The Convicted Job Seeker: Landing Your Dream Job With A Criminal Record

We live in a society where more is better.  It’s a sentiment that’s often pushed to heart-attack inducing levels.  Luther Vandross-killing foods aside, there are still certain areas in which Americans don’t crave bigger and better portions.  Exercise, fruits, vegetables, and of course, criminal records, are some notable examples – the last one being the only instance that I could think of which is unrelated to eating.  It’s also happens to be today’s blog topic, specifically how to still get into your dream occupation if you have one.  I know.  I’m the king of literary transitions.

Getting a job is difficult in today’s economy.  Heck, it’s hard enough to get one if you have a poor employment history and bad references, so you can probably imagine how hard it must be for those who have been in and out of the slammer.  And though the reformed and repentant former convict may be ready to move on from their past, as that last link I included indicates, unfortunately many employers aren’t as ready to make the same move as quickly.  These same reformed criminals seem to know the harsh realities before them, as the LegalMatch case-intake statistics show a perpetually high amount of people looking for expungement attorneys.

But not to fear, even if you have a less-than-stellar background, you can still get your foot in the door by considering taking the following steps:

Step 1: Make the Commitment to Change Your Life

Bet you were expecting the first step to be some legal procedure, huh?  If so, you haven’t committed yourself yet and will probably have a hard time getting back on the straight and narrow.  I know this sounds corny, but if you want to change your life, you have to really be ready and really want to do so, and preferably, you should try to make this change as soon as possible.  If you don’t, then becoming a new person will be a lot harder for both you and your employer to accept.

Step 2: Job Training

Unless you’re one of the rare few to have completed your prison sentence with a college degree already under your belt, you may find yourself in a job market without a B.A. or B.S. to paddle out.  Now college may not be for everyone or even required for certain industries.  The carpentry and electrician business for example generally prefers employees with actual relevant experience rather than a degree.  However, a degree or vocational certificate of some sort is usually a good thing to have in place of job experience.  It not only shows that you have useable skills, but that you’ve committed towards changing your life.  Get into a job training or college program as soon as you can.  Meaning, even if your prison has an education or job training program, get into that and finish it.

Step 3: Legal Procedures

It probably seems odd that this step isn’t higher up in this list, but it really isn’t something that many should consider until later on.  There are ways to change your criminal record, but it’s more important to change yourself first.  Anyway, the first thing you should do at this step is figure out whether your charge is a felony or misdemeanor.  If it’s the latter (misdemeanor) then determine whether you’re eligible to expunge your record and get the offense sealed.

Expungement is a process in which you ask the court to essentially wipe your offense from your record.  Doing so won’t get rid of it from government databases, but it will allow you to say “no” when asked if you ever were arrested or convicted of a crime.  It will also remove the record from being searchable by most private companies for employment purposes.  I say most because some companies may still be able to find your past if they employ a fingerprint search method where they ask to use your fingerprints to conduct their background check.

If your conviction was a felony, then you should attempt to get the offense reduced to a misdemeanor and then get it expunged if possible.  Only certain felonies are eligible for this method.  For example, most serious felonies are not eligible, such as murder or aggravated assault.  The process for reducing felonies and expunging records can vary from state to state.  However, most courts have a self-help center where they can show you how to fill out your own petitions to the court to do these step yourself.  Generally if your case isn’t too complex, you can probably just get away with doing this; but if it is, you should probably find yourself an attorney to help.

Step 4: Be Honest, But Steer Towards Positive

If you’ve gotten an interview and you’re asked if you’ve ever been arrested or convicted of a crime, then be honest and tell the truth.  But as you do so, emphasize all that you have done to change.  List your job training, education, charitable work, anything to show the employer that you’re not the same person you were before.  And remember, if your criminal record was expunged, then you have no legal obligation to answer yes to this line of questioning.

Step 5: Consider Starting Your Own Business

If landing a job is getting tough, don’t forget that you can always hire yourself.  Getting a business up and running can be difficult (raising money to start it and then keeping the business afloat is likely the hardest part).  But if you’re not having luck finding your dream job and you know you have the skills to do it, then consider just going out and doing it.  As they say, “As long as you’re happy doing it, then success will follow.”

It’s a very sappy saying, I know.