DEAR ABBY: I am unemployed right now. I become extremely nervous when I fill out a job application because I have a bankruptcy on my record. Several potential employers have indicated they will check my credit rating as part of their standard background search. I was having terrible money problems when I filed bankruptcy a little over a year ago. But since then I have joined a 12-step group called Debtors Anonymous, and it is helping me a great deal. If I didn't have this bankruptcy on my credit report, I don't think I'd have any trouble at all getting a job.
How should I handle this at a job interview? -- RECOVERING DEBTOR
DEAR RECOVERING: Tell the truth. The way the economy has been, you won't be the only one with a bankruptcy showing up on your credit report. To admit that you had a problem and are doing something about it is nothing to be ashamed of.