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Don*t underestimate the power of your credit report. The information contained on it can mean the difference between getting a loan or being turned down, a low interest rate or a high interest rate, or whether you'll be able to get a new charge card. Of course it contains the basic information including name, address, telephone number, social security number and your date of birth.

But what you may not know is there's more to your credit report information to consider. For instance, alias names are listed on the report. Your former address or addresses are also included as are old telephone numbers. If you have an unlisted telephone number, it is listed with the rest of your report information. Many people are surprised to find that unlisted phone numbers can be included in this document, but they can be.

Another piece of important information that is included is your employment history. This may not seem relevant or even fair but creditors need to determine a person's capacity to make timely payments. In order to do so your employment history has to be included in the credit report information to establish that you have a stable source of income.

Some people are shocked to discover that their loan or credit applications are turned down simply because they have just started a new job. A person with little history included on their credit report information may not get a loan or a line of credit if they have only been working for a company for a few weeks or months. The person has demonstrated no stability and there is little else the creditor has to go by aside from payment history.

There are some things that are not relevant to employment so they are intentionally left out of your credit report information. Your age, race and marital status are off limits to a prospective employer who is conducting a search on you.

Bankruptcies that are over ten years old and debts that are over seven years old are supposed to be removed. Even so, it is a good idea to look into your history no matter what. Some old debts may still show up and bankruptcies may not disappear in a timely manner. It is highly recommended to check your credit report information and attempt to correct or remove inaccurate information and errors.