JOB Hunting

BC-CMP-STUDENTDEBT-ADVICE:WA _ national (370 words)Job seekers with bad credit histories should get credit reportsKRT NEWSFEATURES(HAS TRIM)By Tosin SulaimanKnight Ridder Newspapers(KRT) WASHINGTON _ Job-hunting college graduates with bad credit histories should first read what employers will learn about them. You can get yourcredit report from the three major credit bureaus. Experian offers them free. Equifax charges $9. Transunion charges $9.95. Their Web sites and phone numbers are www.experian.com, (888) 397-3742; www.equifax.com (800) 685-1111; and www.transunion.com, (800)888-4213. If any information on your report is inaccurate, ask the credit-reporting agency to correct it. Otherwise, the data will stay on your report for sevenyears. High debt in itself does not concern employers greatly. Defaults and patterns of late payments do. If you’re worried about that, Norm Magnuson ofthe Consumer Data Industry Association recommends bringing it up yourself during job interviews. “Honesty is always the best policy,” Magnuson said. Besides, “Chances are at some point it’s going to come to light.” Jim Harris, a background investigator who checks out prospective Prince George’s County, Md. workers, suggests that applicants ask theinterviewers something like, “I have experienced some bad credit. What part does my credit play in me being considered for the position?” Coming clean will impress employers Harris said. “That tells us you have integrity.” Credit checks generally are done after interviews and only on serious candidates. If bad credit influences an employer’s decision not to hire you, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that the employer give you a copy of yourcredit report. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) Legitimate credit counseling agencies will help consumers with their credit problems, but Magnuson advised caution. “It’s not going to be ashort-term fix,” he said. Fees of $500 or more, he added, “should ring a caution bell.” Credit history is just one criterion employers use to assess a candidate. Drug and criminal history checks are somewhat more likely, said BrianKrueger of the online job site www.Collegegrad.com. Sometimes credit card extravagance is the real problem. To avoid it, recruiter Paul Villella of HireStrategy suggests that undergraduates pay on timeand: “Try and keep it to one card.” ___ © 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.