When Your Background Is Holding You Back

When Your Background is Holding You Back /element/photo/man-with-palms-in-his-pockets-high-res-stock-pictures/ The economy is improving in virtually every trade, and employers are finding that the talent pool is getting tight. That’s good news for a sector of the workforce that struggles to connect with work no matter what the economy is doing: these with legal backgrounds. It’s a growing drawback right here in Jacksonville, as it is for many cities. Employers as an entire are wary of hiring convicted felons. A 2010 study (based mostly on 2008 data) discovered that at least 80 p.c of employers would rent “former welfare recipients, staff with little recent work experience or prolonged unemployment, and different stigmatizing traits” but only 40 percent would consider hiring a convicted felon. In 2008, the latest year for which full data can be found, about 1 in 17 working-age adult males was a former prisoner and about 1 in 8 was an ex-felon. (Not all felons serve prison time.) Unemployment amongst former felons (90 percent of whom are male) is a critical problem, not only for the people, however for the families and youngsters affected by their incapability to search out work and provide assist. A 2015 survey by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights discovered that seventy six percent of former inmates said finding work after being released was “tough” or “nearly inconceivable.” Nearly two thirds of the respondents had been unemployed or underemployed five years after being released from jail. If your background is holding you (or somebody you care for) back, here are some ways you possibly can enhance your odds of discovering work. Once you've that second probability, don’t waste it by taking it without any consideration. When you do land a job, it’s essential to stay for no less than a year or two to construct your experience and your status for being dependable. The excellent news is that after you’ve built up a few years of productive work expertise, your background is like ly to fade into the background. You’ll discover it becomes much less important than what you can do for the corporate proper now. Published by candacemoody Candace’s background includes Human Resources, recruiting, coaching and evaluation. She spent a number of years with a national staffing firm, serving employers on both coasts. Her writing on business, profession and employment points has appeared within the Florida Times Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and 904 Magazine, as well as a number of national publications and websites. Candace is commonly quoted in the media on native labor market and employment issues.