Another Hurdle for the Jobless: Credit Inquiries--New York Times (financial, money, report)
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Frankly I think that it's a good idea for prospective employers to check out applicants by looking at Facebook and Myspace. Face it, the types of information people post says a lot about their true personality and level of maturity. Do you want an immature person who gets so drunk that they are puking into a garbage can every weekend and then has a need to brag to the world about it by posting the photos of their escapades working for you? I sure don't.
People who can't figure out what is appropriate and inappropriate to post on their social media sites are likely to have equally poor judgement when it comes to employment.
I've put more than a few applicants into the reject pile based on their social media sites. References to drug use, trashing prior (and current!) employers, alcohol abuse, bragging about sexual escapades, none of it is mature behavior and none of it is what I'm looking for in an applicant.
I have both of the above, plus Twitter and LinkedIn, and there is nothing on any of them that anyone would fine crude, rude, or offensive, or that reflects me in any type of a negative manner.
By the way, I also reccomended the HIRING of someone with an odd resume after visiting their Myspace site. A lot of things fell into place once I saw the personal situatioin. So while social media isn't always bad, the way a person uses it can certainly be.
Oh, OK, just because you say so, it must be true...
You must work for the pickiest call center in the U.S. They don't have much of a dress code because it's a call center, as in, the customers never ever see the employees.
Having employees who can be pleasant over the phone and knowledgeable would be great; who cares if they're naked?
I worked for a summer at a Verizon Call Center and we had to wear full business attire (heels, hose, and jackets). Was crap but whatever, I got out of the heels and got to wear flops with a doctor's note after I hurt my foot and it swelled. So, not to defend the credit thing at all... but defending that some call centers do have uber picky requirements.
You must work for the pickiest call center in the U.S. They don't have much of a dress code because it's a call center, as in, the customers never ever see the employees.
Having employees who can be pleasant over the phone and knowledgeable would be great; who cares if they're naked?
JS1--- I don't work for the call center--- we just have the call center in the same building.
My company is pretty lax on dress code. We expect business casual.
Wearing stripper boots, minis barely covering your privates, and other general club wear IS NOT appropriate for most work in the workplace. Now if you are working in a bar, rock concert, or working the pole then sure I give you that it should not matter and in fact would be appropriate.
But they want you to stop sticking your chest out and being all cocky and stop throwing your opinion around as FACT.
It IS fact, employers check credit, myspace accounts, etc. Anyone who doesn't like it should go into business for themselves. My guess is that when reality hits, they will also check these things before they hire someone.
JS1--- I don't work for the call center--- we just have the call center in the same building.
My company is pretty lax on dress code. We expect business casual.
Wearing stripper boots, minis barely covering your privates, and other general club wear IS NOT appropriate for most work in the workplace. Now if you are working in a bar, rock concert, or working the pole then sure I give you that it should not matter and in fact would be appropriate.
Ten years ago I worked for a major corp that went business casual every summer, and we had the same problem. Halter tops, over the knew black stripper boots, concert t's, board shorts, micro-mini's, these are NOT business casual and it's amazing that people are so dense that they don't know how to dress in the workplace unless it's spelled out for them.
I do not like the idea of pulling credit reports on a potential applicant one bit. However, I think there is a message in bad credit. Mine used to be very good and it's slipped. Not surprisingly enough, so has my life. I'd like to not have this held against me, but it is what it is. Near as I can tell, the only thing out there on me is one unpaid Dr's visit, and it's out there and the facility dropped the ball and didn't get the authorization in on the right date. I thought I'd cleared things up via correspondence, but I guess not.
Movin'on--- if it helps, your issue with the one medical bill is unlikely to create an issue even if your credit was pulled.
My employer for bonding purposes (and even though none of us handle cash-- unless you work for security-- you are handling extremely sensitive materials, even those in a call center) reviews the derogatory credit and apparently a limit. So say the limit is 10k in bad credit-- that means you could have up to 10k of not so great credit spread amongst credit cards and consumer credit. I am not sure how major things that would be typically much larger would be handled (i.e. foreclosure, defaulting on student loans, etc).
I also know of one girl through an acquaintance who was called into HR when they reviewed her credit again after a couple years. They told her that she was teetering on the line, but they were giving her the opportunity to get it straightened out (She had gone through a divorce etc). If-- she did not get it cleaned up to be under the threshold then they would have to let her go. On the flip side, I knew a manager who was rumored to have defaulted on several properties (she was trying to be a house flipper on the side) and she was terminated. Keep in mind that is only rumor. A friend was very close to being fired (she was suspended with pay) due to an outstanding warrant that she said she knew nothing about. The warrant came from some kind of failure to appear in court because of a judgment with a creditor (per my friend). HR told her if she could get it removed-- then they would allow her to come back. She was able to get it cleared up at the courthouse and had to wait a few days before getting back to work (in time for the court and the opposing party to draft a communication). HR had told her that they could not have her here while a warrant was outstanding.
Also-- something I have noticed. When I had poor credit-- it was pretty obvious that for a period in my life I went through a great upheaval (long story there). This upheaval lasted for a few years (3 if I recall). The credit before that time period and the credit after that time period was pristine. Like it or not this credit tells a story. It tells that in general I am very responsible-- something contributed to a situation that was beyond my control and I experienced poor credit due to not being able to pay everything.
I have a friend who wanted me to help her get prepared to buy a house. I told her we needed to pull her credit reports so we can have an idea of where she stood. I was appalled. Her credit report did not point to any kind of event (divorce, illness, etc). Her credit report just reflected that since she has been in the credit system she has been highly irresponsible. I am talking about collection accounts for $15.00 co-pays. Any credit card she had within a year or two it had become a charge off. ANY credit card regardless of when it was opened. She had collections from 2 satellite companies AND the cable company! She had consistent lates on her car note, lates on student loans, lates on bank loans, rental collections, etc. She would NOT be able to get hired by my company and knowing what I saw then, if she were to ever ask me for money I would not lend it unless I could afford to lose every penny (i.e. if I could not afford to gift the money I would not give a dime).
Your story (as well as many others) are different. Your story does not show a pattern of completely irresponsible behaviors.
Last edited by lovetheduns; 08-14-2009 at 05:38 AM..
Reason: corrected a number
It IS fact, employers check credit, myspace accounts, etc. Anyone who doesn't like it should go into business for themselves. My guess is that when reality hits, they will also check these things before they hire someone.
Go back to your Fruity Pebbles.
reality is sooooooo gonna get you one day. People like you can't survivie in the real world so hold on for the ride...............
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