Does credit really affect your being hired for a job?

Question

I've had this debate with a friend. She seems to think that she was refused a job due to a consumer credit check. I told her if you are really good at what you do and have references to back it up ~ credit shouldn't be a problem. Because people lose jobs, have health problems, etc. ~ that they can't control. So, this shouldn't be a reflection of their ability to perform. I also told her that the only time a job rejection due to credit should be the case is if your job involves managing budgets ... or is "financial" in nature. She seems to think all jobs big or small can be adversely affected by bad credit. True or false? And, if it's true ~ wouldn't they be required to tell you?

Answer 1

I work in the financial field for a while and I can tell that in the financial field, like banks, mortgage companies, etc... credit does play a big role during the employment process. Once a person who had filed bankruptcy applied and was denied because of it. As to the other jobs, as far as I am aware, credit doesn't affect anything. I suppose that we can't generalize and at the end it will be up to each employer what what their hiring requirements are.

Answer 2

False, bad credit doesn't necessary mean that the applicant will be disqualified and screened out, unless, as you said, the job involves major financial decisions.

There are so much information on the credit report, most the of the time the employer would access info related to previous address, verification of identity (used for background checks), and if available list of previous employers.

It's my experience that this is one of the last steps that the employer would take when hiring someone, i.e., they won't run a background/credit check on someone during the screening process, rather closer/right before making an offer.

A candidate of interest usually signs something, other than a brief statement on the job application, to give the employer the right to have access to such information.

Answer 3

It would depend on the position. If it was a upper mgmt position where the applicant would be involved with handling finances of the company, yes her credit would affect her hiring status. If the job is an entry level warehouse/factory position, her credit score would not affect her being hired.