Bloody Hell. My prospective employer has asked for a credit check.

[eppur_se_muova]

I was told they would need a "background" check, which I took to mean a check of police records, previous employers, etc. No, they're explicitly asking for my signature to do a credit check. This is a part time lecture position having nothing to do with financial services or even running a cash register. (Of course this is perfectly legal in AL.) They need a lecturer ASAP -- classes start next week -- but for some reason they're willing to wait a week for a credit check. I'm half inclined to tell them to just f*** off but I'd hate to burn my bridges with a univ. that's actually in my home town. When I've encountered online job applications that required a credit check I have NOT given permission and have just dropped the application. That's a lot harder to do, even for the principle of the thing, with an offer virtually in hand.

I've been unemployed for most of the last four years and long ago exhausted my student loan deferments so of course my loans are in default and my credit score is absolute crap. I know some states won't hire anyone for a university position if their student loans are in default. Apparently keeping PhD's in poverty is more important than trying to make sure students have good instructors. Right now I suspect I won't get the job whether I give them permission to do the credit check or not.

A pox on people who handle other people's money for a living and believe that makes them a superior species. Credit reports are just gossip sheets for the financial class.

[mackerel]

1. It's common place now. It's been happening since about 2008.

Even for non-financial positions.

[Hoyt]

2. I'd give them permission. They might be understanding. If you don't sign, you

are definitely screwed. I've worked places where you had to sign the paper, but no one really cared what the results were.

[progressoid]

3. A university is doing this?

That's nuts.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. State university. Gotta be careful with the taxpayers' funds, doncha know ! nt

[KatyaR]

13. Oklahoma now has a law

that you can't work for the state or a state entity if you owe back taxes. I wonder if that's why they want to check.

[avebury]

14. Not only that, but at the agency I work for, if you

hold a position dealing with money you now are subjected to annual criminal background checks. This came about after one of our now former employees is alleged to have taken money from the parents of a girls softball team he coached to buy gear and cover travel expenses and then he kept the money.

[dballance]

4. Tell them fucking NO.

These days so many people have bad credit due to the great recession.

Also there is no correlation between one's credit rating and job performance that has ever been proven.

The last time I was hired for a job I refused to give permission for a credit check. I still got the job with just a background check.

I don't find a background check as offensive as a credit check since I've never been arrested for theft or other misdeeds. I think it okay to run a background check as part of the process of hiring people so that a company can determine if there is some nefarious behavior in a candidate's behavior.

[R B Garr]

6. That's great! Good to know you can assert yourself like that

and remain empowered through the hiring process. Great example!

[R B Garr]

5. If you've had deferments, then that shows you were trying to manage

the debt. Is there a contact at the prospective job you feel comfortable talking to about this. They'll know one way or another, so an initial dialogue might save you some grief. Do you know what your score is? That might help in your conversations if you know what it is. From what I've been reading, it's the revolving accounts like credit cards that weigh most heavily in your score rather than installment payments.

In the meantime, WSJ and (I think) USA Today had articles about FICO revising some credit score weighting that will help borrowers. I remember from the article that medical bills would be weighted less and paid collections could be deleted from the report after they're paid. I forgot if it mentioned student loans, but there are ways to tackle that besides deferments. I've seen threads here with contact numbers, etc.

I agree about credit reports being gossip and bragging sheets. For cripes sake, I can't understand why running your report can lower your score -- shouldn't they be encouraging people to do that instead of penalizing them right away just for pulling your report.

Good luck. See how it plays out with your comfort level. It might be fine.

[R B Garr]

7. Oh, and in my recent reading...Warren Buffet has just an average credit score.

You would expect it to be the highest ever with his billions, but I read that it's 718, and that certainly isn't a true reflection of his worth. Obviously he's not living above his means, so a credit score is often not seen as a reliable indicator of responsibility.

[whistler162]

8. Talk to someone and tell them

your credit report will look like crap due to your long term unemployment.

If they are going to turn you down because of the credit report at least you know you were honest with them and warned them that it was bad.

[magical thyme]

11. agreed. I think this is the best option. nt

[Kali]

15. this

[orleans]

9. maybe they are concerned people with bad credit will steal paper clips & stamps

i never heard of such a thing

but you might as well go for it and like someone else said, warn them ahead of time.

i'm sorry.

wishing you the best of luck with this. i hope you get the job!

[onecent]

12. Hell they run Credit checks for people who rent apartments....and

that's probably NOT a bad idea....but from where I'm looking it appears over 60% of the population doesn't have very good credit.

The government has taken so many fucking jobs overseas, I would think they wouldn't expect
an 800 credit score.