Would You Hire an Ex-Convict?
 

My buddy got arrested and put into jail for some stupid shit he did when he was 18. Now he's 30 and fully reformed (and very brilliant at what he does) but can't get a good job. The interviews go great and he has the job all but locked until they do a background check on him. It's really pathetic.

Also, he's been trying to find a place to live for the past 2 months and has spent over $900 in application fees. All the rental properties in Florida run criminal checks and they decline him because of his felonies. $900 is a lot of money if you can't get a good job, hell, $900 is a lot of money even if you do have a good job.

So much for rehabilitation. No wonder 85% of the released prisoners end up back in prison. They are FORCED back into their criminal ways of life in order to just survive. Society handcuffs them and almost forces them back in. It's truly sad.

I would say it depends on what he did.

have you ever been convicted of a felony,yes

what exactly did he do?

it would definately depend on what the person did and the person themselves like what type of person they came off as..

a factor, but a pretty minor one.

When he was a freshman in college he found someone's checkbook and wrote some checks from it. I think the total number of checks written was like 15. He received 3 felonies for each check written (Forgery, Uttering a Forged Instrument, and Theft). Most of the checks were for Pizza and beer. It was a stupid mistake a college kid made and he shouldn't pay for it for the rest of his life. :2 cents:

Would depend on the circumstances of his arrest

the US fuck'n sucks but nothing we can really do about it

The next question I would have then is what jobs is he applying for? If he is appling to be a bank teller he will have no luck obviously. Also, does he bring up the arrest or does he wait for them to find it?

i think when they do background checks it doesn't say too much about what they did

He's not applying for any jobs where he would have to handle any sort of financial transactions. Other than bartender/server which he was also declined a job.

Mainly he's applying for C.A.D. or Engineering type fields since that is where his expertise lies.

Yep it's a fucked up system that does nothing but compound the problems.

I was under the impression that legally an employer can not factor in the criminal charges if the criminal has paid his debt to society. (Unless it's a job that requires a certain level of security with sensitive material). As for the renting problem... no idea. :helpme

that really sucks, is it possible for him to be qa contract employee? i would think there is alot of cad work that gets farmed out


i never judge anyone based on a piece of paper i get.
in person, and after a fiveminute conversation then you can judge them..lol

no seriously, i keep an open mind on these things, people make mistakes.

No the US does not suck. Get the fuck out of my country if you disagree.

In Ohio, there are private groups that help ex-convicts find work for no fees. They are in the outreach section of our phonebooks. Has he tried those?

Wasn't Paul Sr. from OCC in jail for a period of time? Look at where he is today.

that sucks, just tell him not to go back to crime
he will find a job eventually

the US doesnt suck at all, just it's goverment.

You speak the truth, Eros. The job issue is one thing but the fact that he as spent over $900 to get rejection letters from apartment complexs is just absurd! It's not like he raped, killed, or molested anyone. It was a simple mistake he made when he was an 18 year old KID.

I am going to co-sign on an apartment for him so he has a place to live. I try to outsource as much work to him as possible but I don't have enough to keep my current staff fully busy and I have to look out for them first.

Maybe he should read the applications before he submits them. If there is a note on them that the aaplication fee is non-refundable he should not apply, as chances are he will lose more money.

You have to wonder if he would be better off during the interview process to disclose that he did something stupid as a college kid and does have a record. He may have a chance to explain that the checks were small change etc. I am not sure.

I guess that could backfire as well if the company didn't plan to do an extensive check but most do now anyway.

I wish him luck regardless. Is he looking in many different states? I am sure employers state to state handle these sort of matters differently.

It's really hard to find a place in Florida that has refundable application fees. They usually range from $35 - $50 depending on the location. They also have administrative fees they charge to do the searches. So all together it's about $75 of non-refundable charges just to get rejected. :(

He's fucked....a fraud charge will follow you for the rest of your days...even more than a gun charge would..

I'm a felon but even my probation officer told me that he didn't think that I did anything wrong...

Fraud, sex crimes, domestic violence, etc. can't be explained away.

And he's a fool for applying to all of those places when there are PLENTY of private individuals who will rent you a place if you have the money and they do NO background check..

But if he thinks he can get a nice white collar job and live in a condo complex, he's dreaming...

Yeah, I see what you mean there. If it were me (and this is just my opinion of course) I would plead with the Manager or owner of the properties. I worked for several years (in a capacity I will not disclose) in a heavily finacially depressed city where this same problem exists. I sat in on many interviews that went the way you describe at the housing units. One in a hundred people or so would explain what they did, what treatment they recieved, and how they changed there life since the incident. Then, they just asked for a chance to prove themselves to the property managers and it worked everytime. Sometimes it takes just explaining things (which I'm sure he probably has) and making the Apt. Manager feel all warm inside and that gets the application approved locally (some have the power to overide the city's decision).

Good luck to him.

Thats fucked up. 12 years back and it still comes back to bite your ass.

I can tell you this though. Its not impossible to over come. maybe he just needs to move to a different state or city florida sounds rough

If they are qualified for the position sure why not

That's the standard for a pornographer, not a mainstream compagny .

depends

First off, is your buddy straight out telling people of his past? It doesn't seem like it. I've interviewed many people for both jobs and housing, if they aren't very honest with me I don't trust them. Why should I? As an employer or apartment manager, I run unnecessary risks by employing or renting to an ex-con, risks that I DON'T NEED TO RUN. By not being straight up with me, that just gives me more reason to say NO.

If he's straight out of jail with absolutely no recent work history, you're running into more problems by trying to get him into a "good job". It may suck, but send your buddy to Burger King for a couple months and then try again. Hey, it's money, it's effort, and it shows that he really is trying to be a good contributor to society.

did you bother to read the topic?

"Would You Hire an Ex-Convict?"

They sure can.. in fact, most job applications have a checkbox that says "have you ever been convicted of a felony?".

I would hire them if they told me about it... finding a felony on anyones record will decrease their job chances though. Fact of life.

and the time since he did it, considering he was 18 and is now 30 if there were no convictions since then i would everybody makes mistakes

And another thing, stop applying to rental companies. Again, they run high and unnecessary risks by taking on an ex-con when they don't need to. Try finding apartments/houses owned by a typical common guy like you or me, they're everywhere and they aren't as strict/thorough with applications.

He's coming from nothing. He needs to build up.

If I have a choice between Guy A with great skills and no criminal record and Guy B with great skills and a criminal record, I'm sorry but I'm going to choose Guy A.

But if you read the rest of the job, It's more about a felon trying to get a job / appartement in corporate america . Not in the pornographic world (wich I'm probably getting him right now ... talking to acid)

i read the entire thread. again, the question stated is:

"Would You Hire an Ex-Convict"

Some work places allow one felony only if it wasn't in the past 10 years.

Your friend was screwed over when they charged him with multiple felonies per check that he wrote.

i wouldn't hire him onto my staff, if he is good, i would contract him on a project-by-project basis

as for renting, i would rent to him, but make him pre-pay his rent at least 3 months in advance with 2 more months of rent as deposit

an ex-con needs to earn my trust, especially someone who committed fraud, those are usually people good at hiding their true intentions and it'd be stupid to think i would be able to see through him within an interview session :2 cents:

Sly, it's hard to find any property management companies that don't do indepth searches on their prospective lessees. Especially in light of 9-11 and the hijackers having strong ties to Florida.

Depends on what he did and when he did it.

I agree, I would hire someone if they told me upfront before running the backround checks that they have been arrested for a few felonies in the past, and have had a clean record since then, basically laying it all on the line.

Pre 9/11, you could get a top secret security clearance with a few felonies under your belt, but as long as you were truthful with the DSS investigators about everything and anything from your past. Those guys DON'T like suprises when investigating you!

I believe in giving second chances

I understand the concerns but I believe everybody should be given the chance to have a fresh start now and again...Afterall, all of us make mistakes

I would say depending on the crime they committed..
People make silly mistakes that the gov will throw you in jail for...
Some can be overlooked.

I have a friend in this situation and I know that is boss is very happy to have him. :-)
:thumbsup

It depends on what type of work. Hell no if children where around.


They had one slip through the cracks at my old High School a few years ago. The guy killed a girl student.


The only felon I know is my next door neighbor who is flooding my pasture and killing my horses off...

yes, i would hire him. especially if he is brilliant. it must be frustrating for him, im sorry to hear that. has he ever tried volunteer work? i think it would look good on his resume. the society, you know, is always hard up on ex cons. maybe he could ask for legal aid or something. i hope it turns out well for you.

Has he been into any trouble at all since then?

If not, hire an attorney, and try to get the record exponged.

I dont hire stupid people, I do hire briliant people. I dont care if he has made a mistake in his life, but if hes been convicted of something like rape/childporn I dont need him.

I probably wouldn't hire him either unless I was getting a kickback from the govt. or something..

So unless he was a far far better applicant then someone without a criminal record.. why should I?