Job Hunting With a Criminal Record

Job Hunting With a Criminal Record?

Have you ever struggled to find work? I have and it’s not fun. It’s one of the most frustrating things I remember doing. But I only struggled when I was younger and unskilled, undisciplined and unlikely to stick around for very long. Employers recognize that in young people and it’s why so few decent jobs are available to them. The struggle, in other words, was just a part of the stage I was at in life.

But what if you were grown up, highly skilled, well trained and very confident you could handle whatever job you happened to be hunting for? What would happen then if you still struggled to find work because you’d made a mistake in the past? What if you had a family to support and a mortgage to pay?

I think it would be much like this frustrated alligator we have here. He’s an eating machine, able to take on anything that comes his way. And in this case what he wants is right above his head. All he’s got to do is reach up and sink his teeth into it. He knows he can do it. He just needs a chance. But somehow the job is always out of reach no matter how close he gets. As soon as he tries, the job flies away and the alligator is left foraging for craps on the bottom again.

That is what job hunting with a criminal record is like. The job is there. The fit is right. You have the skills and you can do the job. But just as soon as the opportunity presents itself it’s lost because criminal record checks are becoming increasingly common. If you have a criminal record most employers will see you as an alligator, best left alone. After all, why take chances when there are a dozen more alligators waiting to be interviewed?

Luckily enough if you are in this situation you are not actually an alligator. You are a person and unlike alligators people who’ve made mistakes can change their ways. And that’s where the Canadian pardon comes in.

If you stay out of trouble with the law you can apply to the Parole Board of Canada to have your record sealed. And once you have your record sealed there is no reason an employer needs to know about it. The only way for them to find out is if you tell them.

If you’ve got to be an alligator, be an alligator with a full stomach, no criminal record and a really good job. It’s all within reach.

Michael Ashby

P.S  Thanks to reddit and whoever photoshopped that image. This was the most fun post I’ve written in awhile. And I apologize to the animal because there’s a good chance it’s a crocodile.

😉