Credit checks to obtain jobs?

[OneTimeSBX]

ok, got a ? for everyone. have any of you been denied employment because of your credit?

my fiance is a chef. he has been cooking since the age of 15, he's 30 now, and he has a degree in culinary arts. right now he is a sous chef at a local country club. that said, he knows what the hell he's doing.

since we just had a baby in October, he decided to find a job that paid more and applied to a management position 45 minutes away. he has plenty of management experience, by the way. He went for 2 interviews (which means a hell of a lot of gas) and was told as he was leaving the second day, they couldnt hire him for the management position because of a few credit issues.

ok, yes, he has a few issues. he was the only one working for a while during my UNPAID maternity leave, my layoff two years ago, and since november when i was fired from my job so that they could afford to bring back an old employee (please dont ask ) he has been our sole breadwinner holding down the rent, two car notes, and utilities. Why on earth do companies feel its necessary to deny a person employment when all they want to do is better themselves and FIX their messed up credit?

i completely understand jobs dealing w/money. i worked for a bank for 2 years and had a manager that stole 50k from a customer so i absolutely agree with denying jobs in that situation. but a chef?? come on now...

[SydneyK]

I can't tell if you're asking a rhetorical question, just ranting, or actually wanting opinions here. In case it's the latter: many employers equate good credit with dependability and responsibility.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

many employers equate good credit with dependability and responsibility.

True, but I also can't imagine the need to do a credit check for a chef. That seems like they're overdoing it. I used to work for a bank like the OP, and it completely makes sense in that occupation. Not so much for a chef.

[Still BLUTANG]

i guess its moreso b/c he's applying to be in management as opposed to being on the line? i mean, i don't know the particulars but in general managers are held to more stringent standards.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Still BLUTANG

i guess its moreso b/c he's applying to be in management as opposed to being on the line? i mean, i don't know the particulars but in general managers are held to more stringent standards.

YES. Not only that, he might be in charge of food ordering and things like that where he'd have access to company accounts.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by 33girl

YES. Not only that, he might be in charge of food ordering and things like that where he'd have access to company accounts.

A management position would have access to that, and possibly be dealing with the registers, etc.

I have no problem with employers doing credit checks. If I was hiring someone who could in any way access company funds, I would want to be assured that they are reliable and responsible with money.

[Benzgirl]

A lot more companies are doing credit checks and turning down candidates for fear they will steal, take kick-backs or walk out with equipment. This is particularly true with anyone who has access to vendors. I've known contracts to be awarded to vendors based on favors. Then, the company finds out that this $$$$$$ system sucks and their employee awarded it based on the "friends and family plan"

[OneTimeSBX]

he would be managing a kitchen at a private school, so no, he wouldnt be running any registers. and they are so strict that every order has to be placed with the Headmaster, so in that case he would have a hard time fixing orders too!

i understand responsibility with money can show responsibility in other areas, but it can be hard to get ahead when things have gone wrong...we were doing fine until i got laid off two years ago and its been one thing after another. now, he has a hard time getting a really good job due to things out of our control.

for example, my friends mom was forced to fire/lay off an employee who had fallen WAAAAY behind on her bills. why? because her husband left her with three kids. is it fair for her credit to impact her? that doesnt show irresponsibility, if anything the fact that she was doing her best shows some maturity. things happen!

[kddani]

A lot of people believe that you shouldn't buy things with money that doesn't belong to you, then not pay it back...

It is downright sad how many people think nothing of running up their credit card bills, then thinking they don't have to pay the 1,000's of dollars they spent. And won't even attempt to try to pay them off, not even bothering to make payments. And then, they act all surprised and upset when it gets held against them at some point in time!!!

So many people with credit card debt are not spending it on necessities. They're spending it at expensive stores, electronics stores, going on vacation. When the creditors or even the attorneys come knocking on the door, then they cry poor.

I do a small amount of collections work sometimes. I have heard every excuse in the book. Every sob store. Divorce, custody battles, failed businesses, etc. Yet when I pull these people's statements, they're not buying life necessities. They're buying luxuries. This is true for 95% of cases that I see.

I know plenty of people who have fallen on hard times but didn't resort to credit cards to carry on with their previous lifestyles. They cut back, scaled down, and did without. It can be done without running up credit card debt.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

I can't tell if you're asking a rhetorical question, just ranting, or actually wanting opinions here. In case it's the latter: many employers equate good credit with dependability and responsibility.

agreed... not only that, my company does credit checks because in a huge portion of their positions the employees have either corporate cards or expense accts. The reason for those is for business related expenses and the company takes care of sending payments once expense reports are done, but I don't think they can hire you if the corporate card issuer wouldn't give you a corporate card b/c you have a credit rating of 200.

[tld221]

this just happened to my mom - she works as a teller and they pulled her credit report. its not awesome, the only thing major on it is an old unpaid cell phone bill. the company she applied to told her she had to get a statement saying she was making payments before they continued to consider her for the position.

insane. i mean it makes logical sense, but this post-9/11 world we live in has gotten ridiculous.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by tld221

insane. i mean it makes logical sense, but this post-9/11 world we live in has gotten ridiculous.

It has nothing to do with RICO. Many companies, including mine, did it before 9/11.

[windinthewillow]

I agree with kddani. I fell on hard times myself right after college. I simply did without, and made due with what I had. I clipped coupons, I bought food on sale, I bought no new clothes, never went out to eat, and I did extra jobs on the side when I could. I never got into debt.

[KSigkid]

I don't see any problem with it. Then again, maybe it's because I'll be applying for the bar in a couple of years, and EVERYTHING about my life will be open to examination.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by tld221

this just happened to my mom - she works as a teller and they pulled her credit report. its not awesome, the only thing major on it is an old unpaid cell phone bill. the company she applied to told her she had to get a statement saying she was making payments before they continued to consider her for the position.

insane. i mean it makes logical sense, but this post-9/11 world we live in has gotten ridiculous.

Companies have been doing credit checks on potential employees for YEARS. Anyone who is in the position of dealing with money (directly or indirectly, budgets, merchandise, managing operations, managing people & salaries, etc. - they require a certain level of presumed responsibility. When you apply for a job, there is usually a line on the application about a credit check.

As far is it not being "fair" - companies exist to make money. They are trying to protect their bottom line. Many companies use third-party vendors to provide credit, employment, and salary checks on potential employees. Often, they provide the employer with an employability rating. That is, regardless of why your credit is poor, or why you were fired at your last job, etc., they can easily pre-weed out possible risky hires. It's like recruitment. They get hundreds of submissions, but only one person (or a few) are being hired. Screening out based on numbers is the quickest way (just like recruitment makes cuts based on GPAs.

If you have lower credit, and know that this may be an issue, talk to the hiring person about it when they mention that they will be doing a credit check (or when you read it on your application - you DO read those, right?), usually at the end of the interview.

Look into financial planning if you think that your credit may prevent you from getting hired, renting, etc. You can show that you are working to fix it, and that often means more than simply a "number".