How to get a Job When You have Bad Credit

2010-02-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

Because today's unemployment rate is hovering around 10%, numerous people are not making their payments on time. Here is what happens to nearly all folks: They do not have revenue coming in so they depend more on borrowing from credit cards. When they get behind on taking care of obligations, bill collectors raise the interest rate and reduce the amount they can borrow. That causes their FICO score to decline. That makes it is challenging to get a job.

Companies look at FICO reports to find information that would imply an individual may possibly be a security risk. Here's how companies understand FICO scores: Under 700 = warning, lower than 650 = concern, and lower than 600 a red flag jumps up. Many companies try to ignore FICO scores but some places like banks and other financial institutions aren't so sympathetic. If you are trying to get a city, state, or federal job, you will get your credit report checked.

How can you deal with a low credit score?

1. Learn what your rights are.

Companies are obligated to get your consent to do a credit or background investigation. And they have got to inform you if you weren't given the job because of your FICO score. They also have to inform you which credit reporting agency they contacted to check your credit.

The Government introduced H.R. 3149 in July of 2009 which is a bill meant to stop companies from doing credit investigations on possible workers. Updates on the bill's progress can be found on the internet at www.govtrack.us.

2. Get a copy of your credit report before you apply for a job.
Once you get a copy of your credit report, check it out for mistakes.

3. Be sincere and truthful with possible employers.
When the topic comes up, advise the interviewer what you have done to improve your credit score. That proves that you are responsible and a "get it done" kind of person.

4. Do what you can to fix your credit report as fast as possible

Contest any harmful or wrong errors with the appropriate credit reporting agency. There are legal credit repair companies that can do this for you.

Here is a number of things you can do to increase your FICO score:

Get your obligations up to date.

If you already are behind on payments, call your banker and work out some kind of repayment plan.

Don't stop paying your bills -- pay especial attention to the ones in collection.

You can increase your FICO score by 20-30 points by making your obligations on time for two months in a row.

To see a review and comparison of legal credit repair companies, go to this website: Credit Repair Report