fb
  • home Home
  • keyboard_arrow_right Kaya Biz
  • keyboard_arrow_right Posts
  • keyboard_arrow_rightA negative credit score can affect career opportunities

A negative credit score can affect career opportunities

By: Natasha Archary

negative credit score
Image: Adobe Stock

A negative credit score can affect new career opportunities, particularly in the Finance sector.

Rapule Mahlangu, Head of Associations and Affinity Groups at Metropolitan joins Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz to share why building a good credit score is important to securing that new job.

Being heavily in debt can leave one feeling shackled and unable to break free, especially when one is trying to break free from the cyle of bad debt by securing a job.

A negative credit score and being in debt can ruin one’s chances of a new career opportunity as most employers may opt to run a credit check for positions that are Finance related.

Rapule says the reason for this is so that employers can assess whether the candidate can manage their own finances before being given the role of access to company finances and budgets.

Here are 5 tips to help you improve your credit score:

  • Get on top of your credit repayments

    How you pay your creditors is very important. You need to make sure that you pay your debts on time and the agreed minimum installments.

    A payment that is received late may affect your score even if it is just few days late. Ensure that you communicate with your creditor in advance if payment will be made late before they add interest on your amount owing, which will only make your financial situation worse.

    • Work on getting a good mix of credit

    A good mix of credit is crucial in helping you stand a better chance and to help you rebuild your score. There are 2 types of credit, secured debt and unsecured debt.

    A Secured a debt is credit that is linked and protected by an asset, for example, home loan, vehicle loan, study loan, clothing accounts, personal loan, credit card and an overdraft.

    They also are divided to long term and short term. In order to increase your score, a good balance of these accounts can help you to look good. Remember that unsecured debts are high interest bearing.

    • Inquiries

    When applying for credit, a credit provider would go to the credit bureau to conduct an assessment before granting you credit. They also do this to assess how you manage your accounts.

    When a provider does a check on you, that information would remain on your profile for about 2 years. Avoid multiple credit applications as it shows creditors that there might be something wrong with your finances and this does affect your credit score.

    • Duration of your credit profile

    The longer you have had credit, the easier it is for creditors to assess your credit behaviour. 

    It is important to build a credit profile and maintain it well. 

    • Credit usage

    It is very important to insure that you do not max out the credit balance you have. If you have a credit card with a limit of R10 000, try to not go above it.

    The same with a clothing account that has a credit availability of say R3 000, try and use below R1 200.

    Always remember the higher the amount you take out, the higher your monthly repayment instalments will be.

    It is advisable to settle these accounts within 6-months to avoid a higher interest on the amount owed.

    Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:

    Also read: Making a withdrawal in “two-pot” retirement plan will cost you and should be a last resort

    Written by: Natasha



    QUICK LINKS

    UpComing Shows

    DownLoad Our Mobile App

    Be part of the Kasi SME Summit with Standard Bank and hosted by Kaya Biz with Gugulethu Mfuphi, on 11 December 2024 at The Empire Conference and Events Venue in Parktown.

    Privacy Policy

    THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT FORMS PART OF KAYA 959’S TERMS OF USE POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY TERM OF THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT, YOU MUST CEASE YOUR ACCESS OF THIS WEBSITE IMMEDIATELY. 

    POPIA ActTo promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies; to introduce certain conditions so as to establish minimum requirements for the processing of personal information; to provide for the establishment of an Information Regulator to exercise certain powers and to perform certain duties and functions in terms of this Act and the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000; to provide for the issuing of codes of conduct; to provide for the rights of persons regarding unsolicited electronic communications and automated decision making; to regulate the flow of personal information across the borders of the Republic; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

    RECOGNISING THAT—

    • section 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, provides that everyone has the right to privacy;
    • the right to privacy includes a right to protection against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information;
    • the State must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights;

    AND BEARING IN MIND THAT—

    • consonant with the constitutional values of democracy and openness, the need for economic and social progress, within the framework of the information society, requires the removal of unnecessary impediments to the free flow of information, including personal information;

    AND IN ORDER TO—

    • regulate, in harmony with international standards, the processing of personal information by public and private bodies in a manner that gives effect to the right to privacy subject to justifiable limitations that are aimed at protecting other rights and important interests,
    1. Definitions and Interpretation

    1.1.“Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person and where it is applicable, identifiable, existing juristic person, including all information as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. 

    1.2  Parliament assented to POPIA on 19 November 2013. The commencement date of section 1Part A of Chapter 5section 112 and section 113 was 11 April 2014. The commencement date of the other sections was 1 July 2020 (with the exception of section 110 and 114(4). The President of South Africa has proclaimed the POPI commencement date to be 1 July 2020.

     
    1.3. “Processing” means the creation, generation, communication, storage, destruction of personal information as more fully defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.  

    1.4. “You” or the “user” means any person who accesses and browses this website for any purpose. 

    1.4. “Website” means the website of the KAYA 959 at URL www.kaya959.co.za or such other URL as KAYA 959 may choose from time to time.   

    1. Status and Amendments

    2.1. KAYA 959 respects your privacy. This privacy policy statement sets out KAYA 959’s information gathering and dissemination practices in respect of the Website. 

    2.2. This Privacy Policy governs the processing of personal information provided to KAYA 959 through your use of the Website. 

    2.3. Please note that, due to legal and other developments, KAYA 959 may amend these terms and conditions from time to time.  

    1. Processing of Personal Information

    3.1. By providing your personal information to KAYA 959 you acknowledge that it has been collected directly from you and consent to its processing by KAYA 959. 

    3.2. Where you submit Personal Information (such as name, address, telephone number and email address) via the website (e.g. through completing any online form) the following principles are observed in the processing of that information: 

    3.2.1. KAYA 959 will only collect personal information for a purpose consistent with the purpose for which it is required. The specific purpose for which information is 
    collected will be apparent from the context in which it is requested. 

    3.2.2. KAYA 959 will only process personal information in a manner that is adequate, relevant and not excessive in the context of the purpose for which it is processed. 

    3.2.3. Personal information will only be processed for a purpose compatible with that for which it was collected, unless you have agreed to an alternative purpose in writing or KAYA 959 is permitted in terms of national legislation of general application dealing primarily with the protection of personal information. 

    3.2.4. KAYA 959 will keep records of all personal Information collected and the specific purpose for which it was collected for a period of 1 (one) year from the date on which it was last used. 

    3.2.5. KAYA 959 will not disclose any personal information relating to you to any third party unless your prior written agreement is obtained or KAYA 959 is required to do so by law. 

    3.2.6. If personal information is released with your consent KAYA 959 will retain a record of the information released, the third party to which it was released, the reason for the release and the date of release, for a period of 1 (one) year from the date on which it was last used. 

    3.2.7. KAYA 959 will destroy or delete any personal information that is no longer needed by KAYA 959 for the purpose it was initially collected, or subsequently processed. 

    3.3. Note that, as permitted by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, KAYA 959 may use personal information collected to compile profiles for statistical purposes. No information contained in the profiles or statistics will be able to be linked to any specific user.    

    1. Collection of anonymous data

    4.1. KAYA 959 may use standard technology to collect information about the use of this website. This technology is not able to identify individual users but simply allows KAYA 959 to collect statistics. 

    4.2. KAYA 959 may utilise temporary or session cookies to keep track of users’ browsing habits. A cookie is a small file that is placed on your hard drive in order to keep a record of your interaction with this website and facilitate user convenience. 

    4.2.1. Cookies by themselves will not be used to identify users personally but may be used to compile identified statistics relating to use of services offered or to provide KAYA 959 with feedback on the performance of this website. 

    4.2.2. The following classes of information may be collected in respect of users who have enabled cookies: 

    4.2.2.1. The browser software used; 

    4.2.2.2. IP address; 

    4.2.2.3. Date and time of activities while visiting the website; 

    4.2.2.4. URLs of internal pages visited; and 

    4.2.2.5. referrers. 

    4.3. If you do not wish cookies to be employed to customize your interaction with this website it is possible to alter the manner in which your browser handles cookies. Please note that, if this is done, certain services on this website may not be available. 

    1. Security

    5.1. KAYA 959 takes reasonable measures to ensure the security and integrity of information submitted to or collected by this website, but cannot under any circumstances be held liable for any loss or other damage sustained by you as a result of unlawful access to or dissemination of any personal information by a third party. 

    1. Links to other websites

    6.1. KAYA 959 has no control over and accepts no responsibility for the privacy practices of any third party websites to which hyperlinks may have been provided and KAYA 959 strongly recommends that you review the privacy policy of any website you visit before using it further. 

    1. Queries

    7.1. If you have any queries about this privacy policy please contact us by emailing [email protected]