Employment – Why does it matter if I have good credit?

Your Credit Minute Show Notes:

  • 00:00                                   Why do I need good credit when applying for a job? Well, this is becoming more and more common, probably one of the more, um, prominent reasons we’re getting asked to repair someone’s credit for employment, okay? We get a lot of people that call us when they’re applying for a new job, whether it’s a finance company, a government job, or they’re doing an upgraded security clearance and they’re working for a government job. It’s very, very common. We probably get a good, you know, 50 to 100 calls a day for this exact same reason.
  • 00:26                                   So let’s talk about the importance behind this and why the government, why these employers actually care. So for example, the finance industry. So let’s say you were getting licensed to become a mortgage lender. Let’s say you were getting licensed to trade stock. Let’s say you’re getting a license to manage other people’s money. Well, the first thing they want to see is can you manage your own? Can you budget yourself before you’re giving that advice, before you’re becoming a fiduciary, um, and certified to actually help people financially plan? Can you financially plan yourself, okay? So that’s a major component.
  • 00:57                                   The other thing really is fraud. So, when people are under pressure, um, when they’re in debt, when things are falling apart, there’s a higher likelihood that you, or the consumer, um, the applicant, could possibly do something at that job to maybe steal someone’s money. Okay? If you’re handling someone’s money and you’re in debt, the concept, or the way these companies perceive it is you could be a higher risk at maybe stealing from the company or stealing from your clients. Okay?
  • 01:25                                   With government jobs it’s another issue, okay? We’re seeing it a lot. Um, where someone needs to get some sort of security clearance upgrade, they check your credit, and then that upgrade doesn’t happen. In fact, the government announced recently that they’re going to be monitoring credit on an ongoing basis depending on the security clearance levels of their employees, okay? And those security clearances can be effected in real time, um, in a negative way, depending on where someone’s credit is. And that’s kind of a scary thing, okay? This is making credit monitoring more and more important. And again, the perception is there, let’s say you’re under financial hardship, one indication of that is your credit score, at least that’s how it’s perceived, that you can in fact, um … There could be a higher likelihood that you might steal from the government. Maybe you’d be a spy. And this is the perception. Not to say that this is the case. It’s probably not going to happen, but this is where they’re coming from.
  • 02:16                                   That’s why monitoring your credit, um, being on top of your credit right now is more important than it’s ever been. 20 years ago it was a matter of not being able to get approved for a loan, or maybe you’re going to get a higher interest rate for a loan. Now it’s something that could actually effect how you earn. And that could be scary. It could effect, uh, how you keep your job, or if you can continue keeping your job, or the licensing for the business you’re in, okay? Another thing we’re seeing and we’ll touch on is bonding. We have insurance companies that are not issuing bonds to construction companies for that big job, um, because of a credit score. Okay? So credit scores are tying into not just your ability to lend, and the cost of lending, it’s tying into your ability to get a job, the ability to maintain a job, as well.
  • 03:02                                   So, guys, if you have any questions regarding how you should be monitoring your credit, and how you should protect yourself, um, if you’re trying to get some sort of security clearance, or you want to protect yourself ongoing, um, career, uh, career protection, call it, check us out. Give us a call at 617-265-7900. We’re happy to walk you through how you should actively be monitoring your credit and how you should be protecting yourself when it comes to something like this. Thanks, guys, have a great day.
Employment - Why does it matter if I have good credit?
Employment – Why does it matter if I have good credit?