Credit checks for employment

[debtisbad]

I have no job. I am seeking employment. I was once a very well paid marketing professional. Now jobs are miniscule. Everywhere I go, I have to sign a paper stating that I am willing for them to conduct a background check. My BK (which is being filed tommorrow) has nothing to do with my accountability in a job. My house fell down in GA. It was only 3 years old. I pulled out of my drive on a Sat morning and bricks were laying in my front yard. I looked up and saw my porch dangling off the structure. Contacted atty. Contacted everyone. There is no consumer protection for homes in GA. Builders do not need licensing. Hairdressers do. I went all the way to Sonny Perdue's office. Contacted local officials. My atty even told me not to bother to sue, that this happens all the time. I emptied my 401k and maxxed out card to fix house. Homeowners assoc even threatened to sue me. I sold house after it was fixed but lost all equity. I want to live in an RV (I have children so trying to figure out how to do this) I am scared of home ownership, builders, lenders, ect. I am getting off target now. I am still p*ssed about these credit checks. No one gives a d*mn in this country anymore. I am convinced of that. Sorry such a long rant.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

I'm really sorry to hear about all of that. I would probably not believe you if I didn't know from living near the georgia border, that there is no building code in georgia and people can build houses out of sticks and grass and mud and clay then sell them. Hopefully georgia never sees a hurricane like new orleans did.

[debtisbad]

100% true. Oh and my rebuilder told me about fixes in St. Marlo where the chimney fell into the house. St. Marlo is a million dollar neighborhood north of Atlanta in Alpharetta.

[GoingDown]

Wow, I had no idea that Georgia was like that. Arizona has such strict standards for everything except proving that the planned community has a reliable source of water for the future. That's what will come back to haunt us in the future-- a lack of sustainable drinking water.

But back to the issue of credit checks for employment. I think that employers are going to have to start relaxing their standards a bit about not hiring employees with bad credit because eventually the majority of our population is going to have bad credit. Most people are just one missed paycheck away from economic meltdown because they are so deep in debt on both their mortgages and credit cards, and now many employers are thinking about scrapping health insurance coverage, too.

[HopeinHorizon]

As far as the credit check for employment goes, everywhere I reads talks about reasoning...

I got a letter from my surgeon stating she had not seen me prior to 7/4/05, and that I had surgery the same day, so that when I tell them I had emergency surgery and kept me out of work with no time to prepare financially for it they will hopefully still look at me for employment...

Can you get an appraiser to draft a letter of the horrible contracting as a backup to your word on an interview?

[debtisbad]

Hope,

I have loads of pictures of the house melt-down. I actually would have contacted the Atlanta Journal newspaper, but did not want that much publicity as I knew I had to sell the house. Was afraid that would make it difficult to sell. In the end, it did anyway. I now live in a small ranch that I feel like I was forced to buy. My husband and MIL said "can't rent, just throwing money away, kids will be surrounded by pedophiles" They are both caught up in this homeownership thing (like the rest of the USA) You get the picture. I will never listen to anyone again--including my husband, and he knows it!

[Rover]

Do you know that you have been turned down for employment because of a credit check?

[robivi3]

It's the one good thing i cay about Dade and Broward post Andrew, you get a house built here, you get a damned good house, damned strong. Sorry to here about your misfortune.

Goingdown. glad to know that, I have a lot out in AZ.

[debtisbad]

Rover,

I do not know that I have been turned down for employment because of a credit check. However, anywhere you go today for employment they will ask you to sign a form for them to pull your credit. Basically, they believe that if you have a BK you are a deadbeat and will not work at all. NOT TRUE. But they have not realized this. I understand a criminal background check, a drug check, but really do they need to know my credit score (which sucks).

[poorme]

I have been out of work since July, '05 and this week I finally received a very nice job offer. I'm sweating the credit review also as part of the 'background' check, and have decided to be honest withe them BEFORE they pull it and explain that I have a bk showing. Fortunately, they seem to want me for the position, and I'm hopeful I can get to work soon.

In this post-Enron world we live in it's unfortunate that some people have convinced employers and stockholders that financially stressed workers aren't always making good decisions everyday. And it's likely that a few have taken advantage of the corporate credit card to their employer's detriment.

Good luck to us!

[edwards2]

poorme - good for you being upfront. At least that way you can explain what happened instead of the company assuming what did. No matter what we all do BK filers are still stereotyped. The country is forgiving of corporate america doing it but for the middle class citizen they are still sometimes labelled as deadbeats. I always feel compelled to explain what happen to us. I guess it will always be embarrassing to me. I know this feeling will eventually pass but for now it is still alive and well. Good luck with your job..

[13inOR]

My husband is applying for a job with the school district as an electrician.
I am a little nervous now about them turning him down because of the bk.
He is completely and totally qualified in every single way, so it will be interesting to see if this impacts it. I really hope it doesnt, he has his heart set on this job so much. He has had the same job for 10 years but feels its time to make a change to something with better benefits. I will let you know if it comes up. The job has nothing to do with money so it would seem like it wouldnt be a factor, but who knows??

[debtisbad]

13,

employment with school district should be fine. I would doubt that they would do a credit check. It is corporate america that seems to want the credit numbers. For example, the last company I worked as a marketing rep at sent out a letter that they were going to run credit checks on all new hires. They felt it would give them a better caliber of individuals. Personally, I think that this is something that has been sold to company's and is the "flavor of the day". Choicepoint is making out like a bandit in all of this!

[coolbreaker]

you're right about no one giving a damn about this country no more