In today’s world, getting a job is a stressful thing. But it becomes a lot harder when a criminal record is involved. If you’ve been in prison, or have had a minor scrape with the law, then you might find that employers are reluctant to work with you. There are plenty of people all over the world who have made a mistake in their life, meaning that they have an arrest or conviction record. This record will probably haunt them every time they apply for a job.
You can’t control your potential employer to give you the job, however, you can control what you do to try and get it. The most important thing that you can do is know your rights, this will help you when you are applying for jobs. If you find that you are having a tough time getting a job due to your criminal record, then have you considered getting your conviction pardoned? You can just make use of services similar to Pardons Canada and this might help make your life a lot easier. If that is not an option, then keep on reading to find out what you can do to help you get a job.
Know What Employers are Allowed to Consider
When you are applying for jobs, you need to know what your rights are. In some cases, you don’t have to tell a potential employer about your history. You don’t have to tell them about an arrest that didn’t end in conviction, you don’t have to tell them about a conviction that occurred in juvenile court (you may need to have your juvenile records sealed or expunged though). There’s no point telling them something that they don’t need to know. However, don’t omit the truth. If there is something that needs to be told, then make sure you tell them.
A potential employer cannot disqualify someone based on a conviction or an arrest record. The employer must demonstrate that your conviction has the potential to hamper your ability or trustworthiness to perform your job successfully. For example, if you apply for a job in sales, but you have a conviction of violent assault, then it would be very difficult that you could get a job in this industry since you would be dealing with people every day.
Make Connections
The hardest part is getting a complete stranger to trust you. That’s why it’s a lot easier to make use of your own personal connections. If a friend or family member is currently hiring, or knows someone who is hiring, then ask them about it. You might be better of doing it this way, as you have a better chance of being accepted. Just make sure that if you do use your connections that you do a good job, you don’t want to ruin any relationship you have by doing a bad job.
If you get the job through your connections, make sure you arrive on time, make people cups of tea or coffee without complaining and be on your best behaviour. Once you have got that job, even if the pay isn’t that great, you can then work your way up to the top and get your life back on track. Connections are great for helping you get back on the right path, so make the most of them when you can.
Start Small and Work Your Way Up
If you don’t have connections, then you would probably find it easy to get a job that has less responsible but gives you the opportunity to prove yourself. Even if the pay isn’t that high, with time this can increase. Understand that when a person sees your record, they may be reluctant to give you a job with a lot of responsibility until they can trust you fully. Just be grateful that you get a job.
Even if it is a lower-paid position, you now have your foot in the door and have the chance to demonstrate that you are reliable and can be a trustworthy employee. It will be incredibly frustrating, but every person deserves a second chance, even if it just takes a while to sort itself out. If you aren’t sure about what sort of job industry you want to go into, then you can check out this article here which can help you find the right new for you.
Have you found a job when you had a criminal conviction? Share the experience with us below.
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