Why should I care about my Credit Score?
Getting a credit check is pretty much a standard operating procedure for getting a job these days. So it is very important that you have a good idea of your financial picture that potential employers will surely be seeing. Given the current economic situation of the Great Recession you’ll need every advantage you can get, so make sure you don’t have any miscellaneous credit issues before you apply for a job.
It is also very important to have a credit check on yourself to ensure that there are not any errors that could make you look like an untrustworthy character because states like Michigan allow insurance companies to base their rates on your credit score.
Where can I get a free credit report from?
There are 4 different major players in the credit industry Experian, Transunion, Equifax are the main credit reporting agencies. The fourth player Fair Issac is a specialized company that compiles your credit report information and creates a proprietary credit score that is based on an ever changing formula. This score is commonly known as your FICO score.
The three credit agencies have teamed up with the Federal Trade Commission to offer users one free credit report per year. The only place to get this free report is through annualcreditreport.com
Most other credit services are only free trials and will eventually start charging you money for their service.
Another resource for a free credit report is Quizzle.com. This is a resource that will allow users to get a free credit check, and spits out a credit score for you. Quizzle allows 2 free credit reports a year, one per 6 month period. It is focused on users who are trying to get a mortgage for a home through it’s parent company Quicken Loans.
More information about credit checks and reports can be found at the FTC’s website here.