applied for CNA job...and now a credit check?

[twinbee25]

Hi,

I am about to finish my 2nd semester of the ADN program here in Texas. I have applied for a summer CNA position. The lady just called me and asked if I was still interested in the position, and I said definitely! She then tells me they will start the background check and that takes about 48hrs. I am not worried about a criminal background check...but they will do a credit check also. I had fair credit before going back to school, but since school, my credit has gone south b/c of strained finances that go along with being a single mom/fulltime student.

I really need this summer job!!! Can a hospital not hire you b/c of bad credit?

Any advice/encouragement is greatly appreciated!!!

I am unable to sleep due to various stress factors in my life right now....and now I have to wait 48hrs before I know if I get the job or not!!??!!

anyone else been in this situation before? if so, how did it turn out?

thanks!

[Jo Dirt]

...

Poor financial planning reaks enough havoc on your life - I don't think it should be a determining factor for whether or not you get a job, but it could be used to judge your moral character and motivations. Someone in $20,000 debt with slow pays on most bills for the last 2 years might be more motivated to steal (and hence a bigger risk for the employer) than someone who did not have these issues.

I am not condeming, just looking at the picture from a different viewpoint. If you have bad credit, you got yourself there, but you CAN get yourself out of it too. Take ownership of your responsibility in the situation and commit to straightening things out.

Warning...if you think credit and debt is a good thing do not read any further or you will become angry.

You didn't say a thing I dont agree with, and I think deep down everyone knows this is true.

But I have an even better idea: dump credit altogether. Scrimp and save and pay cash as you go along. There are really very few things you need credit for, aside from a house, and even then it should not rule your life/finances. And no, you DO NOT need a credit history to buy a house. Even apartment landlords who require credit checks are in general reasonable enough to understand that having a credit report isn't always an indicator of whether you are of good enough character to rent and be responsible. As a landlord I would be much more impressed with someone who lived WITHIN their means, paid cash instead of using credit and was free from the shackles of debt. It is such a shame we live in a society based on debt. People who feel "entitled" to have crap they can't afford. Instead of saving and waiting like a responsible adult they stomp their feet and have to have it now.

Waaa!

The debtor is slave to the creditor, why are people content being slaves? I don't owe anyone a thing. My old house is even bought and paid for. Nothing fancy, but it's comfortable and serves its purpose and I'll bet I've got more piece of mind than the yuppie with the seadoo's and cars and credit cards and the house they can't afford because they feel entitled to it.

Sorry, I don't do credit. I signed a note for a car a couple of years ago and it was the first and last time I will EVER do that. If I can't pay cash for my cars from now on I will do without.

What I'm trying to say, essentially, is any employer who wouldn't hire you because you don't have a history of going into debt isn't an employer worth working for.

[z's playa]

I dont do credit either...never have...and I STILL have bad credit. So it really doesn't matter. Never trust an ex bf is all I can say.

Z

[Sheri257]

I've never had a job that checked my credit and think that is an invasion of my privacy. And scary.

They can't check your credit without an authorization form. It's usually included with the job application. So, technically, it's not a violation of your privacy. If you don't sign it then they can't check your credit. Although some employers also don't consider the application if you don't sign it.

Some of the hospitals are checking credit even when you apply for student nurse work programs. It seems to be the standard these days. I guess they consider it a reflection of your character.

I have good credit but there are a couple of old bad items that will be gone when I graduate from school. So, I'm grappling with the question of whether I should hold off on the credit check (and job application) until then when my credit will be absolutely crystal clear. Why have a report on file with a couple of bad items when those items will be gone in just one year? But, that also limits my options for student nurse programs before I graduate. So ... I dunno what to do.

[Sheri257]

don't know how bad is bad but if you get this job try and clean up as much as you can you will need a good credit rating for student loans, apt acceptance and many other things...

The fact is: you really can't clean up bad credit. Yes, you can pay some of the old bills, and that helps a little bit. But the fact that you didn't pay those bills stays on your record for seven years. The only real way to "clean up" credit is to pay all your bills, on time, without fail for at least two years. You'll still have problems, but at least you've re-established a good credit history of some kind.

[Sheri257]

I realize that I will have an OPINION that probably represents the minority, but here goes:

To me, credit history is a sign of personal responsibility and moral character. When you buy something on credit, vendors are not giving merchandise to you. You are PROMISING to repay the creditor. To me, if you know you cannot repay your debts and continue to spend, that is stealing (or at the very least dishonost).

Now, that may seem harsh and I apologize if I offended people. I know that many of us have a hard time managing our money - the problem lies more in managing our desires and wants than our money. We live in a GIVE ME society that has no concept of delayed gratification (buy it when you can afford it). The messages of "you can have it now" are everywhere..... and no one is asking you, "hey, do you really need that... and ....do you know how long it is going to take to pay for it.... and....... do you know what it will cost you in the long run....and ......what is that going to do to your savings/emergency fund..."

We don't teach our children how to manage money (because most of the parents struggle with debt issues). You never get lessons in finances in school (middle school, high school, college). We (anyone old enough to read this post) HAVE to stop the cycle and start teaching ourselves and our kids the important life lessons of money management. If you need guidance, ask for it, but start fixing the mess today.

Poor financial planning reaks enough havoc on your life - I don't think it should be a determining factor for whether or not you get a job, but it could be used to judge your moral character and motivations. Someone in $20,000 debt with slow pays on most bills for the last 2 years might be more motivated to steal (and hence a bigger risk for the employer) than someone who did not have these issues.

I am not condeming, just looking at the picture from a different viewpoint. If you have bad credit, you got yourself there, but you CAN get yourself out of it too. Take ownership of your responsibility in the situation and commit to straightening things out.

I tend to agree with this. Even though I too have been guilty of screwing up credit in the past.

If I was an employer, I'd definitely would look at credit. So, I don't blame them.

[JHUBRAIN]

That is kinda foolish because all credit problems don't mean your irresponsible, some cases your a victim of circumstances - I know your not saying that, but I think I would work elsewhere

Around here, it is very common for the agencies (home health) to check credit. One place I worked point blank said if your credit isnt decent, don't bother. The rationale was if someone is irresponsible in one area of their life, the will tend to be irresposible in others as well. Secondly, if you are doing private duty in peoples homes, there is a huge opprotunity to steal if you wanted to. I was doing CNA work for someone once and folded towels that had been washed. I went to put them away and felt a piece of paper in the stack, pulled it out and it was the lip of an envelope filled with money. I took it to the pt and told her I had found it.

But, any reasonable adult knows there is a difference when one incident pushes you over the financial edge and a pattern of behavior. That shows on the report too. I used to work for Macys and they had a policy of terminating you if two companies garnished you in the same year.

Laura

[Sheri257]

Twinbee, from my experience working in management I know that when some places say they are going to do a background check it is usually only a criminal background check. Even though they say they are going to do a credit check they usually don't unless the position has to do with handling financial information or cash transactions. It costs them money to hit the credit bureaus every time they do a credit check, and if they did one for everybody who applies for a job it would cut real deep into their budget at the end of the year.

Trust me when I tell you that management is loathe to spend money on stuff like this. Some of them are so tight when it comes to money that they aren't willing even to pay for a national criminal background check. All they do is a quick thing with the state DMV and that's about it.

I'm sure this is possible but, I wonder, why do they bother with the credit check authorization in the first place? Especially if they have no intention of using it?

[Gennaver, MSN]

Every healthcare job I have ever applied for I had to consent to a credit check.

Me too, for hospitals, nursing homes, home health and !!!!even to work at the local menards!!!

They've all gone crazy I think.

Gen

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

They can't check your credit without an authorization form. It's usually included with the job application. So, technically, it's not a violation of your privacy. If you don't sign it then they can't check your credit. Although some employers also don't consider the application if you don't sign it.

Some of the hospitals are checking credit even when you apply for student nurse work programs. It seems to be the standard these days. I guess they consider it a reflection of your character.

I have good credit but there are a couple of old bad items that will be gone when I graduate from school. So, I'm grappling with the question of whether I should hold off on the credit check (and job application) until then when my credit will be absolutely crystal clear. Why have a report on file with a couple of bad items when those items will be gone in just one year? But, that also limits my options for student nurse programs before I graduate. So ... I dunno what to do.

Lizz - since this has never happened to me and in the op's post there was nothing about the fact that the credit check has to be ok'd by the person applying for the job, I had no idea that I could ok it or not ok it. I thought a company could just go check your credit without permission. Now that I know, just out of principle, I would say no, it is none of your business - even if I had great credit (which right now we do).

I agree that alot of people have bad spending habits but that does not mean they will steal jewelry from little old ladies.

Also, there are many reasons for being unable to pay bills on time . . having a spouse who works seasonally is one. You can set aside money from each check in order to make it through the winter and winter can come a few months early and shut down a job and then you are left with less money than you need. Smaller payments to creditors still show up as "bad credit".

I guess my point is having financial difficulties does not mean you are a risk to patients.

If you are unethical you can be unethical even if you have great credit.

I don't see the link between having "bad credit" and "bad behavior".

steph

[Sheri257]

I thought a company could just go check your credit without permission.

Nah. They have to get that written authorization, which is usually included in the application. Otherwise, it's a violation of federal law.

As far as the issue of whether it reflects on a person's character, I can see both sides but, if I was an employer and don't know someone, I'd probably use every resource available to check them out.

It also depends on the credit report. And there are also different degrees of "bad credit." If somebody doesn't pay any bills, that's one thing versus a few bad marks here and there.

Whatever the case may be, these days you really have to work at maintaining good credit. Employers aren't the only ones who use it. Insurance companies also use it because, supposedly, people with better credit file less claims.

Whether we like it or not, credit checks are becoming more common than not.

[KMSRN]

I agree that alot of people have bad spending habits but that does not mean they will steal jewelry from little old ladies.

Also, there are many reasons for being unable to pay bills on time . . having a spouse who works seasonally is one. You can set aside money from each check in order to make it through the winter and winter can come a few months early and shut down a job and then you are left with less money than you need. Smaller payments to creditors still show up as "bad credit".

I guess my point is having financial difficulties does not mean you are a risk to patients.

If you are unethical you can be unethical even if you have great credit.

I don't see the link between having "bad credit" and "bad behavior".

steph

As previously posted, if you buy something on credit and don't pay the bills, as agreed, you are stealing. It is a character issue (most of the time). If you will steal from the credit card company or the landlord, or the bank, why should I believe you wouldn't steal from me given the opportunity.

Identity theft is another issue - it should be much easier to clear that up than it is. And sometimes things happen and people are unable to pay through no fault of their own. The vast majority of the time it is irresponsibility, and who wants an irresponsible nurse?

[Sheri257]

The vast majority of the time it is irresponsibility, and who wants an irresponsible nurse?

Yeah, this is the problem. I don't know why people don't think bad credit is bad behavior. It usually is (identify theft excluded, of course). This is also why I don't lend money to "friends" anymore because they never paid it back. Needless to say, those people aren't "friends" anymore.

In my case, the debt was my responsibility. A lot of things were out of my control, but that's still no excuse on my part. I assumed the obligation, and I should have paid for it. End of story. My fault.

I guess people don't really care until there are consequences. I am guilty of this as well. But this is also why there's a credit report system in the first place. It's one of the mechanisms in place to get people to pay their bills because, it's really hard to get them to pay otherwise.