Employment Screening Resources President Lester Rosen Quoted on SFGate.com

By Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Blog Writer

Recently, a blog on SFGate.com by Personal Finance Authority Erica Sandberg – Can you get a job with bad credit? The answer may surprise you. – addressed a reader who was concerned how her damaged credit would affect her job search.

In her blog, which contained an excerpt from a column she wrote on CreditCards.com, Sandberg indicated there are “many myths surrounding credit reports and employment” and that to “get to the bottom” of how credit reports are really being used she spoke with Lester Rosen, CEO of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a consumer reporting agency (CRA) and human resources consulting firm based in the San Francisco area.

In the blog, Rosen had the following to say about credit reports of job applicants being used for employment purposes:

  • Employers don’t randomly access credit reports from all job applicants. They only do so for those who are solid candidates.
  • If they are pulling a credit report, congratulations! They are doing a background check, and that is good news, as they are seriously considering the applicant for the position. They won’t run it before the applicant is a finalist.
  • Credit reports aren’t checked for all occupations or industries. Most employers are looking at credit reports for people applying for positions that are clearly related to finance or have access to cash or credit. They usually don’t access credit reports for people applying for minimum wage jobs.
  • The only way an employer can pull an applicant’s credit report is with the applicant’s permission. Therefore, if the employer asks, the applicant should head over to the human resources department and explain his or her particular situation.
  • A potential boss does not have access to the same type of reports that lenders do. The credit reports employers can see never include credit scores or list dates of birth. All they can view is an applicant’s credit history.
  • If applicants are concerned about how these credit report pulls may harm their credit report further, they can relax. Unlike when a prospective creditor checks it, no “inquiry” will be listed.

As for the real impact of a job applicant’s credit damage, Rosen recommends in the blog that they should not worry about even that too much.

“Our experience is that employers are very sensitive to the fact that credit reports are not perfect. And everyone in the world knows there is a recession, and employers take that into consideration. It’s a misconception that people are being blacklisted because of their credit reports. However, if the employer does makes an adverse decision based on your report, you have a right to know about it and get a copy of the report they used.”

The gist of the story, according to Sandberg, is that credit reports may not be as powerful and important as job applicants may think, and that chances are some employers will be willing to give applicants with debt problems a break if they really want to hire them.

For more information on the use of credit reports in background checks of job applicants, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) at https://www.esrcheck.com.
 
Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/esandberg/detail?entry_id=69919
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/erica-sandberg-credit-reports-score-impact-job-hunt-1377.php

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