Dear J.T. & Dale: I recently lost my job after being there a year. Prior to that job, I’d been unemployed for nearly two years, went through my savings and eventually filed for bankruptcy. How negatively do employers view an applicant who has a bankruptcy on his or her credit report? What can I do to make employers see that I am not a bad or lazy person?

Dale: OK, it’s true there are some employers who care about credit ratings. So what? I’ve never seen statistics on the subject, but let’s say that 20 percent of employers say that a bankruptcy bounces you out of contention. What does that mean for your search? That you have to focus on the other 80 percent and forget the 20.

J.T.: Still, you might be able to convert some of those who do care. Here’s what I suggest: Get through the first round of interviewing; then, if you’re invited for a second interview, at the end, say something like this: “I have huge respect for you and the company and really want this job, so I feel it’s important that you hear this from me.” Then you own up to the bankruptcy. You might say: “I can’t say how hard it is to share this, but I ran into tough times and a bankruptcy was unavoidable. It taught me some important lessons, but now I’d like very much to put it behind me by landing this position and building my credit again.” It takes a brave professional with character to say those things. Employers will love that you had the guts to do so and that you respect them enough to tell them.

Dale: Part of me wants to agree. After all, everyone loves a confession, and it would humanize you. However, in a time when bankruptcy is common, I hate to have you go into a second interview worrying about when and how to bring it up.

J.T.: But why risk having the bankruptcy be a surprise to the employer? Here’s a compromise: Forget about the bankruptcy until the second interview is over; then, at the end, when you ask about next steps, if they mention a background check, bring up the bankruptcy.

Visit J.T. and Dale at jtanddale.com, where you can e-mail questions or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

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