Five ways to stop student debt taking your dream job away

Even if you haven't got a credit card ortaken out a bank loan, you will have a bank account and you will have a creditreport.

This is your personal credit CV and shows debt such as credit cards or overdrafts (but not loans with the Student Loans Company) alongwith your repayment history.

Lenders check it when you make an application,because it tells them how likely it is you'll make payments on time and in full.

Many landlords and prospective employerswill want to check your credit report, so they knowif you've got into any financial difficulties before.

Performing a creditcheck is one of the quickest and easiest ways of finding out.

Bad debts that result in a court judgment,individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) or bankruptcy are recorded on yourcredit report for six years and can affect your prospects for even longer.

Didyou know, for example, that bankrupted individuals may not be allowed to work in thefinancial sector, armed forces and police, cannot become MPs or hold certainother public roles and may not act as trustees of a charity or a pension fund?

Undischarged bankrupts can't be company directors either, which is bad news for those who wished to start their own company.

And you don't have to be declared bankruptto find it affecting your prospects - if you've had any serious problems withdebt you are unlikely to be offered a position that involves handling money (which rules out jobs in banking and financial services) or requires a highlevel of trust, such as work in public services.

However tight money is now, it doesn't have to escalate to a career-threatening issue.

By taking action to make sure yourfinances stay in good shape you can prevent yourself suffering fromthe bad debt difficulties.

These five tips are a good place to start.

1. Check your credit report

There may not be much to it now, but yourcredit report can be your passport to getting the best financial deals and making a goodfirst impression with lenders - so it makes sense to know what's on it andensure that all your details are accurate and up to date.

You can takeadvantage of a free trial of an online service, such as CreditExpert.

It's theUK's market leader and allows you to see your Experian credit report as oftenas you like. 12»