I am stressed about background checks.... ugh!!!!

[little flee]

I have applied for a 911 dispatcher job, and the background checks will start this week. I have two questions regarding the background checks.

1. Credit report - I don't have a stellar credit report. But i have in advance disclosed the circumstances. In short - I have only became a permanent resident recently, while before that I was on a student visa. I have never broken any laws (immigration, criminal or civil) and have always been in status (a.k.a. legal). During my student visa days, I was hospitalized for an injury, and amassed $7,000 hospital bill. I was also paying for my health insurance through my university, but the insurance company decided to only cover the costs if they exceed $10,000 or if I die they would ship my body back to my country for free - how nice of them. The catch 22 is that I needed hospital care after the injury, yet my immigration status (student visa) restricted my employment anywhere, hence I was not allowed to work in order to make $ and pay for the hospital services. I decided to opt for ruining my credit versus to break immigration law and not work illegally in order to make $ and pay the hospital. I have just became a permanent resident (2 months ago), meaning that now I can work without restrictions, and this 911 job is the first I applied. So, once/if I get the job, I can start repaying my hospital bills, since I don't want to have bad credit for ever. I have disclosed all this in the application packet, along with my former and current immigration documentation proving that under F-1 visa I was not allowed to work in the US. How will this credit report influence my chances of getting the job? I know it is bad to have a bad credit report, but I still feel like I made a better choice (not breaking the immigration law), yet I was in a dire need of medical help. Would this weigh heavily against me, if they have a US-born candidate with spotless credit report?

2. I was told that part of my background check will mean that the sergeant in charge of my application will contact my friends and possibly my family back in my country. What kind of questions could they ask them? I am worried just because I am a private person, but I have never committed a crime, have never been convicted, had only two jobs in my life, went to school here, and that is pretty much it. I have already underwent a thorough FBI background check when I was allowed to change my immigration status, and the FBI checked everything in the US and my own country, but unlike this background check, I was never notified in advance of anything. They did their checks and later called me in for interviews, which I assume was to match their findings with my story, without telling me in advance what they found/who they contacted. So - I am stressed, because I don't know what they will ask my friends. Will they ask why I broke up with my boyfriends, who they are, what my favorite movies/books are, do I procrastinate, what languages I speak, etc.... what could they ask? I don't know why I am stressed about it, but knowing that someone is snooping around just makes me stressed. Can someone shed some light?

Thank you!!

[retdetsgt]

The bad credit may not hurt you too badly if you're going for a dispatcher job, I don't know.

As far as background questions, is there something in your background you're worried about? If you were a reasonably honest person back there and were well regarded, you should be fine. Family spats aren't generally a concern unless laws were broken.

[Adrenolize]

Everyone has skeletons in the closet. Unless you have hidden something, there really isn't much to worry about. They are probably just trying to establish your character, based upon what those who know you think. I know it is hard, but try not to worry about it as you cannot control that part of the process compared to an Oral Board.

Good luck!

[little flee]

You guys were right. I had nothing to stress about. They just called friends/family to establish my character. Good thing they didn't know I was stressing about this, and yet applying for a stressful job as a 9-1-1 dispatcher ;) I don't have any skeletons in the closet (except shop-lifting a chocolate from a store when I was 9 yrs old, for which I received heavy beating by my mother who beat the idea of doing a similar thing out of my head , but I don't like when people snoop around. I am just a private person.