Will My Bad Credit History Cost Me A New Job?

There are so many reasons to care about your credit score and to be interested in learning how to build it. A good credit score opens the door to many opportunities not available to those with poor credit. With great credit, you’re going to be able to get approved for a mortgage and buy a house. You’ll easily be approved to finance a car and you’ll find getting approved to rent that apartment that required the credit check easy as pie. You can unlock better interest rates on the money you borrow and have stronger negotiating power when it comes to borrowing.

If you have poor credit, your life becomes infinitely more difficult as you lose access to all of these things while you struggle to improve your credit.

Now, poor credit can even affect your ability to secure the meaningful employment you’ll need to improve your credit.

Are employers able to check my credit score?

The practice of checking the credit scores of potential hires is, understandably, controversial though. A poor credit score doesn’t always mean that the candidate is irresponsible or unreliable. A poor credit score could be a reflection of economic downturn, or unforeseen financial hardship. The candidate in question could still be the hardest working potential hire in the mix, but the employer might pass on them because of their score.

Employers see the practice as precautionary, while potential hires see it as unfair.

Even though the practice is under heavy fire, it is, in fact, legal for employers to check your credit score in Canada. According to some studies, nearly half of all Canadian employers engage in credit checks during the hiring process. In fact, the Canadian government itself has made credit checks for all public servants mandatory.

Wondering how to build your credit score quickly? Read our article: “How many months does it take to build credit?”

Why are employers checking my credit?

Employers are, increasingly, making use of credit checks before deciding who to hire. It’s a much safer bet that you’re hiring someone responsible, disciplined and reliable if they have good credit. This practice is quite common in the United State of America, and is becoming closer to the norm here in Canada, too. It is a way for hiring managers to cut down on heavy turnaround if they can have some idea how reliable an employee will be.

With some in Canada calling the practice discrimination, it has been the target of heavy debate. Employers who make use of credit checks have fired back, citing studies which suggest criminal behaviour in the workplace is linked to poor credit. Crimes that occur in the workplace such as theft tend often to be committed by employees who live outside of their means and struggle to make ends meet.

So, even though the practice of checking a job applicant’s credit is controversial, it doesn’t seem to be a practice that will be going away anytime soon. It seems like something, rather, that we’re all going to have to adjust to.

So, what does that mean for you? It means that the credit problems you’ve been trying to sweep under the rug need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Even you are currently employed, many things can change that and you could find yourself in the job market once again. Prepare for the worst by improving your credit score before that happens.

How to build your credit score, fast

If you’re looking for work, now, and you’ve come up against this problem with every job prospect on the horizon, the time is now to get your credit and debt under control. Consider the easiest way to build your credit score quickly; consider a credit building program.

You don’t need any security funds up front, and you’ll have a chunk of cash at the end of the process to pay down debts you might currently be battling with. So long as you keep your other debts in good standing during your secured savings loan period, your credit score will soar. Don’t let your credit lock you out of a job. We will teach you how to build your credit score and stay on the right track.