Clean Criminal Records, Ilicit Practices Among New Economic Realities
North America has only recently come out of one of the worst recessions within living memory. Economic growth is slow but visible and companies are hiring again. Yet many people are finding that looking for employment remains a daunting task. It is as if the positive statistics regarding jobs created every month are masking an underlying reality of a more competitive job market.
The answer to this apparent contradiction clearly lies in a principle that is often manifested in tough economic times and other situations when fewer job openings arise: when employers need less staff, they can afford to set higher standards for hiring. A subsidiary effect of this is that when a company downsizes, the sudden lack of staff allows them to re-think their staffing model according to principles which might be more efficient for the company and which will be implemented when hiring during post-recession restructuring. An illustrative example is the changes that the militaries of many countries have made during the course of the 20th century, for instance the French Foreign Legion. During France’s colonial period, the Legion was like a second French army; it served in the hostile North African territories and, needing cannon fodder, took virtually any able-bodied man regardless of past history. After France lost its colonies, the Legion was moved to metropolitan France; since then, it has been more closely integrated into the French army and, while still numbering about 7700 men, can afford to turn away many of the applicants who flock to its recruitment centres every year. Today, factors ranging from a serious criminal past to bad teeth can eliminate a potential recruit. In all, there are about 8 applicants for each opening in the Legion.
What follows are some examples of the difficulties facing the post-recession job seeker in today’s North American employment sector.
Part-time and contract work
The truth is that there are many jobs being posted, but those looking for a permanent position may have a hard time finding one among the different part-time and contract positions available. This is one of the most brutal realities of the post-recession market: many employers are finding it more efficient to outsource part of their staff to contractors for specific projects rather than hire full-time employees.
When a job is not what is advertised
One of the more illicit current practices is for employers who need cheap labour to take advantage of the desperate. Advertisements put out by some companies may include promises of openings in different fields (administrative, HR, sales etc); when a prospective candidate answers the ad, he or she will be readily invited for an interview, at which it will transpire that the employer is looking to fill a narrower range of positions, which in extreme cases might mean they are hiring only poorly-paid sales representatives for an unpopular product line. Or a company may lure job seekers with positive-sounding adverts, while omitting less attractive aspects of the position, such as a commission-based salary. Others may present participation in a pyramid scheme as a legitimate job opening. In effect, these companies are banking on the fact that many people are desperate to leave the ranks of the unemployed and might be more willing to take up such positions.
Criminal record checks
Or, as in the example of the Foreign Legion, a company may simply find that it can afford to raise its hiring standards. One way in which this is being increasingly manifested today is the requirement for employees to present a criminal record check, which can spell trouble for those candidates who have a conviction to their name. More and more employers are demanding a clean criminal record from prospective candidates. This was always a barrier to some jobs, but a clean criminal record used to be more of a requirement for the public sector, in security or law enforcement-type positions, and in other concrete areas. Nowadays, however, more and more companies are screening potential employees in this regard, including existing employees who are about to be promoted; for many, a long-forgotten petty conviction will mean fewer job opportunities as more companies demand a clean criminal record. The good news is that some employers, such as IBM, judge employees on a case-by-case basis and may accept a qualified candidate who has a minor conviction. Still, it is much safer to get a pardon, which will guarantee a clean criminal record despite the conviction, if local law allows this. For example, in Canada, anyone may apply for a criminal pardon from the Parole Board of Canada 3 to 10 years after completing their sentence; when this is granted, the crime will not be visible to prospective employers.
About the Author
Ned Lecic is a writer, both for work and pleasure. He is employed by a Canadian pardons agency.
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