Money – mardihumphreys.com

Productivity Redesign

I was sitting in a circle of relatives, catching up the way you do: half stories, half snack breaks, a little “So… what are you working on these days?” And then something quietly wild happened. I discovered that out of seven people chatting, four work three or four days a week and they are considered full-time employees.

If you entered the workforce back when the definition of work meant 40+ hours exclusively on-site, you can feel my whiplash. That old default came with a standard bundle: PTO, group health insurance, a 401(k), and the occasional professional development trip that felt like a brief vacation until you remembered you had to network. Then the pandemic showed up, kicked the office door open, and accelerated a bunch of changes at once: remote work felt normal, the definition of full-time got fuzzier in some roles, and employer-sponsored health coverage got more complicated and costly. So here in the middle of Q1 2026 where are we on the four-day workweek in the United States? You’re closer than you think. Just not in the way social media makes it sound.

What Qualifies?

When people say “four-day workweek,” they often mean one of two things. Both are legitimate. They’re just not the same lifestyle.

Option A: 32 hours, same pay (the true shorter week)
You work fewer hours, you keep your salary, and teams redesign how work gets done (fewer meetings, clearer priorities, better handoffs). This is the model promoted by groups like 4 Day Week Global, and it’s the one most likely to reduce burnout without turning Thursday into a stress marathon.

Option B: 4×10 (the compressed week)
You still work 40 hours, just in four longer days. This can be great if commuting is brutal or you want a weekday for personal appointments. It can also be exhausting, especially in meeting-heavy jobs where 10 hours quietly becomes 10 hours plus whatever you didn’t finish.

What’s Happening in Workplaces?

Large, coordinated trials helped legitimize the idea for knowledge-work employers. In 4 Day Week Global’s U.S./Ireland trial results, organizations reported strong satisfaction and many committed to continue the schedule after the trial. Meanwhile, the American Psychological Association reported in its Work in America survey, a larger share of respondents said their employer offered a four-day workweek in 2024 than in 2022. Even if your company hasn’t adopted it, the idea is now mainstream enough that your peers are experiencing it.

What’s Happening in Policy and Legislation?

Bills titled the “Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act” have been introduced in the United States Congress, aiming to shift overtime thresholds toward 32 hours (phased in). At the state level, proposals keep popping up, but broad mandates still haven’t crossed the finish line. One example right now: Washington’s HB 2611 (2025–26 session) proposes reducing the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours by changing overtime rules. And across states more broadly, policy trackers note lots of bills proposed, with few becoming law. So as of early 2026, experiments and employer adoption are ahead of legislation.

If you’ve tried a four-day schedule (or want to), what model made (or would make) your life better: 32 hours, or 4×10? Please share in the comments.

For the extended article including a side note about employer benefits, and the Decision Guide: Is a Four-day Work Week Realistic for You? sent right to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack here.

Atta Baby

Most workplaces have the memory of a group chat: everything important gets buried fast. People are busy. Priorities shift. And the work you did in February becomes that thing you kind of helped with by October unless someone (hi, it’s you) preserves the evidence. That’s why you need an “Atta Baby” folder.

It’s not a brag shrine or a personality test. It’s a tiny, practical system that protects you from being overlooked and under-credited especially when performance review season rolls around and everyone suddenly wants you to summarize your entire year in three bullet points with a calm, confident smile.

Why You Should Care

Because visibility lets you stop proving yourself 24/7/365. When you don’t have receipts, you end up performing your value in real time. You say yes to extra work because you’re afraid of being forgettable. You over-explain in meetings because you want your contribution on the record. You panic before 1:1s because you can’t remember what you accomplished. You walk into performance reviews hoping your manager just knows how good you are.

And sometimes your manager does know… but not in enough detail to advocate for you in the promotion meeting where you aren’t in the room. The room where decisions are made based on a quick narrative of your impact. You don’t need to be louder. You need to be documented.

Visibility reduces pressure. Documentation reduces anxiety. And a folder full of proof is the career equivalent of keeping an umbrella in your bag. You’re not being dramatic. You’re being prepared.

What It Is (And Isn’t)

The “Atta Baby” folder is one place where you save:

Praise: The “thank you,” the “this was huge,” the “couldn’t have done it without you” notes.

Impact: What changed because you did the work

That’s it. It can look however you want. It can be a folder on your desktop, a single document with monthly bullets, a note app page, or a private email label you forward things to. The best system is the one you’ll actually remember to use when you’re tired. And let’s be honest. You’re going to be tired.

If You Don’t Track Wins, You’ll Keep Working Harder

Workplaces quietly reward the people who can tell a clear story about their jobs. These are not necessarily the people who did the most work or the people who suffered the most. These are the people who can connect the dots from effort to outcome. Without a record, you rely on memory and vibes. And memory is biased toward the recent, the painful, and the unfinished. You end up underselling yourself, even when you’re excellent.

Try This

Here is a weekly 10-minute ritual that pays off all year long. Pick a day. Friday afternoon usually works well because your week is fresh and your brain is already in wrap-it-up mode. Put a recurring event on your calendar: Atta Baby Folder 10 minutes. Then do these three steps: save praise, add an impact sentence, and log your accomplishments by month.

How do you keep track of your accomplishments all year long? Please share in the comments.

For examples of the above three steps and a 3 Wins in 10 Minutes Checklist sent right to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack here.

Heavenly Peace

Moderate economic growth, falling interest rates, fast-evolving financial tech, and sticky inflation are all shaping the financial decisions you’ll make next year. If you stay focused, adaptable, and a little curious, you can build heavenly peace of mind not only for your money, but also your career in 2026.

Investing

Interest Rates: Lower interest rates are great if you’re buying a house, less great if you’ve been living your best life with high-yield savings accounts. As the Fed likely continues cutting rates into 2026, those easy returns start shrinking. Be intentional about growing your money. Think about it like a performance review. Last year, you hit your goals without trying too hard because conditions were in your favor. This year, you’ll need to show strategy: document what’s working, adjust what isn’t, and decide what you want to level up.
Stocks: You’ll also hear whispers (okay, loud whispers) that 2026 could be a stall year for the markets. It is not time to panic. Avoid the urge to time the market and keep contributing on schedule. Much like you keep showing up to solve your client’s problems even when your team feels stuck in neutral.
AI: Investment in AI and cloud computing is still booming, and yes, that means exciting opportunities. It also means hype, high valuations, and the temptation to chase shiny objects. Before you buy into any specific company or fund, ask yourself the same question you ask before volunteering for that quick cross-department initiative. Is this aligned with my long-term goals, or am I just flattered to be invited?

Debt

BNPL: Debt is becoming easier to access, automate, and accumulate—all at once. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is everywhere, and it’s incredibly appealing when your budget feels squeezed or when you’re trying to avoid credit-card guilt. But BNPL can quietly multiply if you’re juggling multiple apps or splitting payments across paychecks you haven’t yet received. This is the financial equivalent of taking on just one more project when your workload is already at capacity. You don’t feel the strain until everything comes due at once.
Collections: More companies are using AI agents to manage payment reminders and resolve overdue accounts. They’re fast, direct, and persistent. This makes it important to stay current on what you owe and when. Consider it an act of self-care like cleaning out your inbox before it becomes a beast.
Borrowing: With digital-first banks offering quick, personalized credit decisions, you’ll have more ways to borrow money than ever before. Convenient? Absolutely. But also a reminder to guard your data, monitor cybersecurity risks, and slow down before you hit accept. A fast approval doesn’t mean it’s the right loan.

Wellness:

Programs: Nearly half of companies will offer expanded programs by the end of 2026. For example, student loan help, coaching, and savings tools. But benefits only help if you use them. During performance review and promotion cycles, when you’re already thinking about long-term goals, is the perfect time to ask HR what resources you’re not tapping into.
Benefits: Personalized benefits are being normalized. If your company offers a menu of options, pick the ones that directly support your stability and growth: retirement matches, HSAs, student loan assistance, or reimbursement for professional development. Money wellness counts as real wellness.
Habits: When the economy is uncertain, habits matter more. Track spending, cook at home a few nights a week, and end unused subscriptions. These actions build momentum. They also reduce stress when your workload spikes or burnout creeps in. Think of habits as your financial autopilot. They help you make steady progress even on the days when you’re too tired to make one more decision.

How will you stay centered in our shifting economy? Please share in the comments.

Gambling With Your Future

I hope you’d never walk into a casino and bet your paycheck on a roulette wheel. But plenty of smart, responsible adults gamble with their money every day. It happens when you buy into the latest crypto coin because someone on social media said it’s the next big thing. When you keep high-interest credit card debt because you think it’s manageable for now. Or when you skip your employer’s 401(k) match because you plan to catch up later. You might think you’re making financial moves. But some of those moves are really risks pretending to be strategy.

What Financial Gambling Looks Like

Day Trading: You’re glued to your phone between meetings, watching stock prices jump and dip like a heartbeat. You tell yourself you’re learning the market, but you’re really chasing adrenaline. True investing is like gardening. It grows with time. Trading on impulse is like pulling the plant up every hour to check its roots.
Crypto FOMO: You heard Joe in finance doubled his money on a meme coin, so you jumped in. Then the market dipped, and you promised yourself you’d hold until it bounces back. Crypto has potential, yes. But if you’re buying it without understanding it, you’re not investing; you’re guessing. That’s like ordering off a menu in a language you don’t speak and hoping it’s your favorite meal when it arrives.
High-Interest Debt: You’re paying 20% interest on your credit card but throwing extra cash at speculative investments. That’s like bailing water from a sinking ship while drilling new holes in the hull.
Ignoring Free Money: Your employer offers a 401(k) match, but you’re waiting until you make more to contribute. That’s like walking past a free lunch every week and buying fast food instead. Compounding, where your money earns interest on both your deposits and the interest they’ve already earned, isn’t magic, but it is the next best thing.

How This Ties to Work

At work, you’re rewarded for action: jumping on opportunities, thinking fast, getting results. But money rewards the opposite: patience, restraint, and long-term consistency. If you thrive on quick wins, it’s easy to bring that same mindset to your finances. You refresh your portfolio like you check Slack. You take shortcuts because standing still feels like losing. But sustainable success, whether in your career or your wallet, comes from focus and follow-through, not flashes of luck.

Stop Betting and Start Building

Automate Your Safety Net: Set up automatic transfers into savings and retirement accounts. What you don’t see, you won’t spend.
Diversify Your Funds: Spread your money across stocks, bonds, and cash savings. If one thing drops, the others help steady the ship.
Pay Yourself First: Before you invest in crypto or options, clear high-interest debt. You can’t out-earn a 24% APR.
Understand Your Risk Tolerance: Some people can handle volatility; others lose sleep over it. Match your investments to your comfort level, not a coworker’s advice.
Stick With Boring: Boring is beautiful when it comes to money. Index funds, low-cost investments that track the overall market, quietly build wealth while flashier bets flame out.

How do you stop yourself from gambling with your future? Please share in the comments.

Hold on Loosely

You’ve heard of job hopping. Meet its quieter cousin: job hugging. It’s what happens when you hold on to your current role like it’s the last lifeboat on the Titanic. Let’s talk about what’s happening and what you can do about it.

What It Is

After years of high turnover during the Great Resignation, the pendulum has swung the other way. Companies have slowed hiring. Layoffs still make headlines. Pay growth is flattening. You see fewer “We’re hiring!” posts on LinkedIn. So, you do what many smart, responsible professionals do. You cling to what you know. The steady paycheck. The predictable routine. The illusion of safety. But comfort and security aren’t always the same thing.

Why It’s Happening

The labor market is tight. Many companies are still rebalancing after over-hiring during the pandemic. Simultaneously, economic uncertainty, from interest rates to election cycles, makes even confident professionals hesitate. You might think it’s not the right time to make a move and you’re wise to be cautious, but there’s a difference between being careful and getting stuck. That stuck feeling is what’s fueling job hugging: a mix of fear and perceived safety.

The Risks of Holding Too Tight

Stalled skills: When you stay in one environment too long, your learning curve flattens. For example, a project manager who’s been at her company for six years knows every client, every template, every shortcut. But the market’s moved on to new project-tracking software and if she hasn’t even touched it then she’s behind competitors who’ve adapted.

Missed opportunities: By not looking, you don’t see what’s out there. Even if you’re not ready to switch, keeping an eye on job trends tells you what skills are in demand, what salaries are rising, and which companies are growing.

Long-term financial stagnation: According to Statista, in 2022 job switchers used to get an annual pay increase of at least 15%. Those who stayed often saw only 7–8%. Today that gap has narrowed, but staying too long in one place can quietly cost you thousands in lifetime earnings.

Hug Your Job but Don’t Burn Out

Ask the hard question: Are you staying for the right reasons or just because it feels safe? If your only reason is fear, that’s not a strategy. That’s a stall. Write down what’s keeping you there: money, flexibility, benefits, etc. Weigh those against what you’re missing: growth, learning, pay, satisfaction. The clearer you see it, the easier it is to act intentionally.

Invest in yourself: Take advantage of internal upskilling budgets, cross-training, or free tools. If that’s not an option, spend a few hours a week learning new technology, obtaining certifications, or practicing soft skills. (Pssst…Access to LinkedIn Learning is free with your Dayton Metro Library card.) The best time to build marketable skills is before you need them.

Nurture your network: You don’t have to launch a full-on job search. Just reconnect. Send a LinkedIn message to a former coworker. Attend a virtual event. Comment on industry posts. These small touches keep your professional circle alive and position you for future moves.

Update your materials: Quietly refresh your résumé. Polish your LinkedIn profile. Pull up your Atta Baby! file and jot down your recent wins and metrics while they’re fresh. Think of it as career hygiene. You brush your teeth daily; you should update your career toolkit quarterly.

Get curious: Ask to shadow another team. Volunteer for a cross-department project. Learn how your company is making money this year. Curiosity keeps your brain sharp and your résumé interesting.

What is one thing you’ll do this week to prepare for your next opportunity? Please share in the comments.

Protect Yourself

You’ve got your work rhythm down, bills are on autopay, and money doesn’t seem like the big stressor everyone makes it out to be. Then BAM you get into a car accident. The repair bill is bigger than your last bonus check. The insurance deductible wipes out what you thought was extra income. Suddenly, one domino tips into another, and you realize your safety net has huge holes in it.

Only 46% of U.S. adults have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses. That means over half of us are one crisis away from financial free fall. You don’t have to wait for the floor to drop. You can build guardrails right now.

Focus on Financial Literacy

Learn how credit works, how interest compounds, and why “zero percent APR for 12 months” can be a trap if you don’t read the fine print.

To Do: Pick one financial podcast, blog, or book this month and commit to finishing it. You’ll be surprised how quickly small insights, like knowing your credit utilization ratio, translate into better decisions.

Create a Realistic Budget

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. For example, if you discover you’re spending $250 a month on takeout lunches, then you can decide whether it’s worth it or whether you’d rather funnel $100 into savings and still grab Chipotle once a week.

To Do: Start a spreadsheet. Track every expense for two weeks. The point isn’t to cut everything. It’s to see clearly where your money is actually going.

Build Savings

Your emergency fund is your personal career insurance. Start with a small, achievable goal: $1,500. That’s enough to cover most minor disasters like replacing the catalytic converter on your car without panic-Googling payday lenders. Once you hit that, aim for three months’ worth of expenses, then six. I know that sounds like a lot. And it is. Six months is currently how long it’s taking people to find new jobs.

To Do: Automate $50 a paycheck into a separate savings account. Set it and forget it. Future you, facing an unexpected bill, will thank you.

Pay Down Debt

High-interest debt is like running on a treadmill while someone keeps handing you five-pound weights. You’re working hard, but you’re not getting anywhere. Credit cards, payday loans, and other high-interest traps drain future earning power. Attack them first.

To Do: Get out that budget spreadsheet and add a tab. List your debts, interest rates, and minimum payments. Choose one of these methods to pay them down: Avalanche Method: Pay extra on the highest-interest debt first. Or the Snowball Method: Pay extra on the smallest balance for quick wins. Both work. The best method is whichever one you’ll stick to.

Diversify Your Income

Your salary shouldn’t be your only defense against poverty. Having multiple income streams can buffer you in the event of layoffs or hiring freezes. A side hustle doesn’t have to mean starting a full-blown business. It can be freelancing your current skills, teaching online, or setting up a passive income stream like writing an e-book and selling it on your website.

To Do: Identify one skill you already use at work (e.g., writing, data analysis, design) and brainstorm one way to monetize it outside your day job.

What is one thing you do to protect yourself from poverty? Please share in the comments.

The Fuel

You finally got the raise you worked so long and so hard for. You’re ecstatic! For about a minute and a half. Then you think, “Wait. That’s it?” The milestone matters, but the money isn’t what fulfills you. The fuel that keeps you going is the process that got you there: your daily practice of showing up, solving problems, and getting a little sharper every day.

Why the High Fades So Fast

Extrinsic rewards like raises, promotions, or landing a new job are motivating but they quickly lose their shine. The email subject line “Congratulations!” feels great in the moment. But two weeks later, you’re back in the grind wondering why you don’t feel any different. Feelings are fleeting. What lasts are the skills you built, the focus you developed, and the decisions you made. These are things you control. What you don’t control is whether the company hits its revenue targets. Or whether your boss’s boss decides it’s the right time to bump your pay. You choose how to use your time and the quality of the work you produce.

The Process is the Point

Raises, promotions, and job offers are markers. They’re not destinations. The fulfillment comes from how you handle the work in between them. Think back to when you were working toward the raise. Maybe you streamlined how your team reports results. Maybe you volunteered to take the lead on a project outside your comfort zone. Maybe you finally learned how to say “no” to the meeting that could have been an email. (If it’s this one, then you’re my new superhero.) The part that fueled you was not the outcome. It was the act of improving.

The same principle applies to bigger career decisions. Maybe you’re choosing between two job offers: one with higher pay, the other with more growth potential. The satisfaction doesn’t come from the offer letter. It comes from the clarity you build while weighing your core values against the options and from the discipline of making the choice you’ll stand behind six months later. Or maybe you’ve started thinking about leadership. You won’t control whether your manager opens a new role next quarter. But you can control how you prepare. You can sharpen your ability to make decisions, practice how you delegate, and build trust with peers.

Why Process Wins More Often

When you commit to the process of showing up each day, learning, and refining, outcomes go your way more often because you give yourself more chances to succeed. For example, your coworker only updates their resume and portfolio once every two years when they’re job-hunting. But you regularly document your projects, update your Atta Baby! file, and reflect on what you learned. When the unexpected opportunity comes up, your coworker is scrambling. You, on the other hand, are ready for it.

What personal process improvement tip do you have for the Is It Worth Your T.E.A.M.? community? Please share in the comments.

Your Real Budget

A house. An MBA. A vacation you’ve dreamt about since your first entry-level job. Big scary purchases like these force you to stop and ask a tough question. “Is it worth the money I’d have to spend?” But it’s not only about the price tag. It’s also about what else you have to trade for it: your time, energy, and attention in addition to your money. That’s your real budget. When any of those get stretched, your productivity, mental health, and values take the hit. How do you decide?

Let’s say you’re thinking about one of these:

An MBA program to switch careers or boost your salary.
Buying a house in a better school district.
Finally taking that two-week vacation to Europe.

They’re all valid options. And they all come with a cost.

Will this drain your capacity for work you care about?
Will this choice add to your stress?
Will you regret doing it?
Will you regret not doing it?

What Are You Really Investing?

Earning your MBA is not only tuition, It’s also late nights, weekend classes, fewer hours for friends, family, or rest. If your job is already demanding, is your current energy level up for this?

Buying a house may seem like an upgrade. But it may double your commute, stretch your mortgage, or add home maintenance tasks you never had to think about. Can you make time for that?

Even the vacation, which sounds like self-care, can eat up time in planning, money you may need later, and attention you should be giving to pressing deadlines. Do you have the attention span for it?

Think about:

Are you willing to invest the time it takes to make this work?
Do you have the energy for it, or are you borrowing against burnout?
What other priorities will lose your attention?
What will you have to say no to, either now or later, because of this cost?

Are You Doing This for the Right Reasons?

Your college friends are going back for grad school. Your family thinks it’s time you bought property. Your coworker just returned from Italy. But if the cost doesn’t line up with your values, it’s going to backfire. For example:

If freedom is a core value, taking on $80K in student debt may weigh you down more than it lifts you up.
If you value stability, moving across the country for a job with a higher salary, and a higher cost of living, may not be the right move.
If competition drives you, the selfies you take in Milan may one up your coworker temporarily, but the cost is long-term.

What Are the Long-term Consequences?

Imagine yourself three years from now:

Will the MBA help you earn more, or delay your ability to save for a home?
Will buying a house now lock you into a job you’re already outgrowing?
Will a vacation refresh you or set back your emergency fund?
Will this investment open more doors or close some?
Will it still feel like it was worth your time, energy, attention, and money?

How do you make decisions about the resources that shape your life? Please share in the comments.

Financial Freedom

We are preparing to celebrate Independence Day here in America. Financial Independence is a goal for many of us. It can impact the jobs you take, how you choose to save your income, and how you decide to spend it. What does financial independence mean exactly? How much money do you need? How long will it take to achieve?

What Is It?

Financial independence means you don’t have to work to cover your basic living expenses. Your money through savings, investments, or passive income covers the essentials. You work because you want to, not because you have to. Financial security means you can weather a surprise expense like a car repair or a medical bill without spiraling into debt.

How Much Do You Need?

There’s no one-size-fits-all number, but there are some rules of thumb. A popular one is the “25x rule”: multiply your annual expenses by 25. That’s roughly how much you’d need to have saved and invested to consider yourself financially independent. For example, if you spend $50,000 a year, then you’d need about $1.25 million saved to live off a 4% withdrawal rate, which is generally considered sustainable. If your goal isn’t retirement but options, you don’t have to wait for that number. If you have a solid emergency fund (6-9 months of expenses), no high-interest debt, and some savings built up, you’re already gaining both financial freedom and decision-making power.

How Long Will It Take?

The more you earn and the less you spend, the faster you can save and invest and the fewer years you may need to work. But there’s a tradeoff. Chasing higher pay often comes with longer hours, more stress, and less time for life.

How Does It Affect Your Choices?

Which job you accept: Do you take the high-paying role with the long commute, or the one that pays less but lets you work from home three days a week?
How long you stay: You may put in three more years at a demanding job to hit your savings target, or leave early if the tradeoff stops being worth it.
What kind of work you pursue: You may take a risk on a startup, a nonprofit, or a new field entirely because your finances give you the freedom to.
The questions you ask: What’s the return on investment for staying late to impress your boss vs. using that time to build a side income or upskill?
Your priorities: Does this promotion align with your long-term goals, or just lock you into more stress for a bit more money?
Your values: You may decide it’s worth paying for conveniences (like grocery delivery or a house cleaner) so you can spend more time resting, learning, or building your next move.

What You Can Do?

Know your number: Calculate how much you spend annually and multiply by 25. That’s your financial independence target.
Audit your time: Track how much time you spend on work, commuting, side gigs, and rest. Is your time supporting your financial goals or working against them?
Automate your savings: Set up auto-transfers into a high-yield savings account or Roth IRA. Even $100 a month adds up.
Evaluate job offers holistically: Don’t just chase salary. Look at total compensation, health benefits, schedule flexibility, and burnout risk.
Think in seasons: It’s okay to sprint for a few years to build savings as long as you have a plan to rest, pivot, or reprioritize later.

What are you doing to secure your financial independence? Please share in the comments.

Quiet Influencer

When you’re looking for a new job, you probably focus on your resume, networking, and interview prep. But there’s another variable quietly influencing your search: your credit history.

Most potential employers can’t see your credit score. This is a numerical rating between 300 and 850 summarizing your credit history. It shows how well you manage debt.

But potential employers can access your credit report as part of a background check. This is a detailed record of your credit history compiled by credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Credit information can signal to an employer how responsible you are with money. Late payments, maxed-out credit cards, or unpaid debts may make them think twice about hiring you.

What Employers See

Payment history: Whether you pay your bills on time
Credit card balances: How much debt you’re carrying
Outstanding loans: Student loans, personal loans, car loans, etc.
Public records: Bankruptcies, foreclosures, and accounts in collections

Why Employers Check Credit

If a job involves handling money, managing budgets, or accessing sensitive data, a credit check is a tool employers use to assess whether you can be trusted with financial or confidential responsibilities. A history of missed payments or financial trouble may be interpreted, fairly or not, as a sign you make poor decisions under pressure.

If you’re going for a position at a financial services company, then expect to get your credit report pulled. But any employer can include a credit check as part of a background screening.

How It Can Affect Your Job Search

Let’s say you’re applying for a role at a mid-size tech company as an operations lead. You’ve got a great resume and solid experience. But the role also involves managing budgets and vendor payments. If the company runs a credit check and sees you have a recent bankruptcy, it could lead to doubts about your financial reliability. This doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be rejected. But if the hiring manager is weighing two qualified candidates, your credit history could become a deciding factor.

You Have Rights

If a company plans to check your credit as part of a background screening, they must ask for your written permission first. If they decide not to hire you because of what they find in your credit report, they must notify you. You also have the right to know which report they used (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion), review it for errors, and dispute any inaccuracies so this won’t happen the next time you apply for a job.

What You Can Do Now

It’s not time to panic, but you do need to be aware of what’s on your credit report. Here are three things you can do today:

Check: Go to Annual Credit Report.com. You’re entitled to a free report from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) once a year. Check for errors, outdated info, or accounts you don’t recognize.

Improve: If you spot missed payments or high balances, prioritize making payments on time and pay down debt. Even small progress shows financial responsibility and may help your case if you’re asked about it during the hiring process.

Rehearse: If you know your credit history could raise red flags, prepare a brief, honest explanation. For example: “A few years ago, I had a medical emergency that affected my finances, but since then I’ve been steadily rebuilding and haven’t missed a payment in over 18 months.” This keeps the focus on how you took responsibility and what steps you’re still taking to improve.

How do you feel about the impact of your credit history on your career? Please share in the comments.