Might my employment chances suffer due to poor credit?

We all know about how important your credit score is to your chances of securing credit. If you have lived your life in a way that has created an adverse credit score over the last few years, it will be difficult for you to acquire a mortgage from a lender, or to find a personal loan through traditional lending streams. There are adverse credit loan lenders on the market who can help you out in these situations, and this is fantastic, but are there other implications to having a bad credit score? Could a poor credit history impact you when you are applying for a new job for example?

Prospective employers always check out your history, of course they do. This includes your past employers and education qualifications, as they need to find out that you are who you say you are and that you have the relevant skills and experience for the job role you have applied for. An employer has to be careful about what type of information they seek out on a potential candidate applying for a role within their company, but credit data is something that is easily found. If you have a bad credit score or poor financial history behind you, it is only natural that you might be worried that this could impact on a job application and upcoming job interview.

Of course, a potential employer must first seek permission from you to check your credit rating. This puts you in a tricky position if you do have bad credit, as you do not want to refuse this straight away, as it might seem that you have something to hide. On the other hand, if you feel fully qualified and capable to take on the job, why should a bad credit score impact your potential to be given the job by a new employer. Most companies won’t carry out random credit checks on applicants, as this is time consuming, but there could be certain stages of an application or during your career, where a credit check does come up.

A job application – the first place you might see a credit check when it comes to employment is during a job application itself. There are some employers who request approval during the initial application process. It doesn’t happen every time, but it is sometimes used as a way of judging whether a candidate is suitable for the role or not prior to the job interview stage.

Job promotion – There are some businesses that conduct a thorough review of all aspects of your work and life before committing to offering you a new role or promoting you to a management position. This will usually depend on the type of role and the specifics of the tasks associated with the job.

Identity check – During any stage of your employment or application for a job, a credit check is a fast and effective way to check the identity of a person.

You should never worry about a poor credit score impacting your ability to keep a job you are currently in. It would be poor practice for an employer to fire you because you have bad credit. It might impact a promotion or new job if your file doesn’t match the requirements and criteria though.