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Everyone says "when in doubt, disclose." Thankfully, I don't have a criminal background. However, I do have a shitty credit score and a chunk of debt. Would it make sense to give the recruiter a heads up that I have a bad score (~615) before I allow them to run the credit check?

Off of this, can a bad credit score keep you getting a summer associate position?

I had bad credit and nobody ever said anything about it

I could be wrong of course but I can't imagine this could possibly matter

How are you anticipating it mattering?

Uhh, I'm pretty sure this doesn't matter at all. Don't worry about it.

Wait, wait, is this a real thing? I have a DUI and some speeding tickets that I disclosed on my law school application. I never brought this up at OCI or callbacks obviously (because why would I?). Is it a real possibility that they would rescind the SA offer?

BigZuck wrote:I could be wrong of course but I can't imagine this could possibly matter

How are you anticipating it mattering?

Why would they even bother going through the effort of running a credit check if it wouldn't matter at all?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but firms can't find out about sealed records.

Anonymous User wrote:Wait, wait, is this a real thing? I have a DUI and some speeding tickets that I disclosed on my law school application. I never brought this up at OCI or callbacks obviously (because why would I?). Is it a real possibility that they would rescind the SA offer?

Depends on the firm, but probably not. From what I've read firms don't care about crimes unless its theft or something like that.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Wait, wait, is this a real thing? I have a DUI and some speeding tickets that I disclosed on my law school application. I never brought this up at OCI or callbacks obviously (because why would I?). Is it a real possibility that they would rescind the SA offer?

Depends on the firm, but probably not. From what I've read firms don't care about crimes unless its theft or something like that.

That's what I figured. There's no reason to call recruiting or anything, I assume? It's a more conservative V5, if that matters at all.

I had a background check done for a SA position for a v100 NYC firm and they usually call your schools and ex-employers to validate your education and work experience - including dates. They do a federal and state (whichever state) crim background check to make sure you you're not a serial killer or the like. They can do a credit check depending on the state (in NYC you can't as of this summer) but most don't because you're not handling financial information and can't really embezzle or whatnot. If they do do a credit check, they give you a specific form you have the sign off on - so basically you know when a credit check is being done. All of the others happen in the background. I would disclose any crim charges but not credit scores/bad credit etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Anonymous User wrote:I had a background check done for a SA position for a v100 NYC firm and they usually call your schools and ex-employers to validate your education and work experience - including dates. They do a federal and state (whichever state) crim background check to make sure you you're not a serial killer or the like. They can do a credit check depending on the state (in NYC you can't as of this summer) but most don't because you're not handling financial information and can't really embezzle or whatnot. If they do do a credit check, they give you a specific form you have the sign off on - so basically you know when a credit check is being done. All of the others happen in the background. I would disclose any crim charges but not credit scores/bad credit etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Thanks, did they ask you for phone numbers of former employers? How does that work?

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/06/top-law- ... inal-past/

Remember seeing this at some point--might have some links in there worth checking out.

Yes, it was a series of forms I had to fill out along with my offer acceptance. From what I recall, they asked for names, phone numbers, dates, and addresses.

Thanks lads. Hopefully I don't get shitcanned my first week and have to kill myself because of a DUI.

Anonymous User wrote:I had a background check done for a SA position for a v100 NYC firm and they usually call your schools and ex-employers to validate your education and work experience - including dates. They do a federal and state (whichever state) crim background check to make sure you you're not a serial killer or the like. They can do a credit check depending on the state (in NYC you can't as of this summer) but most don't because you're not handling financial information and can't really embezzle or whatnot. If they do do a credit check, they give you a specific form you have the sign off on - so basically you know when a credit check is being done. All of the others happen in the background. I would disclose any crim charges but not credit scores/bad credit etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Super helpful. Thanks.

OP here

Back to getting canned for financial reasons, how bad would someone's credit/debt have to be?

I filled out the forms for the background and asked the third party company to send me copy. I received a copy of my background check last night. It didn't show my credit score, just my student loans. I still have heard anything from the firm though, which is starting to stress me out.

Depending on the state you're in it may not even be legal for them to check your credit prior to offering you a job (I believe, for instance, that that is the case in California). In any event, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I don't even think you need to disclose bad credit, because who cares?

SBL wrote:Depending on the state you're in it may not even be legal for them to check your credit prior to offering you a job (I believe, for instance, that that is the case in California). In any event, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I don't even think you need to disclose bad credit, because who cares?

Thanks man.
Just got an email from the recruiter saying I cleared the background check. I'm happy to hear I was neurotic for no reason.

I'm glad to hear it.

How far do they go back for employment history? And do you have to list unpaid internships? Also, what about volunteer opportunities listed on resume?

I'm an older student and am concerned about getting contact info with those who can verify one my unpaid work gigs from 5 yrs ago who have also moved on from those jobs. Finding contacts for my paid work won't be difficult.

Anonymous User wrote:How far do they go back for employment history? And do you have to list unpaid internships? Also, what about volunteer opportunities listed on resume?

I'm an older student and am concerned about getting contact info with those who can verify one my unpaid work gigs from 5 yrs ago who have also moved on from those jobs. Finding contacts for my paid work won't be difficult.

I'm don't even think all firms verify past employment. From what I can tell mine didn't. I texted one of the secretaries at my summer job to ask if anyone's tried verifying that I worked there this summer, no one has.

Thats not even junk status credit. It can get a lot worse.

Anonymous User wrote:How far do they go back for employment history? And do you have to list unpaid internships? Also, what about volunteer opportunities listed on resume?

I'm an older student and am concerned about getting contact info with those who can verify one my unpaid work gigs from 5 yrs ago who have also moved on from those jobs. Finding contacts for my paid work won't be difficult.

I'm undergoing a background check for a government job right now and they seem confused about how I worked for a judge after my 1L summer and are having trouble verifying that. I doubt it'll amount to anything serious but its a pain in the ass to deal with.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:How far do they go back for employment history? And do you have to list unpaid internships? Also, what about volunteer opportunities listed on resume?

I'm an older student and am concerned about getting contact info with those who can verify one my unpaid work gigs from 5 yrs ago who have also moved on from those jobs. Finding contacts for my paid work won't be difficult.

I'm don't even think all firms verify past employment. From what I can tell mine didn't. I texted one of the secretaries at my summer job to ask if anyone's tried verifying that I worked there this summer, no one has.

If it's a basic background check, they're likely just trying to verify the information you put on your resume. And by information, just that you worked there for (roughly) the time you listed and had the title you listed.

If the background check can't confirm it, they'll just basically put 'unconfirmed' or something like that on the report that they give to the employer. It's not (at least in my experience) like they just send a letter saying you 'failed' the background check if they can't verify.