Social Network Profile+Credit Score=No Job For You

Getting a job is harder than ever now that the entire country is affected by corporations filing bankruptcy, the failing economy and the foreclosure crisis.

Now you not get only get your credit checked you get your social networks checked and used as part of the interview and evaluation process.

Almost everyone uses the Internet and set up a public profile on a social network site to find old friends or make new friends. Networking on the internet makes our personal lives public.

Social networking sites create a “permanent record” on the Internet which can be viewed by almost anyone.

Why are employers looking at your social networking sites? What are they using this information for? What does it have to do with your work ethic?

Is it a legitimate reason for looking at your social networking profiles to determine your qualifications for being hired?

In an article witten by Josh Catone / March 21, 2008

On the pro side, Greg Fish argued that social networking profiles aren’t resumes and companies should not use them when determining if an applicant should be hired. “A public profile is a vehicle for casually interacting with others in an informal setting, on personal free time,” he wrote. “When companies use these profiles to find not only a professional but also an ideological match for a job, they’re misleading themselves and building ill will with talented prospective employees, who might decline to apply for a job for fear a comment about China on their blogs makes them persona non grata.”

On the con side, Timothy Lee said that there were plenty of legitimate reasons for employers to look at social networking profiles of prospective hires. “Employees in sales, public relations, and customer service function as representatives for the companies they work for, so employers have a legitimate interest in ensuring potential workers won’t embarrass the company,” he wrote.

Social networking brings the world closer together and was meant to create connection. Connection is a good thing

Employers are trying to find a perfect match for the positions they offer with the goal of creating a strong pool of individuals that will get the job done and fit into the company culture,

A position that is highly visible in which you will be representing the company your personal conduct could play a big part in how employers see your qualifications if you have questionable photos on a social network site.

Some have even been fired based on what employers found on a social network site.

When looking at your credit history, if you do not have a great credit score a repossession, foreclosure, bankruptcy or delinquent bills can reduce or completely eliminate you from consideration.

If you could get a good job, it may be possible to clean up your credit history – at least this is logical thinking. Many people have foreclosures and bad debt now due to no fault of their own.

What are they looking for?

Employers Look for Responsibility

If an applicant is under consideration for a position handling money, disbursing money or in charge of equipment, running a credit check is a way to determine trust and integrity. If you have a lot of debt that has been unmanageable, you may not be trusted to take on the company budget or petty cash pool.

If a person is truly financially desperate, an employment credit check is believed to potentially identify the possibility of financial problems that may adversely affect an applicant’s performance on the job.

An employment credit report provides insight into an applicant’s financial responsibility by listing any aliases, bankruptcies, liens, judgments, credit cards, loans, mortgages, collections and summaries of the individual’s payment patterns. Reports may also contain previous employers and addresses.

A good job can create stability for families to live decent productive lives for the pursuit of happiness. Employers are looking for stable individuals that can manage their finances, personal life and public persona

We are all looking for stability in a climate of instability where personal profiles are scrutinized, homes are foreclosed due to unfair lending practices, businesses get bailed out due to mismanagement, millions get laid off, and health care is not affordable, as the mainstream media tells us everyday how bad it really is.

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Living During A Recession

Having trouble making ends meet?

Can’t pay for your prescriptions, buy food, put gas in the car or keep the utilities on any longer. It’s just too hard and money will only stretch so far!

Have more month left than money?

Many people struggle with this issue. One of the best ways to save money and truly stretch your dollars all the way to the end of the month is to live a more frugal lifestyle.

Yes, frugality is key. Being frugal with one’s life does not mean that you will live a life, doing without and hoarded away. Frugal living is actually very freeing. Frugal living frees up your finances to work harder and smarter for you o that you in turn do not have to work so hard to actually bring in an income.

In a time where 40% of Americans live beyond their means, meaning they spend more monthly than they make, finding ways to save and learning to be more frugal sounds like a winning idea.

There are a few key concepts that one must adopt in order to begin living a more frugal lifestyle.

Smarter money management. A person must begin to not only spend less money, but also manage the money they have in a smarter way. This can take some time and discipline but will truly pay off in the end.

Spending less. A person must also learn how to spend less than they make. This can be a difficult process for some who have spent more than their paycheck for a long time, however if they adopt some frugal living ideas they can be doing this in no time.

Saving. With the money that they save through not spending as much, they can begin to put away money into savings; another key to frugal living that will help a person to get ahead.

Continuing the process. Continuing to spend more and save less is key.

Adopting some key concepts to frugal living can truly change the way you live your life, and the way that your money works for you. Become different from the norm and begin a smarter, more frugal lifestyle today.

About the Author:

Cara Mirabella is a WAHM with one toddler from New Jersey. She owns and manages TheHouseholdHelper.com – a site dedicated to saving your time, money and sanity when managing your household. She has written several articles, reports and e-books including Frugal Living: How To Stretch Your Hard Earned Dollar.

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Consumerism, What is It?

Consumerism is mental slavery based on the constant purchasing of consumer goods and is the cause of fear based behavior that leads to depression and severe anxiety.  Slavery today means being enslaved to ideas and beliefs.

Consumerism it not fatal, we can be cured although it will take developing some discipline, self control. and a big adjustment in our thinking.  We can and should use our resources more efficiently which means to cut back on impulse shopping, save for retirement and work smart by creating multiple streams of income. Our consumer behavior is influenced by those who can control it. Most of us match our lifestyles to the amount of money we make and live beyond what we can really afford.  Consumerism or over consumption is an obsession with the owning things a definition of our buying power.

The power of credit cards can create the illusion that you can afford to buy when you do not have the ability to pay it back. We make credit purchases for the items we must have and bank on being in a better position to pay for it by the time the bill is due.

A well known top economist, David Rosenberg say “The process of bringing our wants and our needs into realignment is going to involve years of savings and frugality.” We will all be required to change our behavior and habits of uncontrolled spending.

The fact is we are consumers and need to consume resources to survive.  Due to the drastic change in the economy some consumers don’t have much choice but to cut back on spending. How do we change our behavior and learn to preserve our money to  plan for retirement or keep the house from going into foreclosure? What can we do differently that will make a difference?

Raises aren’t being given at the rate expected to keep up with inflation and barely covers the increasing gas, the rise in food prices or other goods and services.  Realistically everyone is feeling the crunch, just look at the prices of liquid detergent for example, the 64 oz does not exist any more, the choice is the 50 oz. concentrated for the same price. Sounds like a bargain, not by a long shot, the fact is hat you will use the same amount per load that you used when you purchased the 64 oz  size and use it up faster, so you will need to repurchase sooner.

I may be overly concerned about this and sound like an alarmist but paying attention to how the economy effects my spending is how I try to avoid being in debt. School loans and extended is a set up for failure if you don’t have a plan.  The economic crisis is causing panic and people are getting creative in their methods of making money, Some go to farmers markets to shop and stretch their dollars, others have yard  sales. Officials in the state of Indiana are considering a law to limit the number of yard sales a resident can have each month. Families generate income by buying and selling used clothing and other items to make up for lost income from losing their jobs.

People are losing their homes and facing a 25 percent increase in heating bills this coming winter. Certain industries have fallen apart which creates a domino effect of job loss across the country. Companies are cutting cost by cutting jobs leaving families destitute and struggling. When there are no jobs receiving unemployment compensation is an option but barely enough to make ends meet. Families are downsizing to more affordable housing, and searching for creative ways to pay for college.

Poverty has a tremendous impact on our well being which affects the quality of life for everyone. Some have fear that crime will increase due to the recession in response to the changes in the economy. There is fear that panic and desperation will cause people to commit more crimes. Neighborhoods are changing as homes are abandoned or foreclosed on. More people are on the streets. Copper plumbing is being stolen from empty houses, causing flooding and sometimes structural damage, so the home loses value which affects the property values.

Everyone is being encouraged to make a adjustments in their consumer behavior by recycling, finding alternative income streams and spending less on unecessary purchases. We can learn to live the lifestyle that we can afford.

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The Benefits of Owning vs Renting

Purchasing a home is an intimidating process without the news reports about the current mortgage crisis, repeating terms like sub-prime lending and balloon payments. Families are losing their homes at an alarming rate and it has been reported that African Americans have been the target of mortgage lenders processing high cost loans by qualifying those with poor credit scores for high interests rates and hidden costs like balloon payments. Sub prime is a type of loan that is offered at a rate above prime to individuals who do not qualify for prime rate loans.

Dedrick Muhammad co-author of a report from United for a Fair Economy called “Foreclosed: The State of the Dream 2008, cites the sub-prime mortgage crisis as the source leading to the greatest loss of wealth in modern US history for people of color who stand to lose over $200 billion dollars. Dedrick Muhammad is senior organizer and research associate at the Institute for Policy Studies.

It all seems overwhelming to our desire to own a home and have our own piece of land to cultivate overshadowed by the anxiety we all feel for those families that are victims of foreclosure due to predatory lending practices. We dread the thought of losing a home before we even purchase one. If you have ever lost a home is it a paralyzing experience. The feeling of shame, blame, and guilt to feel your home and security slipping away can be devastating.

In 2002 the “Home ownership Challenge” was introduced that represented a set of policy initiatives designed to make home ownership a reality for minority groups, mainly Blacks and Hispanics. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) analyzed the most recent home ownership data from the U.S.

Census Bureau and highlighted the obstacles preventing minority families from owning a home. When you do the math, after about 6 years a homeowners mortgage payment of $1000 over time will be less than rent of approximately $800 per month. Renting has fixed costs over the course of a lease and increases gradually over time.

The landlord is responsible for the property taxes, the maintenance of the property and insurance for the property to protect his investment. Any insurance the landlord has on his property does not protect your belongings while you are renting.

Mortgage payments can essentially stay the same over time depending on the terms of financing and give a home owner a tax savings advantage by deducting the interest on mortgage payments. Home owners are responsible for the physical condition and maintenance of the property, home owners insurance, property taxes, and the closing cost of buying or selling. The consequences are significantly more complicated in home ownership than in renting when you miss a mortgage payment.

Buying a home is an important investment decision which requires research and investigation. The obstacles to home ownership for African Americans and Hispanics has been highlighted by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau as follows;

• A lack of inventory of affordable single-family housing available for sale in many areas where a majority of residents are minority families;
• A need for down payment assistance, which affects minority families to a greater extent than non-Hispanic whites because they have less accumulated wealth that can be used to help children with down payments;
• A lack of access to affordable mortgage credit;
• A lack of understanding of the home buying process;
• Weak credit histories, often arising from a poor understanding of financial matters and where financial counseling is required there is a lack of information about available home ownership programs in the community and language difficulties or cultural differences.

Renters are not confident that they can afford a home due their ability to make a down payment and meet closing costs.

African Americans are less confident than other groups in their ability to go through the home-buying process without facing some form of discrimination. African-American men and African Americans under the age of 35 are the most concerned about discrimination.

Credit is an even bigger concern for the minority households. Different parts of the American population also have significantly different levels of experience with credit and debt.

Responsibility is your ‘response’ – ‘ability’ to establish, maintain and monitor decent credit because credit is the key factor in qualifying for financing to purchase a home. Knowing your credit is weak and your ability to correct, and maintain it suffers from lack of motivation to tackle the “bad credit” mountain is being honest with yourself. If you can correct it, that is the best route. Do not look for a quick deal when you know that your response-abililty factor is as weak as your credit score.

Great programs offer assistance through the home buying process by educating and coaching you to shift your response ability to a new level of understanding about the breath and depth of this investment choice.

Do your research and buyer beware to avoid becoming a victim or being trapped with more financial debt and responsibility than you can handle. Losing a home is devastating and affects the overall security of your family and well-being.

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