Job Search After a Felony

Q: “I’ve recently been released from prison and want to get back into my profession. I’ve been trying to re hone my skills but given my felony record am I just spinning my wheels? What do I say when I’m asked about the lapse in my employment?

A. You’re not spinning your wheels, you will find employment, and you will have some real challenges ahead. Let’s start with the first hurdles to overcome, and go from there:

Responsible employers will not want to put you, their employees, or the public the company serves, into situations that create the perception, real or imagined, of danger. Therefore, sit down with your parole officer and counselor before you interview. Identify work environments and interpersonal situations to avoid and those that are appropriate to approach. Candidly discuss the reasonable, practical, and emotional concerns that prospective employers and their employees might have, given your recent history. Prepare yourself to respond to those fears in ways that not only demonstrate self-awareness, but also describe the conscious changes you’ve made in your behavior and your ability to respond to others.

Address the lapses in your employment history in a truthful and straightforward way. You mentioned “rehoning your skills.” Describe how you’ve continued your education during and following the time you were imprisoned; and the preparations you have made for the career direction you are taking. Describe your past accomplishments and your ability to contribute to the future success of the company you’d like to join.

Your challenge, and it’s a big one, is getting the interviewer to focus on what you’re saying and not on where you’ve been and what got you there.

To accomplish that, address what concerns them most. Ask prospective employers to ask you any and all work related questions or concerns they have relative to your history in or out of prison. Ask them to describe the challenges they believe you will confront at their place of business. Then answer those concerns in an honest and forthright manner.

Q: I’m concerned about the application form. How can I answer the question about felonies so that my job application won’t get tossed as soon as my response is read?

A: Answer that question and every question truthfully. Will your application be tossed? It’s likely that it will. What can you do about it?

There’s more to all of us than can be demonstrated on an application or resume. Talk to the people who know you best, stood by you, and are willing to take a chance on you. Those individuals, directly or indirectly, may know people who hire people.

You’re asking for a chance to tell an employer your story: your work history, why you were arrested, what you’ve learned as a result, and your efforts to now make good on the rest of your life.

Q: How can I regain my self-respect? My confidence is gone. I’m afraid to get out there and tell my story. What can I do to move forward?

A: I’ve never been in your shoes. I cannot begin to know what you feel. But others have been there. Ask your parole officer and your counselor for help in finding individuals who have been able to make a successful transition and who would be willing to talk with you and counsel you through a very tough time.

I do know this. A comeback takes time, patience and incremental steps. It takes the capacity to accept responsibility and accountability for the choices that you’ve made in the past and will make in the future. It requires asking forgiveness from those you have, by intention or omission, caused physical pain or emotional suffering. It takes reaching out to those who are strong when you’re weak and tender when you’re hurt. It takes all that, and enough people who are willing to say, “I’ll give you another chance.”

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started he own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Professional Maturity vs. Social Sophistication

He said that he was impatient, hard driving, focused, bottom-line. That he had trouble with people who wanted to think aloud, taking everyone’s time, noodling about what ought to have been immediately clear to everyone present. That his idea was good, it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. So, he did what any clear thinking person would have done, he blew up. Well, not totally. But he did say in very emphatic terms that he wouldn’t sit through these interminable meetings and have his time wasted by individuals who didn’t know enough to speak intelligently about the subject at hand. With that, he left the room.

He thought the subject was closed. He made his point. What was left to say? Plenty, apparently. He was informed that he was to apologize, immediately, to the management team, or be denied the promotion and salary increase that he had so long worked to attain.

He was willing to meet, he said, to explain his position. “Not good enough,” he was told.

“Why should I apologize?” he screamed into the ear that I was holding at a respectful distance from the telephone receiver. “Why am I the bad guy and these idiots get away with making it so? Why should my career be threatened because they don’t know the truth when it smacks them in the head and kicks them in the behind?”

“Do you want me to respond or do you want to keep venting?” I asked.

“I want to know how to answer them without feeling like I’m giving in,” he said. “I want to explain myself. I realize I was too emotional. But I won’t apologize for anything else.”

“What’s your ‘end’ in mind,” I asked. “What do you want to have happen as a result of that conversation?”

Silence. I didn’t hear him breathe.

“Good question,” he said. “And I don’t have an answer.”

I knew then he was ready to listen.

“Being ‘right’ isn’t reason enough to demand that others agree with you. Being ‘right’ isn’t sufficient cause for others to abandon their perspective.”

“Okay. Maybe you’re right. What am I supposed to do? I’ve got integrity and I won’t compromise it to pander to people I don’t respect.”

“If you don’t respect the people on your team, why are you working for that company?”

“I misspoke. I do respect them. They’re smart, they’re smooth, and they’re sophisticated. To tell the truth, and I hadn’t thought about this until just now, I don’t think they respect me. That’s why I get angry.”

“Why wouldn’t they respect you?”

“Well, they went to ivy-league schools and have advanced degrees. They know how to dress, and what to say. They pick the right restaurants and choose the right wines. They’ve got class. I don’t. I didn’t get that in my house. Believe me, I wouldn’t trade my parents or my life, because that’s how I’ve gotten as far as I have, but I sure could use a little more polish.”

“What would polish do for you?”

“I’d be more patient, more understanding, I’d listen better because I wouldn’t feel like I always have to prove myself.”

“What do you have to prove?”

“That I have a right to be in the room. I have a right to a seat at the table. And I’ll fight for that right because I’ve earned it and I’m not going back to how I lived or where I lived, ever again.”

“It sounds like fighting for that right will guarantee you a ticket to where you don’t want to go.”

“Looks like it.”

“You’re smart, you’re quick, you connect the dots while others are still arranging them on the paper. You’re creative and passionate. You have everything that you need to succeed but…”

“But?”

“You have lessons to learn:  There are more ways than your way to solve problems, craft visions, and initiate processes. You can be intelligent and have viewpoints that add value and not be demeaning to others. It’s about professional maturity, not social sophistication.”

“It’s about winning as a team and beating the competition instead of beating up the team and losing my chance to play.”

“You’ve got it.”

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executiveand career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Unrealistic Fear

Tom (Dick, or Harry) has a problem. He’s in way over his head. Competent, well educated, articulate, he’s scared of the slippery slope that lies ahead. He could veer off the path, but he’s chosen to stay the course. And he’s relieved it will soon be over. They’re going to fire him, he just knows it.

Realistic fear? Realistic, no, not remotely. Fear, yes, absolutely. I’ll leave the psychological evaluations to those who specialize in that, and work with the career side of the equation.

This individual is surprisingly typical of many talented employees. He masks his fear and no one knows he’s in trouble. He looks calm, cool, and externally collected. Internally, he’s a mess. He’s not sleeping and fixated on worry, thinks of little else. His ultimate concern isn’t job loss; it’s what lies at the bottom of the slope: it’s the box under the bridge. And he’s living in it.

If you’re one of the competent, intelligent, emotionally healthy and otherwise self aware employees who get yourselves in such a tangle, I have some suggestions for you:

Get real: It may be typical of you to underestimate your talents and abilities. You probably focus on what you don’t do well and ignore where you excel. Own your best stuff. Outline your strengths, describe your attributes and don’t stick a “yea, but” in there.

Delegate: One of your challenges is forcing yourself to “give it away.” You’re convinced that no one else can do it (whatever it is) as well, or as quickly, or as expertly, as you. Critical error. The more work you keep, the more you do. Yes, you did handle it all earlier in your career. Since then you’ve been promoted to positions of increasing responsibility and visibility. You’ve taken on more direct reports and more authority. And you’ve not let go of what your subordinates should be doing. That’s too much for one person to handle. Even you.

Team leadership: Your job as a leader/manager is to help guide your organization toward meeting and exceeding its goals. You have two primary objectives:

1. To provide your subordinates the appropriate training, development, empowerment and opportunity to become interdependent, reliable, accountable team players. It’s their job to overcome obstacles, anticipate the unexpected, and accept responsibility for consequences that result from their actions. Give them room to do it.
2. To be part of a leadership team that designs and communicates a compelling strategic vision that enables employees to take the action steps necessary to make it happen.

Get organized: Organize what is yours to do, not what others should be doing. If you are procrastinator, avoiding issues that are looming large, it’s essential that you engage, immediately. If you are spending the time you have on low priority projects that are more appropriate for others to complete, break the cycle. Delegate.

Take stock: How’s your health? When’s the last time you went for a check-up? If it’s been more than a year, make an appointment. It’s not that anything’s wrong with you, it just helps to minimize concerns that nibble around the edges, and your physician’s office is a healthy place to start.

Regular vacations are essential to your well being: High performance engines require quality maintenance. Why do less for yourself than you would do for your car or lawnmower? Take sufficient time away from work, phones, computers, email, and trade papers to recalibrate your body clock to sleep restfully until you wake. Recalibrate your mental models so that you can read, play, and celebrate for the joy of it.

Get out of your head: If you’re unable to focus, at home or at work, and feel overwhelmed, it’s time to get help from a professional. Sometimes all it takes is talking with someone who is both objective and empathetic. Other times it takes more and it takes longer. Be open to the process that works best for you. You’re worth it.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started he own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.

Job Concerns Living Inside the Head of a Person Near You

Do any of these job hunting concerns live inside the head of a person near you?

• I’m interested in so many things, I can’t settle on just one.
• If I’m so smart, how come no one is offering me a job?
• I’d do real well on an interview, I just don’t know how to get one.
• I’d get hired if I knew what I wanted to do.
• If I knew what I wanted to do I could get outside my head and go do it.

Let’s start with the first one:

I’m interested in so many things, I can’t settle on just one.

You may have trouble deciding on one career direction because you’re concerned you’ll pick the wrong path and be forever limited by your choice. Instead, select something that you can focus on for the next year or two; evaluate your situation when the time comes, then choose to stay or choose to look. There is no law or contract that binds you to one job or career for life. That may have been true twenty years ago. It’s not true now.

If I’m so smart, how come no one is offering me a job?

You’ve probably been told by your parents, teachers and friends that you’re intelligent, even gifted, and can do anything you want to do. That’s the problem. You can do anything and aren’t drawn to any one thing. When you go on an interview you don’t show any enthusiasm because you don’t feel any. The interviewer picks up on it, and doesn’t feel any enthusiasm about your candidacy. No juice, no offer.

I do real well on an interview. I just can’t get one.

There’s a big difference between self confidence and job search strategy. It sounds like you’ve got plenty of one and not enough of the other. Eighty percent of available jobs aren’t advertised. You find them by plugging into the word of mouth circuit and then start networking. As the word implies, networking enables you to work your way through an interconnected system of contacts, until you reach what you’re looking for: an interview.

The essentials of networking include: contacting people you know personally who share your professional interests; talking with them about your search; describing your strengths and skill sets; asking for ways to connect with people you should meet. Then you ask for introductions and meet with individuals they recommend. And never, ever ask a networking contact to find you a job.

I’d get hired if I knew what I wanted to do.

There are so many people who don’t know what they want to do, it’s a miracle anything gets done. No wonder the total value of goods and services produced is called the gross national product.

There are three ways that, in combination, can help you find what you are best matched to doing:

Self analysis: Look back at your life and the jobs you’ve had: what are the things you’ve enjoyed most and found greatest success doing?

Talk with people who know you best: Seek their insight regarding what they have observed you doing most easily and with greatest enthusiasm.

Career Counseling: Work with professionals trained to take what you know and have learned about yourself, who know the questions to ask, and can provide the feedback and analysis you need to enable you to find your way.

If I knew what I wanted to do I could get out of my head and go do it.

One of the reasons you’ve hesitated for so long has been your quest for the “one right job.” What you really need is to head in the right direction. Like everyone else, you’re bound to stumble. The moment of truth comes with what you’ll do next. People may give you advice. They can’t give you courage. That’s up to you.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.richmanresources.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started he own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.