Keep a criminal record from killing your career

The Globe and Mail

When the former owner of a Montreal-based jet-boat manufacturer got out of prison last April after serving 3½ years for armed robbery, he quickly learned that prospective employers were not as ready as he was to put his criminal past behind him.

"The reality is, if you have a [criminal] record and you disclose that information, you're not getting any work," says the man, who asked that his name not be used.

Having run a company that had employed up to 30 people, the ex-convict, whose crime was not work-related, is now looking for a management-level position.

But, as others like him have discovered, a criminal conviction can be a death sentence for a career.

The likes of Martha Stewart may not have to worry about their post-prison futures -- after all, she already has a new prime-time TV show in the works after her March release -- but that's not the case for many others without her profile who must carry the burden of a criminal conviction.

In fact, about one in 10 Canadians has a criminal record. In today's security-conscious world, many companies are more reluctant than ever to hire someone with a tainted past. And in the wake of 9/11, more and more are doing criminal checks on job applicants, says Brian King, president of King-Reed & Associates Ltd., a private investigation firm in Toronto.

Those convicted of white-collar crimes trying to re-enter the corporate world face an even tougher time landing a job than those looking for blue-collar work, says Shelley Power, a job placement coordinator with the B.C. Borstal Association, a non-profit agency in Vancouver that helps parolees reenter the community.

Even those who have already found a way back into the work world can run into difficulties because of their past.

Michael Ashby, director of the National Pardon Centre, a non-profit organization in Montreal that helps people for pardon application, can cite numerous situations where an employee up for a better job not only didn't climb the ladder but got fired after a criminal check was done as a routine part of the promotion process. "Not only do they lose the promotions, they also lose their jobs. Society is becoming a little bit more paranoid," he says.

Those hunting for white-collar jobs fresh out of prison run into trouble because, in addition to concerns about security, employers prefer job applicants with up-to-date knowledge of technology and business trends, Ms. Power says.

Although federal prison libraries have computers, none are hooked up to the Internet, so many inmates freed after a lengthy sentence have no first-hand knowledge of the Net and related technology.

Limited access to information also makes it harder for incarcerated professionals to keep up with changes to their field.

A Vancouver accountant who is currently in prison for bank fraud committed outside of work says he's "behind the eight ball" after more than a decade behind bars.

"Accounting principles remain the same but there have been some considerable changes, such as changes to the Income Tax Act," he said in a phone interview from the Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford, B.C.

So what should those with a prison past do to boost their chances of finding job success on the outside again?

One of the big questions is whether they should reveal their criminal history.

The former jet boat company head says that, after going through a couple of job interviews, he has decided it is best to fudge his résumé so potential employers won't know about his conviction.

"If I do get hired and my employer later decides to do a criminal check, what I hope for is that, by that time, they'll have gotten to know me and will focus more on my qualifications than on my criminal record," he says.

But Mr. King says that is a mistake, especially with more and more companies doing criminal background checks. His firm now does more than 5,000 such checks a month, compared with just 10 a month only two years ago.

His advice to ex-convicts? "Be totally honest and up-front with any potential employer," he says. "And gather enough material to show that you have been rehabilitated."

Such proof, he says, could include letters of reference from a prison official or employment counsellor, or a certificate from a training program.

Ms. Power says she also encourages parolees to tick off the "yes" box beside any question about criminal convictions. "

But I also tell them to put in an explanation that might say 'Yes, I have a criminal record but it will not affect the work I do for you or harm anybody I'll be working with.' "

Parolees may need to provide details of their crimes to convince potential employers that their records would not have an impact on their ability to do a job. A parolee applying for work in a call centre, say, might explain that a manslaughter conviction was the result of a fatal drunk-driving accident but any drinking has now stopped.

Some who attended an alcohol-abuse rehabilitation program could also show potential employers a certificate of completion or a letter of reference from the program counsellor.

Just how much information are employers entitled to?

John West, an employment lawyer with Ogilvy Renault LLP in Toronto, says that employers are legally entitled to ask job applicants about convictions under the Canadian Criminal Code -- which covers a range of offences, from fraud and sexual assault to murder and terrorism -- for which they have not been pardoned.

Depending on the nature of their crime, parolees can apply to the National Parole Board for a pardon three to five years after serving their sentence. Except for certain sexual offences, criminal records are sealed once a pardon is granted. About 300,000 of the three million Canadians with a criminal record have received a pardon, according to the National Parole Board.

Employers can also ask about convictions for provincial offences -- such as speeding or securities violations.

By law, Canadian employers can refuse to hire someone with an unpardoned federal offence, Mr. West says. But they cannot discriminate against someone convicted of a provincial offence, unless they can prove it has a direct impact on the person's ability to do the job.

"So if, for example, I'm a company looking to hire a writer and the applicant I'm looking at got caught with insider trading and got fined, I couldn't refuse to hire them because they have a securities offence," Mr. West says. "But if I'm running an investment house, then I would have a bona fide qualification for saying no."

In fact, many ex-convicts must also change their expectations about the kind of work they will be able to do once they get out.

Bob Small, a counsellor with Corcan, Correctional Service Canada's employment training and placement program, says one of the biggest problems for convicted white-collar workers is accepting they cannot pick up where they left off in their careers.

One parolee, a disbarred lawyer jailed for six months for fraud, was determined to stay in the legal field. He got a job interpreting legal documents for a small firm.

"But then the company picked up a contract with a bank and the bank needed everybody at the company bonded and cleared," Mr. Small says. "Well, of course, he didn't make the grade so he got canned."

The former lawyer, who was also well versed in computers, finally realized he had to readjust his career expectations. He was hired by a software company and is now doing very well, Mr. Small says.

White-collar workers coming out of prison need to assess their skills and figure out how they can transfer them to another field, Mr. Small says. They might also retrain for another career.

"Once people accept that they have to retool and transfer their skills to another field, they usually end up succeeding," he says.

Retraining can also go on while offenders are on the inside. The accountant studied restaurant management -- a business his family was involved in -- while in prison.

The accountant also advises others to network, even from behind bars. The decision to hire or reject someone with a criminal past is not always black-and-white, says Simon Townsend, a spokesman for TD Canada Trust, where criminal checks are a standard part of the hiring process.

"There's no steadfast rule that says 'you have a criminal record, so we won't hire you,' " he says.

"There are different kinds of crimes and different kinds of people, so we look at the context of the record: How serious was the crime, how long ago did it happen, is it a recurring crime or was it just a one-time thing."

For obvious reasons, the bank looks at crimes such as theft, fraud or money-laundering "most seriously," Mr. Townsend says. But even in such cases, the bank will still look at the overall picture before saying yes or no.

IBM Canada Ltd., which started in January, 2004, to do criminal background checks on potential employees, is also taking a case-by-case approach to job applicants with criminal records.

"The operative phrase is to apply common sense and judgment to these situations," says spokesman Mike Quinn.

"Obviously, a person who did something silly 25 years ago when he was still in high school would be looked at differently than somebody charged with bank robbery three years ago."

André Latour, president of the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario, says employers should also look at whether a person's criminal history is relevant to a prospective job.

Most important of all, he says, employers should look at the person in front of them and find out as much as they can about their accomplishments in the years following a criminal conviction.

"Ask the question, what have you done since then? Are you looked at positively by others you have worked for since your conviction? How have you improved yourself since that time?" he suggests.

Mr. Small notes that the country's prisons are full of first-time offenders, people who are essentially good but made serious errors in judgment.

He encourages employers to keep an open mind and consider non-traditional references, such as prison officials, therapists or prison-based skills training instructors.

Given a chance, most former convicts will work hard to show that their employers made the right decision in hiring them, he says.

"Once they get out, these people are usually very motivated to prove themselves worthy of rejoining society," he says.

"So if you give them a job, chances are most of them will put their heart and soul into it -- but you have to give them that chance."