Tara Said:

Where can people with felonies go to find work?

We Answered:

Right now, it is difficult for anyone to find a job. The unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the great depression of the 1920's. The current rate is almost 10% of the workforce in the United States is out of work!

This is measured on people 16 years of age and older who are actively seeking work plus those who have jobs. That is the total workforce available, and 1 out of every 10 people cannot find a job.

With that many people looking for work, employers have the advantage of picking from a very large pool of applicants. Why would they take a chance on someone who has already proved themselves to be a risk to their business when they have so many other applicants who have not been in trouble (or at least have not been caught and hence have no record).

I work for a large retailer. We have even had classes on how to interview so that we get the best available employees because we have so many people applying for the few job openings we offer in each store. With the economy the way it is, not many people are leaving their jobs unless they get fired. So the number of people we need is smaller and the pool of applicants is the largest it has been in history.

So getting a job with a felony on your record is going to be very difficult, unfortunately for you. I know that we do a criminal background check on everyone we hire regardless of what job they will be doing.

It is my understanding that most big companies do that now including Walmart, Target, Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, Kmart, etc. Those places do not "usually as a rule hire felons" as you stated. They never knowingly hire felons! I don't know about fast food places.

With the advent of computer data bases in the past 15 or 20 years, it is very cheap and easy for an employer to get your criminal background record. Years ago it was expensive and took forever, so most places didn't check anywhere except their local courthouse. Not so today; they can do a national check for about $25.00

The best thing for you to do is try fast food and do NOT put on the application that you have been convicted of a felony. If they don't check, you might get the job. If you put it on the app, no matter what they SAY they will not hire you. So you're better off just lying and hope that they don't do a background check.

Many people come to this forum every day asking the same question as you and having the same problem that you have. I have not seen any real answer to their dilemma. Someone suggested going to the local unemployment office and finding out what jobs are available that they could possibly apply for that accept people with criminal records.

It is sad that you can write some bad checks and end up a felon for life when you can charge up tens of thousands of dollars on credit cards and then just declare bankruptcy and you're home free. But that's the way it is.

Roland Said:

Employment in a new city?

We Answered:

Can you tell us what kind of job you are looking for? It may depend on if you are hourly, a professional, a service worker, etc. on what you do.

I can tell you I found my last 2 jobs via the internet and monster.com (or a similar website). I spent virtually days at the computer screen just finding sites...the newspaper usually has an online site, and each recruiter usually has their own site as well with all their jobs listed (find recruiters by seeing who is advertising on monster.com or in the paper). Networking can be hard, but that may entail joining an organization to do....maybe there are monthly meetings you can attend. For example, my background is engineering, and there is SWE, and AICHE, and ASME, and IEEE. Finally, if there are names of companies you tend to work for (again, depending on what kind of job you are looking for), they usually post all their jobs on their website as well. My current employer does that...you HAVE to apply through their website.

My final recommendation is that the keyword search is becoming more and more important. On your resume at the very bottom, my recommendation is to put a section called "keywords" and list any zingers that may call attention to your resume.

Shannon Said:

Does anyone know how or who to talk to about employment in Crime Scene Cleaning?

We Answered:

Criminals could really use your help. Talk to them. I'm sure they pay well too.