| CAREERS NOW 08-03-08 |
| Explaining Bankruptcy in a Job Hunt |
DEAR JOYCE: My husband and I filed bankruptcy before moving to Florida because
my husband lost his job and our house was foreclosed. I'm looking for (rank and file) work and I found out they
check your credit history. I was turned down for a job as a waitress and even as a cleaning woman at an office.
Should I tell an employer about my credit history before they find out? -- R.R.
Credit reports are giving concerned employers a blank check to say no. Yes, you're right to neutralize the bankruptcy
issue by speaking up. But set the stage. Wait until you've done your best to sell your skills and strong work ethic.
When you sense the time is right, that the employer is interested in hiring you - or even better, has offered you
a job you want - deliver this message in your own words:
"I'm very interested in the good opportunity you have. When you do my background check, you'll find that my
husband and I had to declare bankruptcy before we moved here because he lost his job. We even lost our house. As
you can imagine, that was a very difficult time for a person like me who cares about her family's good reputation.
I'm betting that you're fair enough to remember that society left debtor's prison behind a couple of centuries
ago.
"My references will tell you that I am a reliable, focused worker and I ask you to give me the chance to show
you what a good addition I'll be to your company. Have I found the fairness I seek here?"
If you think this approach is too basic and pleading, review reasons why you're not getting job offers, apart from
those where your qualifications don't meet the job's requirements.
Employers hesitate to hire non-managerial workers who have a history of a sea of debt because they worry about
stress distracting them from concentrating on the job or worry that they'll be light-fingered with company resources
because they so need money to get back on an even keel.
Your best strategy to overcome these objections is to emphasize your dedication to focusing on the job, and to
stress your honesty. Say that your debts, now discharged, no longer keep you up at nights. Weave in true anecdotes
to back up your claims of being stress-free. Take along a list of solid references on all interviews. If you have
no business references, use clergy, physicians, teachers or prominent members of a community.
DEAR JOYCE: A day doesn't pass that I don't apply for at least one office or retail job at small companies,
which is where you once said most of the jobs are. I have been looking for three weeks. A couple of times I thought
I was as good as hired but nothing came from those prospects. What am I doing wrong? - P.E.P.
You may not be doing much of anything wrong. Your trouble getting hired may not be your fault but the result of
a problem parked on the doorstep of the current credit crunch. Banks are worried and credit for small business
has virtually dried up. From a recent New York Times report: "Banks struggling to recover from multibillion-dollar
losses on real estate are curtailing loans to American businesses, depriving even healthy companies of money for
expansion and hiring."
Don't give up. Apply for twice as many jobs each day as you've been doing. Job ads placed in this newspaper and
on the Internet translate to immediate opportunities that may be just what you're hoping to land.
DEAR JOYCE: I know that this is not the best of times to become disabled and have to work at home but that's
how it is. Where do I begin? - D.A.R.
You're in luck. Just as I was considering your problem and thinking I'd discussed work-at-home jobs earlier, I
discovered Alison Doyle's body of advice on the topic at this Web address, http://jobsearch.about.com/od/workfromhome.
Email Joyce
Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.