life; as are many people in the same situation. It's rather a catch 22. You lose your job, get behind on your bills, but you can't get another job because now you're dishonest because you lost your job. Someone should stand up and do something about it. If you're willing to be responsible and want to make things right, you should have that opportunity. I want to help people, that's why I want to be a nurse. I'll move to another state if I have to but I'd love to stay where I am.