Knowledge is Power - Get Powerful!

The following suggestion comes from Chris Gerrib, CIT Advisory Board Member and Senior Vice President of Technology at Republic Bank of Chicago:

I would like to suggest something that you pass on to your students. More and more companies are pulling credit reports on job applicants. They are looking for character and risk – a person with a bad credit score is seen as more likely to engage in fraud. So, I recommend every student pull their own credit report.


Despite the incessant advertising, “FreeCreditReport.com” is NOT a free site. They are trying to sell you credit protection. The real free site is www.annualcreditreport.com and as the name suggests you only get one free report per year. However, I suggest everybody go there and get their report. Why?



1) If there are any errors on the report, you can get the process started to fix them.

2) Surprises are for birthdays. Knowing your credit score when you apply for a job allows you to be prepared.

3) If you do have legitimate bad credit, when applying for a job that does credit screening, tell the interviewer. Explain why this won’t happen again, and why they should try to get a waiver for you.


Knowledge is power – get powerful!

Chris Gerrib

Visit my web site! www.privatemarsrocket.net

Read my blog: http://chris-gerrib.livejournal.com