HR Articles

How Can Someone With a Criminal Record Prepare for a Background Check?

One job search topic that affects many people and isn't often discussed is how to get a job if you have a criminal record and can almost guarantee your potential employer will perform a background check.

Employers are increasingly conducting background checks to see if a potential employee has a criminal record. From an employer's perspective, if someone with a criminal record is hired, they could potentially commit other crimes in the future, therefore jeopardizing the company, or the employer could become the subject of a negligent hiring case.

For someone with a criminal record, on the other hand, the job search can be difficult. People don't want to spend their money on more jails, and often want to help those with a criminal record become a functioning part of society. However, this is often hard to do when employers are hesitant to hire people with criminal backgrounds, and also are hesitant to hire those who lie about having a criminal background.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, there are some steps ex-offenders can take to prepare themselves for a job search that could include a background check.

First, a person with a criminal record should understand their rights, and know that there are some instances when a job applicant can legally answer no to a question about a past offense. For example:

• some states don't require an arrest that didn't result in a conviction to be reported
• there are limitations on reporting pre-trial adjudications where the conduct is not considered a criminal offense
• there may be restrictions on minor drug offenses
• some states have procedures to judicially erase a criminal offense

Those with a criminal record also should speak with an attorney to see if their conviction can be sealed, expunged or legally minimized. There also are many organizations that will assist past offenders.

It also is important for ex-offenders to rebuild their resume, even if they aren't applying for the ideal job, and remember that when dealing with an employer, honesty is always the best policy.

NYC Employment Outlook

Employers created enough New York City jobs between June 2007 and 2008 for the state to make it into the list of the top 5 states for job gains during the last year. Although economic uncertainty may be curbing hiring in many areas an industries, this did not stop New York businesses from creating a net gain of 30,100 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The newest federal report shows that only three states created more jobs than New York during the last 12 months. Texas, which has been profiting from rising gas prices, lead the country by creating 238,400 jobs since June of 2007. Texas was followed by Washington, which had a net gain of 32,000 positions. Third on the list was Colorado with 31,500 new jobs. Maryland finished off the top five by creating 29,900 jobs since this time last year.

Although the number of New York jobs continues to grow, other states are struggling to generate new positions. Florida, which had a net loss of 106,100 jobs, experienced the largest decline in jobs over the course of the last year. California, which came in second on the list of highest job losses, did away with 58,900 positions. Other states that experienced a significant net loss in jobs included Michigan, with 53,600 fewer jobs, Arizona, which lost 33,000, and New Jersey, where employers cut 25,500 positions.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29 states added jobs from 2007 to 2008, while 20 other experienced a net loss of positions. Vermont was the only state to experienced no notable change in the number of existing jobs. The statistics take in to account of the number of jobs created in comparison to the number lost. The quality of the new or lost positions was not taken in to account.

Recruiting Software Could Save Job Shortages

While there is expected to be a shortage of workers in the near future, many companies are turning to recruiting software to prepare.

Investing in technology such as recruiting software can not only help organizations reach their business goals, but also can save money.

According to Microsoft Office Online, there is expected to be a shortage in skilled and unskilled labor over the next 10 years. This will most likely make organizations rush out to hire people and possibly end up with the wrong candidates, which in turn could cause the organization to face substandard performance. By retaining non-ideal employees, organizations could lose higher-qualified candidates and competitive positioning.

"It's crucial that your organization is able to recruit the right people and that you have the technology tools you need to accomplish this," Microsoft notes.

According to a RESUMate article about recruiting software, the software tracks candidates through the interview and hiring process, and creates comprehensive records for client companies and hiring managers. Perhaps most importantly, recruiting software helps recruiters and companies save time.

"Tracking candidates through the interview and hiring process is not an optional activity for a recruiter," the article states. "One way or another, it has to be done. If you’re a recruiter, you need to know exactly which candidates are being considered for which positions. Without dedicated recruiting software, this tracking is usually done using a combination of paper records and Excel spreadsheets. It is also very time-consuming."

It also is noted that recruiting software helps companies be more productive, as they will constantly have comprehensive and up-to-date information.

"The fact is that any recruiting operation has such a heavy record keeping burden that without dedicated recruiting software, it’s nearly impossible to keep up-to-date records for every client, hiring manager, job order (or requisition) and candidate," the article adds.

While successful recruiting requires good communication and selling skills, it also requires good record keeping, something recruiting software will make a lot easier.

New Jersey Job Search

Employers will continue to give New Jersey jobs the ax until early 2010, according to some economists. Rutgers recently reported that the state has been in a mild recession for the last six months, which explains why job growth has been less than stellar.

Director of the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service Nancy Mantell has predicted that by the end of this recession the state will be down 31,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2007, when employment peaked at 4.08 million. So far this year, the employers have done away with 14,100 jobs. 

If this forecast is correct, then New Jersey will fair better than it did in the last two recessions. In the early 1990’s recession the state lost around 247,000 jobs during the course of nine quarters. The recession which started in 2001 and lasted just over five quarters cost the state approximately 60,000 jobs.

Mantell went on to predict that approximately 250,000 New Jersey jobs will be added by 2018. Although this may replace the jobs expected to be lost during this recession, it is well below the state’s historic average of 1.1 percent a year, which has been the case since 1970.

For the most part, national recessions are defined as two consecutive quarters of declining gross domestic product. Due to the fact that it is much more difficult to measure a state’s GDP, Mantell based  both her conclusions and predictions on the number of jobs in New Jersey that have been lost.

Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow believes that although the rest of this year and next may be difficult, the situation will right itself soon after. “We expect some turnaround in employment in early 2010,” he said. According to him, the state will have recovered the jobs it lost by the middle of 2011.

Job growth in the state has been predominately centered in education, health services and professional and business services for the last year. These job gains have been largely offset by the losses experienced in both manufacturing and finance, particularly home finance where the housing market crisis has been causing problems.

“For the market to regain its footing, the gap between home prices and incomes must close,” said Patrick O’Keefe, an analyst with J.H. Cohn accounting firm and former chief executive of the New Jersey Builders Association. “There’s no escaping it. It’s housing’s law of gravity.”

Those whose economic stability is tied into the housing market, may not have the easiest year ahead of them. O’Keefe believes that the state’s rate of foreclosures will continued to rise over the next 18 months.