Getting out of prison and into a job

"The number of ex-felons in the United States is at the highest level in our history," says Chris Uggen, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, who estimates there are about 12 million former felons living among us today. With an impending job shortage as baby boomers age, employers may be forced to start considering former prison inmates whether they like it or not, he surmises.

"Work is not a panacea, but a stable job and a good home situation really improves the odds that people will get out of criminal activity," he says, adding that a job does help keep ex-offenders out of jail, especially among older parolees.

So what should ex-felons do if they want to land a job and turn their lives around?

Peter Cove, the founder of America Works, suggest parolees move quickly to land a job, any job, right out of prison so they’re not dragged into the criminal world yet again.

Experts suggest former inmates find an agency in their town that focuses on finding jobs for hard-to-place candidates and take advantage of whatever skills training they can get from the government, nonprofit groups and employment agencies with parolee experience.

America Works has locations throughout the U.S. that can be located on their Web site.

Uggen also suggests checking out the following Web sites for help: The Sentencing Project, The Legal Action Center, and The Prisoner Reentry Institute.

The key to getting a job — especially for an ex-con — is references, experts say. To that end, some former inmates may have to take a low-level job, work their tails off, and use that employer for recommendations for the next gig.

Networking also is important. In today’s economy, where jobs are becoming more and more scarce, few people are able to land jobs without connections. There are many support groups for ex-inmates throughout the country that could be great resources.

Once parolees land a job interview, one of the hardest things is explaining their tainted past.

“Go: Getting On After Getting Out,” a book on re-entry put out by the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, offers some great guidelines on how to answer questions about a conviction.

Don't lie, give excuses or harp on the details of a conviction, the authors write. Instead, they recommend showing remorse and describing the efforts former inmates have made to improve themselves. The interviewer is ultimately looking for a future employee, so parolees could talk about how they’re ready to move forward with life and how hard they're willing to work to get there.

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