2 Friends have had their job offers receinded

[lillymarlene]

Years ago my father had a chance to hire an individual who mentioned that he had recently filed for bankruptcy. In those days I guess people would more often come out and say to somebody why they wouldn't hire them. My father quickly told the applicant he just would not consider anyone who had filed bankruptcy.

I agree it's speculation, and is unprovable, but unfortunately there is probaly a lot of employers around who still think the same way.

[AllMyDefault]

Why would anyone "tell on" themselves if it's not brought up? Unless it's germane to the job (financial) then it might be relevant and even then, job loss in a bad economy is NO indication of honesty. There are people with pristine credit who would embezzle. There are people with horrendous credit who wouldn't take a paper clip that didn't belong to them.

Personally, I just wouldn't bring it up. You never know what a cosseted, goody two shoes you might be talking to. It's giving them a reason not to hire you. If they find out and it's a deal breaker, so be it. Meanwhile be on your own side. It's actually none of their business really. The whole credit check thing is done in part because it is easier to discriminate. That's one reason why I have no respect for it.

[katztoo]

When we were in the middle of our Chapter 13 my husband had a job offer retracted after a credit/background check. The job had nothing to do with handling money. He did get a similar job with another company shortly after that one taht did not do credit checks, just criminal checks. Not much you can do about it...it does stink.

[ksgirl38]

Why would anyone "tell on" themselves if it's not brought up? Unless it's germane to the job (financial) then it might be relevant and even then, job loss in a bad economy is NO indication of honesty. There are people with pristine credit who would embezzle. There are people with horrendous credit who wouldn't take a paper clip that didn't belong to them.

Personally, I just wouldn't bring it up. You never know what a cosseted, goody two shoes you might be talking to. It's giving them a reason not to hire you. If they find out and it's a deal breaker, so be it. Meanwhile be on your own side. It's actually none of their business really. The whole credit check thing is done in part because it is easier to discriminate. That's one reason why I have no respect for it.

I agree, I operate on a strictly "don't ask, don't tell" philosophy. If it's really important they'll ask, but generally speaking I can see where it would be all that relevant outside the financial world. Why give them a reason to reject you.

[joshuagraham]

It seems that with the dearth of good jobs, employers can be as picky as the want to be, so they simply take the attitude that someone who has gone through bankruptcy cannot be better than someone who has not, all other attributes equal.

[joshuagraham]

[kberly69]

Unless you are asked, DO NOT MENTION IT. If asked, be honest. If they're going to check, they will. Every employer has their own policies about negatives on records and how they're handled. I work for an agency that asks about felonies and driving record but it isn't an instant disqualification. If we're interested, we get more details and go from there.
If you have two candidates that come out equal in all respects and one tells you, unsolicited, that they've been through bankruptcy, it opens a door to imagining the circumstances and likely tips the scale in the other direction. In my opinion, there is no reason whatsoever to bring it up unless asked directly.