The Types of Jobs where your Credit History Matters

I have posted previously about how potential employers often run the credit histories of potential employees as part of the decision making process on whether to hire the potential employee.  A recent poll shows how prevalent this practice really is.

The Society for Human Resource Management (I bet they throw one heck of a Christmas party!) recently polled its members regarding whether they utilize credit reports during the hiring process.  47% of those polled indicated that they run a credit history on at least some candidates and 13% run a credit report on all potential employees.

But what are the types of jobs where employers want to know about your credit history?  The top such jobs are those that include a fiduciary or financial responsibility (I once represented an airline pilot that could not change to a bigger and better airline because of a ding on his credit report - airline pilots get to use the company credit card and they thought he was too much of a risk).  Other jobs where credit reports are often used are top level jobs (i.e. CEOs, CFOs, etc.) and those with access to either highly confidential or highly sensitive information.

What types of bad credit harm potential employees' chances the most?  Judgments top the list (who wants an employee that gets sued a bunch?!) as well as bankruptcies and outstanding collection items.  A high debt to income ratio also appears to be a red flag for employers.

So, if you are planning on applying for one of the types of jobs listed above, you'd better check your credit report first and fix/correct/pay anything you can.