Advice on finding work with a felony conviction? (letters, employees, job application)
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I am a convicted felon sent thru a very strict and tedious 9 month rehab and 2 year aftercare program which changed my life. I was given a chance by a corp. And made good of ot moving up the ladder working 60 - 70 hours week for 3 years moving
4 times for this company. I finally got the big promotion as a regional manager and moved to Austin tx. The company paid for me to move there mostly and gave me a gracios $65000 a year salary which with my background is great and after 2 months there they sold the company. The new company kept me on 3 weeks and let me go because of my background. It was an aquisition even and I am way more qualified than many of the guys they have. I even wrote a letter to the president, hr did a work ethic and personal investigation per the prior company, and was told they could not make an exception cuz they could possibly get sued. What sence does this make for people in my position. No matter my qualification, experience, work ethic, documentation, even offered take a demotion to 45k. We spend all this $ on rehabilitation and education and after all that? Grant you I was let go x-mas eve and my mom died x-mas morning , 12 hours later. I wasn't given a pension, a job reference, or anything. Had to move back home and slip out on an apt. Lease. Worst thing is I liked the job and worked alot. Now I have to start completely over and am qualfied for many good management positions but the background is interfering. Basically I think some of the Texas labor laws should be evaluated. I'm not whining or looking for a free ride or I would name the corporation. I wanted work! Maybe I should go to school for politics. A congressman with a record. At least I'd be up front. Anyone out there know this feelin?
Last edited by Bo; 01-29-2012 at 12:15 PM..
Reason: Moved from Texas forum.
All things being equal, a person without a record is less risky than someone with a record. Therefore, some companies prefer employees without a record. Maybe it's not fair if you did no crime against that company, but they are within their rights to get rid of you, even if it doesn't make sense and you were a great employee.
Don't give up. Find one that is willing to overlook your criminal past to give you a chance. Then don't let them down. While you served your time in jail, for the rest of your life, in some ways, you will be paying for your past. Don't blame others or society as that is unproductive. Try to make the most of your situation.
Another way to look at it. If there are 2 of something and one has a history of a troubled past and one not a troubled past, which one is less risky?
That could be talking about employees-criminal record, dating partners-cheaters, automobiles-previous wreck, houses-foundation repaired, etc. In most cases, people would prefer the one without a negative history.
It's a competitive job market. I talked to an HR rep the other day who said his company gets dozens of applications for every open position. HR departments look for reasons to weed people out and you've seen that you have a reason that makes weeding you out from the pool an easy choice. Try offsetting it by collecting some extremely positive recommendation letters from your former employer, and submitting copies of those with every application.
TX is a hard state to be a felon... it was hard for me to get an Apt in Houston... so many rejections because of my felony. I had to lie on my job application to work a 6 month temp job at Sclumberger.
What is your felony for? I appealed for a IL Governor's Pardon of my felony... sent the paperwork Nov 2010 and I haven't heard anything since. It's my only hope.
Maybe you should find a city or state that is not hard on felons. I know Houston is hard on felons.
I know you've probably heard it alot but it's an employer's market now. It's nearly impossible even for those without any criminal history to find a job. $65000, even $45000 is a big salary in my area, most jobs are paying half of that now. I think it was bad that they laid you off with no recommendation or reference, and I think the best way to start is get a good reference from them. If that isn't possible, do small jobs privately and get a good word from the person your working for. I think that's the best way to find work. Most businesses will do background checks, but I don't think that it will be impossible to get hired if you can prove yourself.
I'm sorry to hear about your mom's death and I hope things improve for you.
My friend is a felon and he has a lot of "connections." He was tired of living in FL for awhile and so he moved back to Chicago and had a job within the week he moved back from friends / connections. He works in the restaurant industry.
Just wanted to say I feel for you. I am sure it is very difficult to be in this job market with a strike like that on your record. Its too bad the new company wouldn't work with you since it sounds like you were a good employee. I don't really agree with that decision. I think there should be ways for people to move on after they've shown that they are no longer a risk or danger to others.
I had a friend who got a felony charge when he was 19 or 20, something involving drugs.
He got into a warehouse job through a family connection and then gradually moved up from there. He is in his 40's now and works in computers.
I would guess you might need to focus on networking and seeing if you can find something through someone you know.
I find it odd how people expect former convicts to stay out of crime when everyone tries like hell to keep them out of legitimate work.
It's probably going to be a royal pain getting a job with that, shame you were dismissed from yours with nothing evidently wrong with what/how you were doing.
There are some job training programs for felons, that will also give felons leads on jobs. I don't know if any are in your area, but it could be worth a shot. Otherwise, just try and do everything possible to make yourself a good candidate. Look professional, take as many certifications or trainings as you can handle, and possibility ask former coworkers for leads on new positions.
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