Easy Ways to Improve Credit Score After Getting a Job

A high credit score can help in easily fetching a loan with lower interest rates. In the absence of a high credit score, the loan application process is not smooth since lenders may do an additional assessment of your creditworthiness. This is often done by seeking other documents like bank statements, income proofs, etc. During financial emergencies, banks and other lenders can act as saviours by providing loans without any hassles. However, many individuals may be denied this opportunity due to a poor or lack of credit history. 

If you have just started your career, it could be the right time to take certain steps towards building your credit score. Here, we will explain how you can improve your credit score after getting a job and why it is important.

What are the reasons for a low credit score?

Here are some of the key reasons why you could be having a low credit score:

• Delayed repayments: Even if you have delayed one or two credit card payments, it can negatively impact your credit score. The more delayed payments, the higher the negative impact on your credit score and credit history.
• Missed payments: At times you may not have sufficient funds to make your payments towards loan EMIs or credit card dues. In such cases, it is important that you make the minimum payment rather than completely skip the payment. In case you miss any of your payments, it gets recorded in your credit history and this can lead to a reduction in your score.
• Multiple inquiries: Your credit score can be negatively impacted if you have applied for multiple loans or cards with different lenders at once. This results in multiple inquiries registered with credit bureaus and can impact your score.
• Misreporting: At times, there could be some administrative error resulting in incorrect information being recorded on the credit report. This could also be due to fraudulent reasons. Such errors may further lead to a lower credit score and indicate to future lenders that your credit history is bad. In such cases, you should approach the bank or lender and request for correction or updating of the same at the earliest.

Why is your credit score important while applying for a loan?

A credit score ranges between 300 to 900 and is a numeric representation of your creditworthiness. It is an important benchmark considered by lenders at the time of loan application processing. Higher the credit score, better your credibility as a borrower and higher the chances of easily availing a credit facility. 

A credit score shows how risky or trustworthy a borrower is and therefore it is really important to have a high credit score. This helps to get easy access to loans at lower interest rates and for higher values. A healthy credit score is even more imperative if you are applying for collateral-free loans.

What can you do to achieve a good credit score after getting a job?

Here are some tips to build a credit score after getting a job:

• Opt for a secured credit card: Secured credit cards are issued against collateral. This could be a fixed deposit account with the card-issuing bank or credit card company. These credit cards normally come with lower credit limits as compared to unsecured credit cards. These can help build your credit score when just starting a job and in case you have no prior credit history.
• Timely repayment: Whether it is a loan EMI or credit card bill, timely repayments are very important for a good credit score. Creating Electronic Clearance Services (ECS) for your EMIs or credit card repayments can help in remembering to make payments on time. However, there could be many instances when you fail to pay your entire bill. In such situations, try to pay at least the minimum amount to avoid defaulting on the payment.
• Avoiding excessive use of credit cards: Excessive use of credit cards, beyond 70% of the available limit can easily impact your credit score. High credit exposure is considered a red flag by lenders and it indicates that you could be a high-risk defaulter. While using a credit card for most of the purchases to avail discounts or cashback is fine, it is important to ensure that the dues are cleared in full on time to avoid any penalties or any negative impact on your credit score.
• Multiple credit requests: Always avoid applying for multiple credit cards or loans since it gets recorded with the bureaus and reflects credit hunger on your part. This impacts your credit score negatively.

Conclusion

There are various ways of improving one’s credit history and one of the ways to keep a track of it is via the credit score. However, many people do not check their credit scores often. Last-minute attempts of checking and remediating credit scores can hamper the entire credit experience. Therefore, it is best to check credit scores at regular intervals and keep working on improving your credit score.