How you can overcome your past to land a job

Eve Tahmincioglu • Profile • E-mail

Everyone who’s job hunting probably wants to start with a clean slate this new year, but some of us have pasts that can’t easily be erased.

When you apply for a job these days, your life becomes an open book. Employers do everything they can to find out about you and your past work life, everything from calling your references to doing criminal background checks and personality tests. So a past impropriety or false accusation can haunt you for years to come.

Maybe you were fired for harassing a coworker. Maybe you had credit problems. All these things can be used against you when a hiring manager is deciding whether to give you an offer.

Companies are increasingly looking at your past when you apply for a job, and sometimes the things they find important have nothing to do with the position you’re applying for, says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute. Unfortunately, he adds, “there’s not much you can do to avoid being penalized for your past.”

But there are some ways to mitigate the fallout and possibly get yourself hired despite your history.

Here are some recent questions from readers:

I graduated from college over a year ago.  I got a degree in psychology and a minor in criminology. I love criminology.  I tried to get a job at the juvenile hall department, but I didn't pass my background check.  I believe it's because of my credit being so bad.  So I don't know what to do with myself. I'm at a job that doesn't pay much.  I want a career in my field, but my credit is so bad. When I didn't get that job, I cried for a whole weekend.  I need some direction. Can you help?
-- V.G., Milpitas, Calif.

It’s a mystery why they care about your credit history for this job, but hey, we have to deal with what’s at hand.

If an employer uses a third party to check out your credit or driving record, they have to ask you to authorize such a search. In this case, if the information they uncover leads them to not hire you or to retract a job offer, they must give you written notice of such a decision under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, says labor attorney Ian Meklinsky in Princeton, N.J.

This gives a job applicant the opportunity to check out their own credit report and find out if there were any errors. (If the employer asks you to provide a copy of your credit report yourself, you don’t get the same type of legal protections.)

In your case, since you know your credit is bad, you need to be upfront with any employer who says they are going to do a credit check. Tell them right away about your past credit history, so it’s not a surprise. Try and come up with a good, simple explanation. Don’t bore them with extra details about your personal life. Just say, “I had this issue, but now I’m on track to get my credit back to good standing.”

And though it’s hard to get on the right track without a job, stop using credit and start paying down those balances as soon as possible. As you found out, credit reports are not only used by loan officers these days.

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