As we all know, the rate of
unemployment all over the US is staggering.
Many of these unemployed people are without jobs through no fault of
their own. Many companies are closing
their doors, and with so many people out of work and looking for jobs, this
gives employers a chance to try new methods of weeding out “undesirable”
candidates. One of the methods now being
used is to ask each candidate to agree to a credit check at the time an
application is submitted.
What does a credit check have to
do with one’s ability to work? Well,
according to employers, if someone has bad credit, they are considered a high
risk for corporate theft. So, if you
have bad credit, you will not be getting an interview. By using this theory, instead of creating a
time frame for 20 interviews, that number can be lowered to 5 or less with the
click of a button.
True, prospective employees
aren’t forced to submit to this credit check, however, if you don’t agree, your
application will not be considered. The
employers hold all the cards on this.
There are a few flaws with this
method of choosing potential employees:
1. Each time a credit check is run, it lowers
your credit score. Credit reporting
services don’t see this as an employment check; they just see it as you looking
to get approval to raise your credit limit or to add yet another credit account.
2. If you file applications with several
companies, all of which are receiving your credit report. This means that an unknown number of
strangers are privy to not only your credit score, but also know each bank and
amount you have credit with.
3. You will not be given a chance to explain
your low credit score. Employers don’t
care WHY the credit score is low; they just care that it IS low.
4. Employers don’t take into consideration that
you haven’t paid your bills because you’ve been unemployed. They see the low credit score and
automatically assume that you will steal from the company. It doesn’t seem to cross anyone’s mind that
you want a job not to steal, but to earn money to pay your bills in order to
raise your credit score.
