Career coaches and credit experts both confirm our worst fears: your credit score and credit history will definitely impact your ability to get the next job and your ability to rise within the hierarchy of a corporation or organization. Without question; minority job seekers are finding out the hard way.
Career coach Eli Amdur, an adjunct professor of two graduate-level leadership courses at Fairleigh Dickinson University, says it doesn’t matter if you are the most qualified for the job and boast the most impressive educational pedigree. If you have substandard credit scores, you are likely not to get the position if you are competing with throngs of other similarly qualified candidates.
“I wish I counted the number of job seekers who have told me — by e-mail, phone, or in person — that their credit kept them from getting a job,” Amdur says. “Not that I would have enjoyed the data, but it would confirm what I think, that the percentage is way up there. And if that’s the number of people who know, imagine how many more have been negatively affected but don’t know it.”
Amdur says it’s legitimate to question why, if you’re applying for a marketing or IT job, for example, employers need to look at your credit. “Well, in my opinion, they don’t, but in a market so skewed toward the employer, what you and I have to say is of little consequence,” Amdur says.
“That leaves you no choice but to (a) understand this, and (b) do something about it,” he adds.
What should you do? First, Amdur instructs, you need to understand that an estimated 80 percent of all credit reports contain some type of error or errors. That’s 4 out of 5 people, folks.
Amdur advises consulting professionals to correct any errors on your credit report or to work towards improving your scores. But he strongly advises to beware of scam artists.
“The reputable organizations will guide you through the process and offer step-by-step assistance, although you are the one doing the work. The con artists, on the other hand, promise to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Don’t believe it,” Amdur admonishes.
Yes, with a fractured economy achingly slow to get to its feet after a vicious beat down of historic proportions, the employers are in the driver’s seat and they call the shots.
“Maintaining a good credit history — and keeping an eye on it regularly — is now an integral part of career management, sad to say. So, just like updating your résumé every six months, an annual check of your credit reports is a smart career move,” Amdur says –terry shropshire
