career and misdemeanor charge

[<ABC>]

What is the name of your state? VA

Does a misdemeanor charge really ruin your career? Would you please share your experience/knowledge about this?

Do employers really pay attention to a misdemeanor charge before making any offers?

I am really depressed and ashamed of myself for making the biggest mistake of my life and ruining my career/future.

 

[George1620]

What was your charge?

 

[JETX]

Does a misdemeanor charge really ruin your career? Would you please share your experience/knowledge about this?

The impact of a misdemeanor charge depends entirely on what policy's the employer has to the charge. Some employers may overlook a misdemeanor charge (depending on the specific circumstances). While another employer may decide to not accept ANY criminal charges at all.

Do employers really pay attention to a misdemeanor charge before making any offers?

See above.

 

[<ABC>]

I was working part-time at a big store in the mall. One day the store had a big sale and I sold a not-on-sale item at a sale price to one of my relatives. The store sued me for petty larceny and I was convicted.

Currently I am working full-time as an Analyst, but I don't think I can move further with my career. Just before the charge, I intereviewed with a big company and everything went fine. I was pretty sure that the company would hire me for the job even though I asked for a salary that was $10K higher than my current one because I did well on the technical tests they gave me and had so much experience for that position. But too bad, at the end they emailed me and told me that the position had been put on hold. There was no doubt that they had done some background check and found out about the charge.

Just a stupid mistake, but it will ruin my career, life, and take away the ease in my mind.

 

[cbg]

The charge is going to hurt you less than trying to hide it will. It sounds as if you had not told them what they were going to find in the background check, though it isn't clear whether it was a lie of commission (saying no, you did not have any convictions in your background) or of ommission (simply leaving any such questions blank). Either way, this is considered a falsification of your application and is far more harmful to career prospects than a single conviction of several years prior.

Many employers will forgive a single mistake. Few if any will forgive being lied to.

In the future, don't let prospective employers be blindsided. Be honest about what happened and tell them how much you regret it and how you have learned your lesson. I'm not saying you'll automatically get hired immediately - none of us have that guarantee. But it's far more likely to work in your favor than hiding the charge will.

 

[<ABC>]

I did not hide anything! The charge was happening towards the end of the interviewing process. After passing all the tests and the first interview, they asked me to fill out the application. At that time, I was not charged of anything.

However, I was convicted of that charge almost a month after the employment application had been filled out.

I am sure that I will be honest about the charge and how sorry I am for what I did because I know for sure that I can't hide anything and I don't wan't to hide either. I want to be frank about the charge, so there won't be any supprises later.

Thanks for your advice and spending time to write to me!

 

[cbg]

Oh, I see. For some reason I thought the conviction was several years ago.

It probably would have been wiser, in hindsight, to let them know at the time it happened so that there weren't any surprises. I certainly understand why you didn't, but from their perspective it probably seemed like you were trying to hide it from them, even if you weren't.

Good luck in your job search.

 

[Beth3]

But too bad, at the end they emailed me and told me that the position had been put on hold. There was no doubt that they had done some background check and found out about the charge. I think there's plenty of doubt that their decision had anything to do with your criminal history. I seriously doubt they would have told you they put the job on hold if that were the case. They would have sent you the standards "thanks for your time but we're pursuing other candidates who appear to fit our present requirements better" letter.

I strongly suspect that your misdemeanor has nothing to do with their decision and, in fact, they did decide to put the job on hold due to internal issues that have nothing to do with you.

 

[<ABC>]

cbg...

Again, thank you for writing back to me. Definitely, I will tell about the charge to any employers in the future if I ever have a chance to fill out an employment application again. Right now, in my mind I don't think I can move any futher with my career. I probably have to stay with my current company for the rest of my life!

Beth3...

Thank you for giving me some feedback! So you don't think they put the position on hold because of the misdemeanor charge? The reason for me to think that way was that I saw the company posted the same posting on hotjobs.com again after telling me that the postion was put on hold. The interviewing process went so fine. They even arranged a flight for me to come for the last interview, but only one week before the final interview date, they emailed me and told me that the position had been put on hold.

What else besides the misdemeanor charge that changed their decision? They did tell me that they would put my resume on file for future openings. But I don't think they ever contact me for any positions at their company. Since the charge happened, few places have called me for interviews, but I did not show up becuase I know that they would not hire me anyway...

Personally, do you think a misdemeanor charge as mine would make a big impact on employers' decisions when hiring someone for analyst positions, Beth?

Thanks for spending time reading and sharing with me your thoughts!

 

[Beth3]

So you don't think they put the position on hold because of the misdemeanor charge? If your misdemeanor was the issue, then it doesn't make sense that they would tell you the position had been put "on hold." There were other simpler and cleaner ways to be rid of you permanently that wouldn't result in the likelihood of you contacting them periodically to ask what the status of the job was. I can't guarantee anything of course but I've been recruiting for a lot of years and I've never told a candidate that a job was put on hold unless it really was.

Since the charge happened, few places have called me for interviews, but I did not show up becuase I know that they would not hire me anyway... Whoa! If you are contacted for an interview and the job sounds interesting, GO! You are leaping to some huge conclusions here about your employability. If you are a talented analyst and I after interviewing you I was convinced you recognized the error of your ways and had simply made a foolish error in judgment (assuming your misdemeanor even came up), it would not prevent me from offering you a job. Look, you did something wrong but it's not like you committed armed robbery or embezzled thousands of dollars.

If your misdeamor comes up during an interview or you feel it's appropriate to mention it, then just 'fess up and put it in the context of "I was young, I was stupid, and boy, did I learn a lesson the hard way. My actions didn't reflect my personal values and something like that will never again." I've hired people with felony convictions. Your misdemeanor would hardly make me blink an eye.

You're selling yourself short. Good luck.

 

[cbg]

Furthermore, one of the reasons I rarely if ever use hotjobs is that jobs have a tendency to keep coming up even when I've already made a hire. They once insisted on sending me candidates for six months after the job was already filled.