How important is length of employment really?

[Rebuilding69]

I've been at my current job for 10 years, and while it's nice to put that on a cc application, my job is basically a dead end, and not what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I'm wondering how important length of employment is, past a certain point. I consider myself still rebuilding, with 2 paid baddies listed & mid 600s scores, though I doubt that matters in the ultimate answer.

I guess my question really is, whats the minimum length of employment I'll want to divulge to the next cc company when I decide on getting another cc?

[MyDataMyChoice]

6 Months to a year is considered stable

[Anonymous]

How important it is to get a good SL vs. any approval?

A low or unstable income may still mean an approval for a low SL.

[takeshi74]

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@Rebuilding69 wrote:
I'm wondering how important length of employment is, past a certain point. I consider myself still rebuilding, with 2 paid baddies listed & mid 600s scores, though I doubt that matters in the ultimate answer.

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The derogs are going to be an issue regardless of length of employment.   Definitely address them, if possible.

[Kevin86475391]

I think finding a job that meets your needs is much more important than a small factor in your credit profile. I personally wouldn't even let this be an influencing factor at all for whether or not you change jobs.

Also, just my personal opinion/advice, but if you're changing jobs I'd discourage you from opening new credit. Not for how it'll affect your credit profile, but because that could potentially make it very tempting to rack up debt and/or extend the length of time you take off between jobs. Obviously you would know better than anyone whether or not this would be a concern for you, but I think it's human nature to be tempted to put extra charges on the credit card while you're between jobs/waiting for your first check.

My advice would be to mentally remove how it'll affect your near-term future credit applications altogether and then carefully weigh the pros and cons of seeking a new job. If you do decide to look for a new position, try to save up as much as possible before you quit, and of course if possible try to line up a new job before you quit. Then I'd advise giving yourself at least a year or so to settle into your new lifestyle before applying for any new credit.

Just my opinions though. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[sjt]

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@Rebuilding69 wrote:
I've been at my current job for 10 years, and while it's nice to put that on a cc application, my job is basically a dead end, and not what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I'm wondering how important length of employment is, past a certain point. I consider myself still rebuilding, with 2 paid baddies listed & mid 600s scores, though I doubt that matters in the ultimate answer.

I guess my question really is, whats the minimum length of employment I'll want to divulge to the next cc company when I decide on getting another cc?

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If you change employment but are in the same field or profession it counts the same.

[Anonymous]

I just got a car lease and two credit cards with 2 months at a new job. I have 18 years in the same field and income increased with the new job however.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure whether anyone on this thread has mentioned this yet, but length of employment history is not a piece of data considered by FICO or Vantage.  Even if you see some data in the EMPLOYMENT field of your report, it is ignored by those two scoring systems.

Some lenders do ask you how long you have been working at your current job (they are entitled to ask for data not considered by the FICO or Vantage score) but this tends to be when a great deal of money is involved, for example the purchase of a home.

I may be misremembering here, but I have applied for at least four cards in the last 13 months, from a total of three issuers (Chase, Citibank, Amex) and I can't remember any of them asking me how long I have worked at my current job.  Perhaps the online application software asks a person this question if his credit score is beneath 700 (say).  My scores at the time of application have been over 780. 

Does anyone else get asked this question?  Am I just forgetting that I was asked it?

If a lender (e.g. for a mortgage) does ask you how long you have been working at your current job, your truthful answer of "10 years" is fine.  Anything over 2 years would be the same I feel sure. 

[Rebuilding69]

Thanks for the replies, all ☺

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am not sure whether anyone on this thread has mentioned this yet, but length of employment history is not a piece of data considered by FICO or Vantage.  Even if you see some data in the EMPLOYMENT field of your report, it is ignored by those two scoring systems.

Some lenders do ask you how long you have been working at your current job (they are entitled to ask for data not considered by the FICO or Vantage score) but this tends to be when a great deal of money is involved, for example the purchase of a home.

I may be misremembering here, but I have applied for at least four cards in the last 13 months, from a total of three issuers (Chase, Citibank, Amex) and I can't remember any of them asking me how long I have worked at my current job.  Perhaps the online application software asks a person this question if his credit score is beneath 700 (say).  My scores at the time of application have been over 780. 

Does anyone else get asked this question?  Am I just forgetting that I was asked it?

If a lender (e.g. for a mortgage) does ask you how long you have been working at your current job, your truthful answer of "10 years" is fine.  Anything over 2 years would be the same I feel sure. 

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I have applied for 7 cards and got 6 of them in the last year and none asked about length of employment.  Lenders are chase, amex, barclays, cap 1 and discover.