Should Employers Be Able to Check the Credit Scores of Job Applicants?

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  1

  e1wood

  08/10/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Should Employers Be Able to Check the Credit Scores of Job Applicants?

  What if you've applied for a Financial Services position, and from your credit report it's obvious that you've hit that rough patch financially....shouldn't they have the opportunity to speak with you about it, to verify that you won't commit FRAUD just to get a sale and make some money? The Wholesale Mortgage industry has been doing Credit reports for years, and it's amazing how many people in the industry have TERRIBLE credit....guess it's like Dr's who still smoke.

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  2

  Joe E S

  08/10/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Should Employers Be Able to Check the Credit Scores of Job Applicants?

  Using credit scores to screen job applicants is flawed. What's next... employers checking an applicant's grocery discount key card to see what record of foods they eat before determining if they will cost the company more health insurance if hired for the the job? (Insurance companies are actually considering doing this next!)
  
  It seems we are good at inventing any metric and creating fear around it ... but not good at connecting it in a relevant way... especially to hire quality people.
  
  Employers should focus on using data that has meaning and value to the employment situation. The question of what reference sources should be used to screen employees has to be based on relevancy to the job. For most jobs, a credit check is not relevant... outside of those in the high positions of security or those the financial industry.
  
  In fact, the credit check score was originally meant to serve the interests of the credit industry to determine how you use a credit service. It is not even a realistic indicator of someone's hard earned financial status. We all know that your score could be lowered due to how the credit industry views you as profitable to them. People who use credit responsibly and pay their bills every month are not considered valuable by the credit industry... they are a poor source of income to the credit card cmpany because they pay not late fees or penalty fees. People who use credit in this way actually have their scores lowered!
  
  Your credit card score can be lowered if you do not use the card enough, or if there are too many inquiries made by agencies (like employers) who request credit checks. So for every job I apply to, and for every credit check requested by those employers, my credit score is lowered because of "too many credit checks!" How ridiculous is that?
  
  We have all heard of stories like this... people who are denied loans while they have no major debts on their record and money in the bank. The "credit check" has become an overblown metric that has spawned fear and a whole industry of so called "credit watch" schemes that do nothing but collect fees from people to allay thier fears of the credit check score. It used to be that credit scores were confined to loans. Now all of a sudden, everyone is fearing their "credit score" for every aspect of their life because the financial industry promotes it that way.
  
  In this down economy, we can suddenly experience a temporary financial bind suddenly, and make unnusual decisions to pay immediate expenses for our families to survive. In that case, the credit check may or may not be relevant to judge a person's character or suitability for a job.
  
  Disallow the credit check for job screening. It's not relevant. Do the right thing... pay attention to thier cover letter and resume, and do a proper job screening and reference check. Let's focus on methods to find an employ good people in our companies... not focus on easy and artifically justified ways to screen people out!