Another Hurdle for the Jobless: Credit Inquiries--New York Times

[annerk]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

reality is sooooooo gonna get you one day. People like you can't survivie in the real world so hold on for the ride...............

I've BEEN in the real world, scraping the bottom of it actually. That's how I learned to survive and learned how important it is to plan for your future, regardless of what it might throw at you. I'll be fine, but thanks for your concern.

[lovetheduns]

Originally Posted by annerk

I've BEEN in the real world, scraping the bottom of it actually. That's how I learned to survive and learned how important it is to plan for your future, regardless of what it might throw at you. I'll be fine, but thanks for your concern.

Annerk-- I think that is key.

I am constantly thinking of ways to get an edge. Not everyone will succeed financially in life. Not everyone can be rich. I am not even striving for rich, I am striving for being able to survive at whatever comes my way. I constantly evaluate future plans both financially and career wise. I don't try to go out and spends tons of money (except on education but that is an opportunity cost so that I have an edge on my competition for jobs, etc). I don't have an allegiance to my current career- I see nothing wrong with going out and learning something completely new to make myself even more rounded in knowledge. Master something and move on to the next.

I feel for people who just never planned on things being different. My grandparents were like that and so are some of my aunts/uncles. They just always assumed there would be a need for their jobs. Unfortunately, competition is global now and some jobs it does not make sense for Americans to do (based on market efficiencies). Thankfully, I think my cousins made very wise choices; 1 is a cosmetologist, 2 are teachers, 1 is in engineering school, 1 a fireman, and the final was a medic in the Army and is now being sent to Physician Assistant school.

[1984vt]

In most cases, the reason for poor credit is attributed to Divorce or Illness. If your report has one bad period in it and the prior and subsequent periods are clean, in a perfect world, you would be forgiven and hired. The rub is that most people have absolutely no idea how to read a credit report and interpret the hidden stories. Most employers will even use a score. The idea of a bad report is not only to determine your level of responsibility to financial obligations, it is used to determine if you might be under a financial stress that would cause you to steal - most employers using a report do not even understand the purpose. If you are applying for a position that does not handle cash or have access to products or services of a monetary value - i am not sure why they would evaluate people using this tool as, again, it isn't reading the report that matters, it is the ability to interpret what is shown and that has gone by the way side due to scoring.