Does a Credit Check Show Previous Jobs?

Credit checks are checks of any individual's credit report run by parties other than the individual himself. Credit checks may be run by a number of different entities, including lenders, creditors, landlords and employers. The information culled from this credit check, although only related to the person's lending history, may influence decisions about extending the individual credit or another privilege involving trust, such as an apartment or a job. Credit reports do not show previous jobs.

Credit reports only show information directly related to a person's lending history. A credit report will list all loans that the person has taken out in the last decade or so, as well as the disposition of these loans, such as whether the person paid them off on time or was late. Because a person's previous employment is not directly related to his credit history, a list of previous employers does not show up on the credit check.

Every time an organization other than a lender checks on a person's credit report, this check is recorded on the credit report itself. Therefore, a check of the credit report can reveal who else has checked the report recently. Many employers choose to run credit checks on employees before hiring them. So, a check of a person's credit report might reveal some of the employers to which the individual applied, but not whether he was hired or not.

Many employers run additional background checks on employees, in addition or in lieu of credit checks. These background checks can take many forms, from a cursory examination of public records to detailed interviews with the candidate's family and friends. While a credit check won't show what jobs an individual has previously held, there are many ways in which a background check can reveal this information. For example, a company conducting such a check might the employers listed on a candidate's resume to make sure the information is accurate.

The only way that a person's previous employers could show up on their credit report was if he somehow owed them money. While owing money to a former employer would be strange, it could certainly happen. In such a case, the employer would be listed as a creditor in the report and the relationship between the individual and the employer—the fact that the individual used to work for the employer—would not be revealed.