When to be forthcoming about criminal record

Steamy Tom said:
It's obviously homocide
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No. He didn't wear a mask in public in the year 2021. So he traveled back in time but they were onto him. Bheki Cele found him in a past time and vowed to convict him for the crime. He was jailed for many years in this timeline but he did not sit idle. He learnt the dark arts of PHP and Shadowy Scripts of Java. He was finally released but this was not the same man. His dependencies were more refined. His documentation was in order. Years of iteration had made this version of himself agile. Now he can run on any platform.

The Convict. Written by randomcat.
 
You've changed. Good. I'd say that getting your degree is one way you've demonstrated that. Once you get as far as an interview, I think that an recruiter or employer - knowing your truth about having been inside for so many years - might want to hear about other proof that you've changed. What else, besides your degree and that you are currently managing to hold down a job (well done for both!) shows that you've changed, and left the life of a convict behind you?

For example:
Do you practice a religion or spirituality, do you support your family financially or by helping them, do you life in a non-gang and non-criminal type of place, do you donate money to charity or do you do any volunteer work to make the world a better place, do you tend to a vegetable garden, do your cousins let you spend time with their children and if so do you help them with their homework, do you spend time developing your abilities in any kind of hobby, do you cook your own food, do you play a team sport, have you read any self-help books or do you follow a life-coach or philosopher online?

Are there any people you know through any of the above who would give you a character reference or something like a work reference, e.g. for your volunteer work?
 
You appear to be honest and remorseful.

I think I understand that the drugs rather caused the incident rather and state of mind. It happens.

Play open cards with prospective employers. You time in hard-lock might have advantages in certain 'austere' industries.

If you were to play it out, play open cards with a few PMC outfits and take it from there. Another option if you could develop or specialize in a technology is to consider freelancing.

Just thinking outside the box.
 
Faziki said:
If you don't come right with a job then I would recommend looking at Fiverr and Upwork where you can work for yourself :) You can make some decent money on there a friend of mine made 6 000 $ for a simple eCommerce website. Another option is to join a start-up and help them out until they get investors and then they will provide you with a contract of employment
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This is good advice.
 
Convict said:
You do not go to prison for as long as I went, for computer related crime. I spent almost half my life in prison, and I deserved it. But yes now I'm 41 with a massive gap in my employment history. Just needed to know how to approach this, as I need to apply for more junior positions and it will be asked, what have I been doing the past 20 years.
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Furk them, tell them you were finding Jesus
 
Splinter said:
All jobs require trust.
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To differing degrees.

Some jobs you just need to be able to trust that the guy will show up for work and not steal your car when he leaves.
My new job, I have had to have multiple police clearances, credit checks in two countries, fingerprints taken, reference checks, job history/employment checks by an independent agency...
 
Steamy Tom said:
It's obviously homocide
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Now imagine you hire OP and he fixes your computer, but you forget to pay him
How will you sleep at night when you all of a sudden wake up a month later in the middle of the night and remember?
 
I would disclose it during the interview process. Almost all companies do a criminal, credit and qualifications check and rather handle the situation on your terms than looking like you are trying to hide it.
Some companies cannot hire those with credit or criminal issues due to requirements from their clients, rather than waste anyones time disclose it during the interview.
I would not put it on my C.V though, give yourself a chance to explain and give yourself a shot at an initial interview.
We have had more issues with those who have bad credit or money issues than those who have had criminal record history.
 
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Gozado said:
You've changed. Good. I'd say that getting your degree is one way you've demonstrated that. Once you get as far as an interview, I think that an recruiter or employer - knowing your truth about having been inside for so many years - might want to hear about other proof that you've changed. What else, besides your degree and that you are currently managing to hold down a job (well done for both!) shows that you've changed, and left the life of a convict behind you?

For example:
Do you practice a religion or spirituality, do you support your family financially or by helping them, do you life in a non-gang and non-criminal type of place, do you donate money to charity or do you do any volunteer work to make the world a better place, do you tend to a vegetable garden, do your cousins let you spend time with their children and if so do you help them with their homework, do you spend time developing your abilities in any kind of hobby, do you cook your own food, do you play a team sport, have you read any self-help books or do you follow a life-coach or philosopher online?

Are there any people you know through any of the above who would give you a character reference or something like a work reference, e.g. for your volunteer work?
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I just want to put out there, that unless your employer knows the person making a character reference, it is worth buggerall.

The best character reference is making a good impression on someone and selling your personal brand. In the case of OP, it is something that he has to start from from a negative number (wheras most people start on zero).
 
konfab said:
I just want to put out there, that unless your employer knows the person making a character reference, it is worth buggerall.

The best character reference is making a good impression on someone and selling your personal brand. In the case of OP, it is something that he has to start from from a negative number (wheras most people start on zero).
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I agree I start on a negative, and can hopefully convince the people at the interview that although I have a negative past, I do have something positive to contribute. But I also fully understand if a person cannot look past my past, will have no hard feelings from my side.
 
How bad was your criminal acts? You might even get to run for president!

Seriously tho, remember a lot of employers may background check you - even if they are not necessarily in the financial or "trust" sectors. So its a gamble because withholding it, and then the prospetive employer finding it could be a problem as they may feel you're not trust worthy. The other side of the coin is they may feel you're not trustworthy because of it even if you disclose it. So its not easy, I hope you come right with something.
 
neoprema said:
How bad was your criminal acts? You might even get to run for president!
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It is up there at worst you can do type things. So not something I'm proud off, but also not something I will hide, if I get asked about it, I will tell it as it is. I will not look for excuses, as I was a piece a garbage, so no excuse will work, and I really intend to disclose the criminal record part. It is more a question of when, but definitly no later then the interview. From the advice here, I will not mention it in my CV, but will mention it in my interview, would I be lucky enough to get an interview with only a degree and very little experience.
 
Convict said:
It is up there at worst you can do type things. So not something I'm proud off, but also not something I will hide, if I get asked about it, I will tell it as it is. I will not look for excuses, as I was a piece a garbage, so no excuse will work, and I really intend to disclose the criminal record part. It is more a question of when, but definitly no later then the interview. From the advice here, I will not mention it in my CV, but will mention it in my interview, would I be lucky enough to get an interview with only a degree and very little experience.
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Yet you get asked here with in a completely anonymous space and you can't answer it...
 
Convict said:
Double murder + armed.robbery. Do not wanted my crime to affect the advice given.
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Hectic. I wonder if anyone will like your comment.:unsure:

Nah but seriously if you have remorse and you are trying to change no one has the right to judge you on your past sins.
 
I'll be honest, if I were to come across someone with a criminal record in an interview, I'd hire them. We, and I think a lot of companies, have too many pussies in the office.
 
randomcat said:
Hectic. I wonder if anyone will like your comment.:unsure:

Nah but seriously if you have remorse and you are trying to change no one has the right to judge you on your past sins.
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People can judge, I do not have an issue with it. I would have judged if I was on that side of this post.

What I did was worse then terrible, and I cannot and won't come with some excuse for my past. I had lots of opportunities as a kid, did not grow up in a tough situation. I was just the kid that if presented with 2 options, I would always take the bad option. Why I have no idea, but that is how it played out. And I won't say what I did was a mistake, it surely was wrong, but I was fully aware of the consequences of my actions and yet still chose to do it, it was not something that happened by chance or by "mistake"
 
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