Credit/Background Checks

[tobee43]

They wouuldn't have asked you either as it is a discriminatory question...they won't ask if you are married, have kids, your race, religion, etc., etc. However, if you volunteer it, you are just giving them information they cannot ask from you.

exactly....but many people and a tendency to give up the kitchen sink at an interview....

[tobee43]

Being in the HR world, I can tell you, and I know this does not address your concerns but in the coming months and years, companies are going to be hard pressed to find anyone with good credit/no bk. I say that within a few-10 years, there will be a law made that you cannot discriminate based on race, religion, age, sexual orientation or CREDIT! Seriously...It is coming. Pretty soon, the credit challenged will be a protected class of people. Mark my words

And then maybe my insurance rates will go down??

LET's HOPE SO!!!

[queenfluff]

Being in the HR world, I can tell you, and I know this does not address your concerns but in the coming months and years, companies are going to be hard pressed to find anyone with good credit/no bk. I say that within a few-10 years, there will be a law made that you cannot discriminate based on race, religion, age, sexual orientation or CREDIT! Seriously...It is coming. Pretty soon, the credit challenged will be a protected class of people. Mark my words

And then maybe my insurance rates will go down??

Thank you tyson. Since being discharge a little over a year ago (I haven't been on here much), I haven't gotten called back for not ONE interviews and I applied at places I used to work at where I have very good reputation and standing at. My BK was for the basic reason that I couldn't find a job in time before I ran out of money to pay my credit card bills. I even cashed out my 401K - I am still paying taxes on that. I have no money (not even unemployed insurance - that is way gone), no medical insurance (and a bunch of health problems) - ugh. I got a few interviews BEFORE my BK filing but none since after. I honestly think that people who file BK are doing the more responsible thing rather than just letting the bills rot and ignore the Banks - my ex is doing that - he just stopped paying and they kept sending him notices for sueing and he still just ignores them - he has a partime job - I still it looks worse to ignore your bills than doing something about them. Prior to my BK, I never once was late with a bill - I had excellent credit. No assest Ch. 7 with only around $30K (all credit cards - three). Still NO Job interviews since than. I have revamped my resume countless times. I am highly qualified, have degrees - good work history until this recesssion.

Tyson, question: as an HR person, is it true that HR really using credit history/BK to just weed out more resumes so they don't have to review them all? Obviously I can see not reviewing the one who are not qualified for the job but if you have candidates who are qualified but one has a BK and the one has super bad credit - will the BK person not get a call for the interview even if they might even be MORE qualified than the bad credit person?

I know the economy is bad - lots of competition - but I find it very hard to believe that my resume is not getting tossed aside because of my BK. The only other thing might be the slight gap in my resume - but all unemployed people have a gap right now. FYI, these are NOT financial companies that I am applying too.

When do you think this law will go into effect? Of course, still how can one prove they are NOT being discriminated against because of this? I think they should NOT be allowed to do any credit credit UNTIL a pending employment offer is on the table? Employers should not be allowed to run checks on people who just send them resumes. I am pretty sure they do it with all these easy to use online checking services. Ugh.

[dspii]

Update!

Awesome news........I got two great job offers in one week, both are executive level positions. Of course, I accepted the big money job making twice my salary! Oh shucks, now I have to move to Lake Tahoe, oh whoa is me, yea right!

Sold my skills and talent, made them love me, watched out for the dreaded fine print (none found), got the awesome offer, called the VP of HR and said everything in my background is clean...except I have one blemish, I filed for bankruptcy. After a short pause, I asked if that would be a challenge for him or the company, he said "no that's a personal issue." I lost weeks of sleep worrying about the BK and absolutely dreaded the moment I had to bring it up. Upfront and honest is the best policy. Throughout the interview process, I sold my skills and talent, but I was ready at any moment with a short "no highlights", "downplayed" version of a blemish in my past.

The opportunity to discuss my BK never presented itself until my employment agreement stated an acceptable background check. I called and verbally accepted the offer stating I would send it in but wanted to be sure my blemish would not present a challenge. He never asked an explaination or reason, so I never offered one.

My advice, be prepared, don't wollow in the self pity and create a 10 minute story of why life is tough. Nor should you blame others for your problem. You were faced with a challenge, you made a tough decision in which you learned a great deal and you recovered from a challenging position. Never offer any more information than is asked, interviews are full of dead silence, don't feel obligated to fill the void with your personal problems. Be truthful, short and sweet, direct the conversation towards your skills and what you can do for the company. Don't hide from it, but if you think it will be discovered via background or credit check, be prepared to ask if a "blemish" will be a challenge for the hiring manager or the compnay.

[meateater]

dspii: that's terrific news! congrats on the new job! I like how you handled it.

Now I'll ask for your advice: My company is merging with another (smaller) company, the president is leaving, and someone new will be coming in. Technically, my job is ending, but I hope to continue to work at this place (under whatever name it gets) doing the same job (the merge is not changing the nature of the business, they'll still need people doing what I do). I'm acquainted with the person who will be coming in, and would expect to be kept on. However, no one knows of my bankruptcy (I filed after I started working at this company). In all probability there will not be new background checks for those of us currently employed. I don't plan to say anything about my past financial situation unless specifically asked. My company is often in the news, the departing and incoming presidents are well-known in the community.

Does my plan of not volunteering anything sound reasonable (or am I trying to justify the fact that I'm embarrassed and don't want to discuss my personal issues). I'm hoping it never comes up (but will be ready with something short to say if it does). Do you think that the fact you brought up the "blemish" made any difference (other than making you feel relieved when HR said it would not be a problem)?

I'm really happy the job worked out for you!
meateater

[dspii]

dspii: that's terrific news! congrats on the new job! I like how you handled it.

Does my plan of not volunteering anything sound reasonable (or am I trying to justify the fact that I'm embarrassed and don't want to discuss my personal issues). I'm hoping it never comes up (but will be ready with something short to say if it does). Do you think that the fact you brought up the "blemish" made any difference (other than making you feel relieved when HR said it would not be a problem)?

I'm really happy the job worked out for you!
meateater

Thanks...remember it's a non-issue unless your in a position for them to discover or you are asked. I was "upfront and honest" when I knew there was a high probability of it being discovered....background checks. I didn't just reveal, instead I was ready at any moment to ask if my blemish would be a challenge when the time presented itself. If the BK thing was on the application, I would have asked at that point.

[Flamingo]

Being in the HR world, I can tell you, and I know this does not address your concerns but in the coming months and years, companies are going to be hard pressed to find anyone with good credit/no bk. I say that within a few-10 years, there will be a law made that you cannot discriminate based on race, religion, age, sexual orientation or CREDIT! Seriously...It is coming. Pretty soon, the credit challenged will be a protected class of people. Mark my words

And then maybe my insurance rates will go down??

Many states have done away with insurance credit profiling. However, this I believe is not federal but decided at the state level. So if one resides in a state that does not allow insurance credit profiling, your house and car insurance rates would not be affected by bad credit and/or a BK filing.

Also, many folks think it is their BK holding them back from getting a position when it is not. They just may not qualify for the position, have the background or experienced the company is looking for and get bypassed by a better candidate. The company, in sending a letter to a rejected applicant, just states that another candidate was hired best suited for the position with no other reasoning which may be the actual truth but one feels it is their credit/BK that did them in. Tough to deal with in this economy...

[Flamingo]

Update!

Awesome news........I got two great job offers in one week, both are executive level positions. Of course, I accepted the big money job making twice my salary! Oh shucks, now I have to move to Lake Tahoe, oh whoa is me, yea right!

Sold my skills and talent, made them love me, watched out for the dreaded fine print (none found), got the awesome offer, called the VP of HR and said everything in my background is clean...except I have one blemish, I filed for bankruptcy. After a short pause, I asked if that would be a challenge for him or the company, he said "no that's a personal issue." I lost weeks of sleep worrying about the BK and absolutely dreaded the moment I had to bring it up. Upfront and honest is the best policy. Throughout the interview process, I sold my skills and talent, but I was ready at any moment with a short "no highlights", "downplayed" version of a blemish in my past.

The opportunity to discuss my BK never presented itself until my employment agreement stated an acceptable background check. I called and verbally accepted the offer stating I would send it in but wanted to be sure my blemish would not present a challenge. He never asked an explaination or reason, so I never offered one.

My advice, be prepared, don't wollow in the self pity and create a 10 minute story of why life is tough. Nor should you blame others for your problem. You were faced with a challenge, you made a tough decision in which you learned a great deal and you recovered from a challenging position. Never offer any more information than is asked, interviews are full of dead silence, don't feel obligated to fill the void with your personal problems. Be truthful, short and sweet, direct the conversation towards your skills and what you can do for the company. Don't hide from it, but if you think it will be discovered via background or credit check, be prepared to ask if a "blemish" will be a challenge for the hiring manager or the compnay.

I've stated for many months in this forum to do what you describe above and you are proof as to what being proactive and open and honest does and have the what the company is looking for. Congratulations and best of luck to you!

[Flamingo]

Your bankruptcy will have nothing to do with whether or not you are kept on after a merger - when two companies merge there are two of basically every department and cuts are almost always made and have nothing to do with what's on an employee's credit report. It all depends if the company wants to keep certain positions and certain departments or if they want to keep certain people in certain key positions. The only thing you can do right now is sit tight, do your job and show what a loyal hard working employee you are with a good work ethic and how much your position is needed within the new company. No one can legally divulge information to you as to what cuts will be made, who will be let go, etc. but it will have nothing to do with the BK on your credit reports. It's all business.

[backtoschool]

Your bankruptcy will have nothing to do with whether or not you are kept on after a merger - when two companies merge there are two of basically every department and cuts are almost always made and have nothing to do with what's on an employee's credit report. It all depends if the company wants to keep certain positions and certain departments or if they want to keep certain people in certain key positions. The only thing you can do right now is sit tight, do your job and show what a loyal hard working employee you are with a good work ethic and how much your position is needed within the new company. No one can legally divulge information to you as to what cuts will be made, who will be let go, etc. but it will have nothing to do with the BK on your credit reports. It's all business.

I totally agree with Flamingo except that I would add that if you work in financial services, you might have to have another background check as part of the merger audit that happens when two financial services companies merge. That is what just happened to me. The background check had nothing to do with decisions on headcount, but was required as part of the overall audit of the merger.

[dspii]

I've stated for many months in this forum to do what you describe above and you are proof as to what being proactive and open and honest does and have the what the company is looking for. Congratulations and best of luck to you!

It was your advice and the experience of others that prepared me for the dreaded "blemish talk"...for this I thank you personally. This forum is awesome!

[terah14]

dspii, I have read your post and really it was very touchy but up till now I can't able to understand that, why companies give more priority to the background check rather than person's quality. I am agree that companies have to gather information regarding the background of the the employee but they would have to give the highest priority to the quality of the person.

[dspii]

dspii, I have read your post and really it was very touchy but up till now I can't able to understand that, why companies give more priority to the background check rather than person's quality. I am agree that companies have to gather information regarding the background of the the employee but they would have to give the highest priority to the quality of the person.

What I discovered through the application and interviewing process is that some companies will use your background as a tool in the "final" decision making. Most companies will not run your credit report, even if you sign the dreaded fine print, until you have interviewed and are in contention for the job. Most jobs that I applied for were executive level which created a huge obstacle....more detailed checks and in my mind, I would be held to a much higher level of super clean background. Not the case in either of the job offers I received...a huge relief, but I can never get back the energy I wasted on worry and lost sleep.

If you read my follow up post that I wrote, the moral of the story is "be prepared". If they are going to use a credit/background check, they will typically do this (at least in my case) after the decision hire is made. Which means, you made them love you, you sold them your skills and talents now they want to offer you a job, if you pass their standards for a background check......again........pass their standards for a background check. Most times it will be almost impossible to find or know their standards. In my case, they offered the job, I verbally accepted and called the VP to see if my "one" blemish would be a challenge to the company. They will use my background check to verify my citizenship, name and SSN. I asked the HR Manager at the job offer I turned down what their standards were...she said almost the same thing but added everyones credit is trashed these days.

In my research, I found that some companies use the checks to exclude otherwise well qualified people...their loss right. Some companies have such strict policies and procedures in the screening process that I was actually happy to get turned away...I would hate to work for such unflexible company. The jest of the matter is that the credit bureaus and bakground check companies did a great job marketing the reports to weed out shady characters, like myself. To me if I found a well qualified person with a BK and our policy was tight, I would fight for the person, but thats me.

[CashNCarry]

dspii,

Thanks for sharing your story. I am in a similar position as you were at the beginning of your search and am collectively trying to organize my job search in an attempt to minimize the amount of time I am unemployed and find myself worrying about how the outcome of a bankruptcy (chapter 7) might affect my job search at the executive level. What I found most interesting about your story was that you mentioned one of the *large* companies you interviewed with withdrew interest after the credit check stage. Have you found smaller companies more amenable to working with you or were your other offers with equally large companies as well?

I am also concerned for my wifes career, she is an employee for a large insurance company and I am wondering if the insurance/financial industry in particular is more discriminatory with bankruptcy. Would you mind sharing what industry are you in? Thanks for taking the time to post and inspire all of us.

[dspii]

What I found most interesting about your story was that you mentioned one of the *large* companies you interviewed with withdrew interest after the credit check stage. Have you found smaller companies more amenable to working with you or were your other offers with equally large companies as well?

I am also concerned for my wifes career, she is an employee for a large insurance company and I am wondering if the insurance/financial industry in particular is more discriminatory with bankruptcy. Would you mind sharing what industry are you in? Thanks for taking the time to post and inspire all of us.

I found that large companies (Fortune 500 types) have less flexibility, more so because of cumbersome corporate structures and the levels of policy's written for policy's. This doesn't mean you cannot get in a big company, you can, just be prepared and make them love you. If you are being considered or have interviewed...be ready for the blemish talk early on. Don't disqualify yourself too early, but when the dreaded credit/background fine print comes up, be sure your prepared.

Small companies are little easier, as there is more flexibility, but sometimes there is also less experience with a BK and they stereotype it based on perception. Bottom line is never let you BK get in your way, you mad a tough decision and you have overcome the challenges...reach for the stars. Remember everyone, even the person interviewing you has done something in their life that they are not proud of, maybe not a BK, but they overcame and moved on.

You'll read a lot of posts regarding the insurance/financial sectors and jobs with a BK. Based on what I read, the results are varied, some good and some bad, no way to get a solid answer, it depends on too many variables. My industry....Services