new employoment- credit check??

[txmomof3]

my husband has got an offer for a new job, of course contingent on a few things,
drug
alcohol
background
credit


has anyone been through this while in bankruptcy.. is this going to hurt us???


thanks

[woeisme]

probably really depends on the job. I used to work for the federal government at a weapons facility, and had to have security clearance (although low level clearance since I didn't work on anything classified) and they really didn't seem to care about whether or not you'd ever done drugs, had financial problems, etc., what they really cared about was whether or not you were honest about those kinds of things. The only people I ever heard of having problems getting clearance were the ones that tried to hide things, like that they smoked pot in college or were married but "in the closet" or that you used to be on a socialist newsletter listserve and such, because the stuff you don't want anyone else to know is leverage, while the stuff that everyone knows about is no big deal. My credit wasn't as terrible then as it is now, but I did have about 30K in loans and anothe 15-20K in credit debt at the time, and that was never an issue. And a huge number of people have BK in their credit history these days. But if it's for a financial institution, or something like that, they could consider it, I don't know. Hopefully it will just be one thing that they use as a criteria, not a litmus test for elimination.

[txmomof3]

thanks for your reply..

the position is for an operator at a chemcial plant..

so I cant see where it would be a problem.... but as many ropes we have had to jump to get where we are (almost at the 36 month of a 60mth plan) I always worry.....

[woeisme]

that sounds exactly like my job was (I'm a chemist) and they weren't really worried about my financial situation so much as worried that if I was hiding my debts from a spouse or whatever that I might be tempted to sell secrets or help out an agent of some foreign government or whatnot. So I think taking the legal protections of a bk to improve your financial situation, and it all being public record, they shouldn't hold it against an employee. At least that was my experience 10 years ago.

[brokeguy]

new job ???

I started a new job a year ago after a layoff (28years of service).I'm 2 years into a 13.After 6 months as a temp I was hired in June and had to go thru the application process.With the background check,they do a credit check .I wrote to a coroporate HR person and asked about the BK ?? and their response was that if I was in a fiduary position(handling money) -I might not be considered.I don't handle $$$ ..I work in the warehouse.My manager once said that the overtime we were working was putting the co. in BK-I thought it was odd that he mentioned it-I just worked hard and I did get hired.

[helpless]

My husband got a job during our 13, no questions were ever asked and they ran a credit check.

[Flamingo]

my husband has got an offer for a new job, of course contingent on a few things,
drug
alcohol
background
credit
has anyone been through this while in bankruptcy.. is this going to hurt us???
thanks

Unless your husband was going to be involved in handling money or have access to accounts or would need to be bonded, there probably will not be an issue. No one can really say for certain. The best thing to do if it really bothers your husband is to bring it up with the person he worked with in their HR Dept. who scheduled his interview, who he saw first, etc. Banks and financial institutions frown on bankruptcy and will not hire you if you have that on your credit report or just even have bad credit without banruptcy. The reason being is that there may be a risk that the prospective employee could try to embezzle funds since they are having or have had financial difficulties. No employer has to hire you if they feel there may be a problem as to your credit history or anything in your background check. The reason I know all this? I work closely with HR and Legal in a large corporation and have also worked at a large financial institution and saw many applicants denied after the credit check came in. One applicant was a woman who's husband filed bankruptcy (not her) and they divorced. That bankrtupcy was showing on her record even though she did not file. It created a huge problem for her but she eventually was hired. So any indication of financial difficulty can raise a red flag to an employer, especially in this day and age of identity theft and many internal employees embezzling funds or opening up fake accounts or credit cards, or writing checks to varous accounts which they end up cashing themselves.

The best thing to do is to go for the job and just be honest, competitive, positive and forthright.

[ssdsco]

I've done a lot of hiring over the years for IT and administrative positions.

Take a look at your credit reports so you know what a potential employer will see. If they show 6+ months of no new credit issues and you have a reasonable "story" about how you got into financial trouble and it's supported by what's in the credit reports you should be OK. Financial problems caused by job loss, divorce, medical problems were OK. I saw that all the time. The gambling story is not OK.

What's important is that you can demonstrate whatever caused your financial issues are resolved and won‘t impact your performance in a new job.

Unless asked I wouldn’t tell a potential employer about the financial issues until you’re offered the position. By that time the employer has his time invested you, doesn’t really want to go through the effort of finding someone else, and will be more likely to work with you on the financial issue. You may waste some of your time if they don’t hire you but it’s good interviewing experience.

Good luck.

[magyar123]

thanks for your reply..

the position is for an operator at a chemcial plant..

so I cant see where it would be a problem.... but as many ropes we have had to jump to get where we are (almost at the 36 month of a 60mth plan) I always worry.....

That position "operator at a chemical plant" will certainly require not only a detailed background investigation of you - Patriot Act/Homeland Security, but also a detailed credit check. The logic behind this is that persons with lousy credit/bankruptcies are more prone to accepting bribes and possibly sabotaging the plant's opration for $$$$.

[TiredandWeary]

My husband just started a brand new job a month ago after having been employed previously with his other job for 10 years! This was definitely a blessing for us in that this new job opportunity gave us a nice income boost and the potential for other things in the future for career growth. Anyway, this was an IT job that he took and we were worried about the background check, as well. He asked the employer to check with their H/R Dept. to find out if BK in his history would be a potential roadblock to his employment there, as my husband did not want to put in a two-weeks notice of leave to his other employer if there was a chance that this new job offer might not go through. His new employer said it was simply a criminal background check they were interested in. Apparently, the BK was not an issue and my husband did get the job offer! All is well now! But, I suppose that the only reason the BK wasn't a major issue was because his new job is not working with finances directly or anything like that.

[txmomof3]

thanks to all that have replied......

I guess I should have also said that my husband has worked for another chemical plant for the past 14 yrs without any problems.. He also had open ended credit cards in his name through the company and many many accounts as he is planner at this job....

we have never used any of that for personal use for any reason whatso ever...

so hopefully that will be to our advantage if questions are asked on our financial history..

thanks again..

[Hillbilly]

Three years ago my daughter was "let go" from her long held upper management position when the Company decided to "down-size" their staff and to eliminate as many of their high-pay, long seniority employees as possible. (employment-"at will" clause) []
She was unemployed for the next 8 months, until finding a part-time job as a teller at a local Credit Union, which incidentally, was the one where she had financed her expensive SUV just a few short months before being terminated from her former position.
As the CU job did not provide her enough hours, nor anywhere near enough income to meet even the most basic living expenses, it became necessary for her to file a Ch.7 BK, she lost her home, and returned her SUV, which she had already paid over $15k on, to the Credit Union, they, for their part, being fully aware of her financial straits, showed no ill will toward her, and even kept her on as an employee.
As the local economy did not significantly improve, and better paying, full-time employment could not be found, and the redemption period on her foreclosed home was running out, we all decided that it was in our best interests to relocate to another state.
Funny enough, one of the first available and offered jobs was as... a teller at a Credit Union!
She did have a job interview, and was assured that given her excellent references, her recent BK would be no obstacle. However, she ultimately chose to pass on it in favor of a higher paying job opportunity.
Just wanted to tell this to clarify that BK is not always an insurmountable obstacle to further employment within the financial sector.
Even the Banks and Credit Union's that we tend to shudder at, are still staffed by members of our own communities, most of whom are cognizant of local condition's, and indeed as was the case here, sometimes even have co-worker's, or even their own family members who are the innocent victims of business decisions and circumstances beyond their choice or control.