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Does Someone With a Prison Record Work for Me?

Amy Morin

June 18, 2013

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Hiring someone with a criminal record can seem like risky business. However, looking past someone’s criminal history may actually be beneficial to your company.

People with a Prison Record

The amount of people who have a criminal history is fairly staggering. 92 million people have some sort of criminal history, according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

However, having a criminal history doesn’t mean all those people are destined for unemployment. According to a survey by CareerBuilder, 51 percent of companies report hiring someone with a criminal record.

The Pros

Giving someone a second chance in life can be very rewarding for employers. Just because someone made a mistake in their past doesn’t mean they can’t perform their job duties.

Sometimes people with a criminal record know they’re facing a big hurdle and work very hard to prove themselves to employers. If they’ve learned from their mistakes they may be eager to establish themselves at your company.

It’s possible to find some very talented people with a criminal history. It’s likely that other employers have overlooked them due to their past and you might find an available candidate who is a great fit for your company if you’re willing to give people with a criminal record a chance.

The Cons

There are plenty of times when a person’s prison record might impact their job performance. So, it makes sense to be cautious about hiring people with a less than pristine background.

If a potential job candidate hasn’t learned from his experiences, he may be destined to repeat the criminal behavior.

If the person served prison time, it’s likely that there will be a large employment gap. This can make it hard to judge a person’s potential attendance, work ethic and ability to perform duties of the job.

Depending on the nature of your business, you should also examine how hiring people with a criminal record might be viewed by the public.

For example, if you own a repair service that would require employees to go into customer’s homes, it might cause the public to steer clear of your business if they’re afraid you’ll send someone unsafe to their homes.

Considerations When Hiring Someone with a Prison Record

It makes sense to consider hiring someone with a prison record on a case by case basis. Here are some things to consider:

Nature of the Crime – The type of crime should be a factor in your hiring decision. There is a big difference between someone who committed repeated violent crimes just for fun and a person who made a single bad choice.

Timeline - Also consider the timeline. If a person committed one crime 25 years ago and hasn’t committed any crimes since, he may be showing that he’s made some significant changes in his life.

Rehabilitation - Take a look at a person’s rehabilitation efforts. If a person voluntarily went to a substance abuse treatment program or completed community service, take that into consideration as he may be showing he’s trying to change.

There is a lot to consider when hiring any employee. However, hiring someone with a prison record, take a few extra steps.

Don’t rule out everyone with a criminal record but instead, consider each candidate on a case by case basis.

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