Mom is a Felon and Cannot find a Job

Hello,

I was just checking out your page with the list of jobs for felons I have been seriously looking having interviews but haven't had any luck I'm a first time felon never been in trouble my whole life made a mistake last yr by cashing a scam check that was sent to me in the mail and at the time I was really in need for money I'm a single mother my child's father is incarcerated. I'm charged in Virginia. My charge is felony false pretense to obtain money. I only got charged because the store owner pressed charges. The District Attorney didn't want to have charges against me because I have a good background. I couldn't pay off the restitution before my final court date and now I am on probation indefinitely because I didn't have to do any time. I have worked for the state of Virginia before in a mental health facility. I also worked as a kitchen supervisor in a prison when I was younger and I have a lot of customer service skills. I haven't had a job since last year. I was working on a military base at a store but they let me go because my charge was pending at the time. My question to you is what jobs or companies are more likely to hire someone with a background like mine?

Mom is a Felon and Cannot find a Job

Hello,

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time finding work. Unfortunately too many people give up future employment opportunities by making bad decisions. Because your convictions falls into the category of theft/ robbery/ larceny, your integrity is in question. My suggestion is to avoid applying for job that have anything to do with working with money or anything of value. That would eliminate most cashier and retail jobs.

I have had students in your situations. A few of them are working for telemarketing companies while others are working in supermarkets and factories.

Apply for Temporary Employment

I often encourage my students that have marketable skills, to apply for temporary employment. Temporary jobs is a good way for ex-offenders and felons searching for jobs to get back into the working world. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 2009, temporary jobs have made up about 19% of all new jobs. This due to companies looking to temporary employment agencies as a way to keep labor costs down. Companies hire temporary employees for a number of reasons. One reason is that it is up to the staffing agency to screen and interview employees. Time is money and the less time used in the

hiring process, the better for the company. If temp employees prove to be good at what they do and fit in well with the rest of the company, many are hired permanently. Temporary workers can be very attractive to small companies. They can staff their businesses at a lower cost than regular full-time employees with benefits, which is advantageous when they do not have the resources to employ a more permanent staff.

There is a twist when looking for temporary jobs. There are two basic types of staffing agencies. First there are the large, nationally know companies. Companies like Adecco, Kelly Services and other big companies have hiring practices that are set at their corporate offices. These practices may prohibit their local offices from hiring people with criminal records. Some of them do, and some of them do not. The other companies are smaller privately owned staffing agencies. Because these smaller agencies are locally owned, they make their own rules regarding who they hire. They can hire whomever they wish. Ex-offenders and felons stand a greater chance of getting hired at these smaller agencies.

Get Help from your Local One-stop Career Center

One-Stop Career Centers are organized to furnish a full range of assistance to job seekers. The centers offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and similar employment-related services. These centers are the best place for job seekers to get every thing they need for a successful job search. If you need a resume,

you can get help getting one. If you need interviewing skills, there are classes that can help you with developing them. There computers that may be used to access the internet to search for jobs. Each center also has lists of open positions in your immediate area. Every center has counselors that can provide individualized assistance. There also may be opportunities to get training for a new career. With so many services available, I don't know why more people don't use these centers. You can find the center nearest to you at the website below:

www.servicelocator.org

The Federal Bonding Program

Because you have a theft related conviction, you may want to look into the Federal Bonding Program. A bond is an insurance policy that are issued in the name of an employee that protects the employer from losses due to theft by the employee. More employers hire ex-offenders and felons than can get bonded. Unfortunately some insurance companies will issue bonds for employees that have theft or related convictions. The federal government makes it easier for certain people to get bonded that may not be able to be bonded by private companies. This is a good selling point on an interview if you point out that you can be bonded. You can read more about the Federal Bonding Program by clicking the link to another blog post I have here:

Federal Bonding Program helps Felons get Jobs

The best of luck to you

Eric Mayo

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Mom is a Felon and Cannot find a Job

Temporary Agencies are a good Choice for Ex-offenders and Felons

Temp agency faces discrimination suit from African-American job seekers

Several of my blog posts make reference to ex-offenders and felons using temporary employment agencies to find jobs. Often when temporary employees prove to be good workers, employers are willing to hire them as regulars.

I teach my students that there is a strategy to using temporary agencies to get jobs. There are temporary agencies that handle just about any type of work you can think of. There are others that are agency specific for example, there are some agencies that cater to the medical field and others may cater to restaurants and food service. Check your local telephone directory to get a list of agencies in your area.

For an ex-offenders or felon, the approach to getting hired has to be a little different than a regular job seeker. From my point of view, there are two types of agencies, nationwide agencies and local, independently owned companies.

Nation-wide Agencies

Below is a list of nation-wide temporary/permanent employment agencies with links to their respective websites:

Net-Temps

Net-Temps has a great site that allows job seekers to find their offices in multiple states and has listing of available jobs according to interest.

Manpower

Manpower has been in the temporary staffing business for over 60 years and is an industry leader. The site allows job seekers to search for positions by interest, skills and location.

Labor Ready

Every year, Labor Ready sends approximately 400,000 Temporary Associates to jobs in construction, manufacturing, hospitality, events, restoration, auto services, logistics and warehousing, retail support, waste and recycling and more. Labor Ready has more than 600 locations. Greater than 225,000 businesses of all sizes throughout North America use Labor Ready for their staffing needs. Labor Ready is the leader in employing ex-offenders and felons. Their website will help you find your nearest Labor Ready office.

Adecco USA

Adecco has over 400 career centers and, on a daily basis connects 70,000 talented workers to the best employment opportunities across the country, making them one of the country's largest employers. You will find employment opportunities in marketing, customer service and telemarketing, hospitality, industrial and manufacturing, medical, office and administrative, transportation and warehousing and many more categories.

Kelly Services

Kelly Services employment to 550,000 employees annually and is an industry leader in providing temporary employment worldwide. The website allows job seekers to find the nearest Kelley Services office.

This is just a small list and some allow job seekers to apply online or submit resumes. I'm not sure exactly what their respective policies are regarding hiring ex-offenders and felons.

Independent Agencies

Independent agencies, in my opinion, offer the best opportunities for ex-offenders and felons to get hired. Often the larger corporate agencies have corporate policies that forbid the hiring of an ex-offender or felon. With smaller companies, you will more often than not interview with the owner or manager that has the power to hire anyone that person feels is best for an assignment.

Make a list of temporary agencies in your area from the telephone book. Visit them and apply just as you would any other job. Have your resume with you to leave along with your application.

Remind the interviewer that you can be bonded by the Federal Bonding Program. The Federal Bonding Program encourages businesses to hire at-risk, hard-to-place job seekers by providing insurance policies that protect against employee theft or dishonesty. Refer to the video below for more information on the Federal Bonding Program.

Jobs for felons and ex-offenders will be a lot easier to get when they know where to find real job leads. Ex-offenders and felons can use the tips in the video above to find leads for jobs.

The Federal Bonding Program can help felons get jobs. Jobs will be easier to get if employers know that that felons can be bonded. You will find more on the Federal Bonding Program here:

www.bonds4jobs.com

Also remind the interviewer about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. The employer would be eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,400 for hiring you if you have been released in the past year.