Will a prior bankruptcy keep me from a job?

I am applying for an analyst job at a $200bln AUM firm and think I have a good shot at getting the job. I am worried about getting hung up on the background check though.

I filed for bankruptcy in early 2009 after finding an inability to pay off credit card debt that my ex girlfriend helped me to rack up after being together for 6 years. We broke up and I ended up getting left with the bill. It was discharged in 2015 and is no longer even on my credit report so my credit score is really good. However, it still would show up in a civil court record background check. I started at my firm in 2006 and went through the bankruptcy process while there and they had no idea. They recently shut the fund I work on down so now I'm trying to get this other job.

Does anyone know if firms actually do civil court record background checks or do they just do criminal checks along with maybe checking a credit report? Not sure how worried I should be about this.

13 Comments
 

The banks usually run credit checks but the two asset managers I've worked at did not, nor did they ever ask me about it. There's also a time limit that the banks use. I can't remember if it's 7 or 10 years, but very possible you could already be past the window they would look at. Honestly I think you'll be fine. I wouldn't bring it up unless directly asked about it.

 

I would come up fine after a credit check and a criminal background check. The only thing that would catch me is a civil background check where they look for other court records. I would prefer them to not find out. I was hoping to get a sense of how many firms run civil background checks and of the ones that do, whether a past bankruptcy is a deal breaker. Not sure where else I could ask the question.

 

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