Is there a connection to bad credit and not getting a job?

[Bandit]

Yes, it scares them. If they hire you for $10 per hour and invest the time to train you at their place of employment and then in a year the economy is starting to turn around and you get offered a better job, what happens? You leave and they are left with having to train all over again. If they offer the $10 per hour job to someone who is just qualified for the job (and not overqualified), they'll likely retain him longer than a year.

DH has been through two hard layoffs in the last 10 years (IT business, once after 9/11 and now), both times he's been contacted and had phone interviews or in person interviews and not been given the job once they find out his qualifications and what his last salary was. It makes sense from a business perspective, but it does suck when all you want is a decent paying job!

This has a LOT to do with it. Being over qualified can be a bad thing.

[Flamingo]

I tried skipping out on the desired salary once and the owner of this place made me come up with a number before I left, I said 12/hr, he never called.

Thats another thing, a resume.
I took the time to make one, nice too. No one wants to look at it. I have to fill out their generic application and thats it. I offer the resume, they say they don't need it.

I've used the resume before, when I moved to another state, I actually sent it via email, they called and asked if I could come in tomorrow lol (this was on a thursday), it's a 24 hour drive. But we agreed to Tuesday, I made it and got hired on the spot.

I left that job and got 3 more months to spend with my mother before she passed away. (I mention this not for sympathy, but people think I'm in the wrong to have left)

I really want to move back to that state, there are more jobs listed, etc.

If you are filling out and submitting an application and signing it, on there is listed somewhere that you are allowing them to check your credit, etc. It is usually in a paragraph right before you sign the application. They have all your information to check that - Your name, SS, address, past employment, etc. So it's quite possible they have run a credit check on you and just do not contact you. You can find out by reviewing your credit reports and your "soft" inquiries. Competition is stiff and fierce out there right now for any job. Whether or not anyone likes to admit it, the factors of age, disabilities, medical issues, bad credit, etc. can and do make a difference, even though they are not supposed to. However, there are places that are avoiding hiring younger workers because they want seasoned, skilled workers who will be loyal to the company, who have already had their children and don't party until 3:00 a.m. and not be able to make it to work the next day. AARP has done some recent articles along those lines.

I don't know how you can get around the bad credit issue if that is actually part of the problem. You just may never find out for sure.