Will filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy really hurt my future chances of finding employment?

Question

I know that I hear this threat a lot, but I am a receptionist. I plan to stay with the company I am at for as long as they will have me. If I ever do need to find another position, it will most likely be as a receptionist as well. To become a receptionist, will bankruptcy really affect my chances of finding a job in this field? Thanks!

Answer 1

Filing bankruptcy should not have a big impact on your finding a job, but it will make it next to impossible for you to obtain any credit for the next 7-10 years.

Answer 2

The only place I can really see that affecting your getting a job is a law firm, or something along the lines of that.  Unless you work for a large corporate company, they usually don't care if you've filed bankruptcy or not.  And besides, if you stay with your current employer for long enough (I believe it's 7 years), the bankruptcy won't affect your credit any more anyway.

Answer 3

It will indeed...

Almost all employers these days will pull a credit score for any applicants that are contenders.  If you apply for a job where you are one of the two best applicants, and the employer needs to make a choice, they will give the job to the applicant with the higher credit score, since that is an indication (albeit a dubious one) of responsibility.

Filing bankruptcy is basically a way of avoiding responsibilty, it doesn't paint a very good picture of tenacity, honor or "stick-to-it-iveness"!

Answer 4

It could have an effect on a career in banking, mortgage industry, anything having to do with handling money. Some companies do credit checks, others don't care. Your bankruptcy will show on your credit report for 10 years from the date of discharge. The debts 7 years. Sometimes when applying for a new job later on and you have filed, if you explain that you had no other choice but to file and have now been paying you bills on time, etc, some companies make that an exception. It really does depend on what the company requires. Good Luck!

Answer 5

It will eliminate you from consideration for about 10 years at any company that does credit checks.