We all make mistakes, and more often than not we end up having to pay for those mistakes in one way or another. If you’re convicted of a crime, it can have very significant repercussions including jail time, fines, and more. However, the effects of a conviction can last much longer than you might think. In fact, it could impact your ability to find employment in the future.
Today, the internet has shrunk the world tremendously, and more employers than ever before are using criminal history searches to determine whether or not they should hire an applicant. Not convinced? Consider the following:
- Out of white job applicants, 34% of those with no criminal history received a callback after the interview. This is compared to 17% of those with a criminal record.
- Black applicants fared even worse – only 5% of those with a criminal history received a callback, compared to 14% of those without a record.
- A recent study found that 92% of employers today run background checks of some form.
- In many instances, applicants were denied employment because of convictions that were more than 6 years old.
That means that even if you’ve done your time and repaid your debt to society, it can still be incredibly difficult to get back on your feet due to today’s criminal background checks. And this has an impact on far more Americans than many realize – about 28% of the adult population is estimated to have a criminal record of some kind.
So what can you do about it? The easy answer is the obvious one – don’t get charged with a crime. However, for those who are facing charges it’s not that easy. The best move you can make is to contact a legal professional.
A good attorney can work with you to help you try to avoid a conviction or at least receive a reduced charge or reduced sentence. While it still may show up on your criminal background check, lesser charges could have less of an influence on an employer’s willingness to hire you. Additionally, an attorney could even help you avoid a conviction outright.
There’s no guarantee as to what a lawyer can do for you, but with so much of your future on the line there is no question that it’s a good idea to speak with one as soon as you can so you can do all that you can to ensure your future isn’t impacted any more than necessary.