Credit checks for job applicants become more common
Can being late with some credit card and other loan payments cost you your dream job?
Let’s say there’s a competition between you and another person for that great position you’ve worked so hard for and your interviewer asks permission to run a credit report.
Unfortunately, if you’re both equal in every other way, a nasty credit report could be your downfall. “The employer could decide that the person with the cleaner report would be a better employee,” says Shawn Smith, a human resources consultant based in Harrison, N.Y. “It is a debatable point, though, since there’s no objective proof that people with good credit work better than anyone else, but it’s the employer’s call.”
Traditionally, a credit check has been routine for anyone entering a field where they’re handling money (such as a bank teller, cashier or accountant) or in professions where the applicant may have access to people’s homes and property (such as a police officer, firefighter, paramedic or home health care provider). The logic is simple: If you’re having problems with your personal finances and your job puts you in contact with cash, checks or someone else’s valuables, the temptation to steal may get the best of you.
