Tide and time wait for no man, or so the philosophers tell us. On the days when we are out of both, and find ourselves in dire straits, we often feel like the world can see into our very souls. The financial ocean in which we are drowning offers us as survivors floating in life preservers rising and falling with each wave of fiscal misery. That bit of poetic license aside, here's some good debt advice -- although bankruptcy is a matter of public record, nobody advertises your bankruptcy in semaphore from a ship’s deck when you file. We have attached so much shame to the condition (as part of an attempt to curb filings, no doubt) that it adds added stress at a time when you don't need the extra agony! Managing collateral damage after a financial crash isn't that hard if you know what to do and not to do. Number one rule of thumb: Keep Your Silence. First, your employers need not know, unless your wages wind up being garnished. In that case it is hard to keep it a secret. In some countries, bankruptcy will appear on a credit report, and although employers are not supposed to hold that against prospective employees, they will often pull your credit rating. Unless asked specifically about it, don't bring it up at the interview. To use it against you is illegal in most places, and in all cases of due diligence, it is their job to ask the right questions, not yours to volunteer information that is none of their business. You have done nothing to be ashamed of, because the law exists to protect you, not punish you. No one is really entitled to run a credit check on you without your permission, and employers are required to ask it. Do not give them permission unless you want to. They are in the wrong to ask for your credit report or make that a condition of employment. Remember the law is on your side. Your colleagues and friends need not know unless you tell them. Remember this, because your financial business is not theirs. Your creditors of course will know, but that is okay. It is for them you filed, so that they will not file against you. Collateral damage is manageable, and your self-respect is important. Do not let yourself be manipulated just because you've hit rough water. In time, even bankruptcies resolve. Pros recognize it as part of the business process; it is only the consumer who views it as a personal failure.
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