In a bad economy, a criminal history sets off alarm bells and sirens in a job interview. Have any doubts? Check out CNN's website today for their list entitled "43 Weird Things." The list is a compendium of horror stories from corporate human resource directors about the strange things that people have volunteered about themselves during job interviews. A common thread throughout the list is people trying to explain away their criminal records -- such as the person who stated "I didn't steal it; I borrowed it" and the one who told a job interviewer: "I'm not wanted in this state."
As I've said many times in this blog, if you don't want to become a war story that a personnel director tells to his colleagues, you might want to expunge or seal that criminal record before you walk into the job interview. To avoid making the CNN website, check out of website for further information on Texas expunctions and orders of nondisclosure.
Here's something useful: the new book "Beyond Bars: Rejoining Society After Prison," by two criminology profs, Ian Ross and Stephen Richards. The book is intended as a nuts-and-bolts survival guide for people getting released from prison.
However, it's filled with useful stuff for almost anyone who has gone through the criminal justice system, whether coming out of lock-up or coming off of deferred adjudication probation. Topics include how to seal (or deal with) criminal records, how to handle employers and job interviews, getting drug and alcohol treatment, how to approach relatives and friends, as well as lists of free resources. As you probably know if you've been through the system, the real "punishment" often starts after the court-ordered punishment is finished -- getting rejected for jobs, places to live, educational opportunities, etc. This is a valuable resource for anyone trying to cope with the aftermath of a criminal case. It's available at Amazon.com. Check it out.
The Texas Legislature meets for its bienniel session starting in January, but legislators have already begun prefiling bills. One of the bills I will have an eye on is HB 293, filed by State Representative Harold Dutton of Houston, which pertains to expunctions of records following criminal cases. As of the summer of 2007, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision which effectively imposed a waiting period to get an expunction following a dismissal or acquittal in a misdemeanor case of two years from the date of the offense.