So here goes…

Checking the credit histories of job applicants—a common practice among employers—is coming under fire… The issue has surfaced in the wake of the recession, which has left many unemployed workers with tattered credit.

With so many homes underwater due to the mortgage crisis many are starting to question why a credit check has to be done at all.  It’s interesting considering what is actually being given to an employer:

Experian Information Solutions Inc., a company that provides credit reports, offers an employment report that includes details such as a credit history, evidence of bankruptcy or liens, and information on previous employers. It doesn’t include a credit score…

This all seems to be blown out of proportion.  The article brings up a 50% success rate in preventing fraud - that’s pretty significant.  At the same time, I’m not inclined to believe that employers use credit reports to punish people with educational/personal investments.  Maybe I’m being naive, but as an employer I would not take someone out of the running if they had student loans.  For the amount of fraud it helps prevent, a credit report is not such a bad thing.

If the information is limited, and helps catch a significant amount of fraud without damaging innocent applicants, is it really that bad?

Edit: syrferchyk points out that there are fraudulent employers that ask for a credit check BEFORE interviews.  Most at-will employment offers will ask for credit checks when they give you an offer (if they don’t like what they see they always have small print somewhere that allows them to fire you) so don’t give anyone permission to access your personal data unless you trust the employer completely.  Even then, I would wait for a job offer.

Heather Huhman brings up some interesting points on what makes an internship experience worthwhile.  The first thing she says to do is remove the pay.  Next, look into the following five factors:

• Mentorship
• Learning
• Networking
• Work Samples
• Recognition

While we’re not particularly fond of the unpaid internship it’s important to remember that money should not be the driving factor in finding a good internship.  There are too many awesome (although unpaid) opportunities for some career paths where experience and ‘who you know’ is key.

A great experience will often trump pay.