jobs, background checks....& depression

[greenmint]

a year ago i did some stupid things that resulted in two criminal misdemeanors. i was very emotionally sick and beaten down at the time and under the influence of a horrible disgusting person. i couldn't hold a job, i couldn't do anything, i could barely walk a block without being extremely tired,i was trapped in hell. my life was a nightmare.

 

once that person left, i began to recover. as i got healthier i became horrified by the decisions i had been making. i was disgusted and repulsed by how low i sunk. he broke me......he was my worst enemy but pretended he was a friend. i realized i was responsible for my decisions (even though it was a result of his direct influence) and that i had to rebuild my life from scratch.

 

what im asking about now is how are background checks done? what jobs will do background checks and how will i know? what can i do about my misdemeanors?

 

i am a good person and i am intelligent and talented and i work hard. but even time i apply for a job i am so worried and depressed and i feel like i should just give up and fall apart because im afraid they will check and i will not get chances or opportunities. i am afraid i wont be able to be sucessful. i can't forgive myself. i am ashamed. i feel sad. i feel angry. and i am afraid that good opportunities will be denied to me. i am worried i wont be able to advance and get better and better jobs.

 

i dont feel i deserved this. i know i am responsible for myself but i also know if i had never met him then i would never have fallen like this. he destroyed me and i dont know if i can rebuild and rewin and rewin back my life. i dont want him to win because i know he got a lot of glee and satisfaction manipulating me, controlling me and breaking me down bit by bit. he was happy everytime i was hurt or destroyed a little more. everything he did to me was on purpose, his choice, and that is what hurts. i was not a human being to him, not even a person. i was trash.

 

i can't let someone like that win. i must be better, i must be successful.

 

what should i do? i would appreciate good career advice, good general advice and success advice and background check advice and any other advice. thanks.

 

i am not sure if anyone will understand but it has been very difficult and i feel very very sad about all of it. truly regretful and very depressed when i think about it.

[avman]

The best advice I can give you is to answer all job questions honestly. Some jobs will only ask if you've been convicted of a felony. If they ask that you can simply answer no. However if they ask if you've ever been convicted of a crime you'll need to answer yes. Typically they give you a space/time to explain - and thats the paragraph you'll need to be prepared for. Explain as best you can

 

A criminal conviction will show up on a background check. There's nothing you can do about that. It's up to the employer whether the conviction is important enough to deny you a job.

 

All you can do is prepare the employer in advance. If they run the check and are surprised by finding a conviction, then they are unlikely to offer you a job.

[ayekasong]

I'm no expert, but don't give up hope. Employers hire people who have committed misdemeanors all the time. My cousin was in jail for two years and he managed to get a job.

 

I imagine that as time goes on, your misdemeanors will be less and less important to employers. Everyone screws up, we are only human after all.

[Pressfit]

Greenmint,

 

You're sorry for the mistakes you made but you're beating yourself up over it. "The past is all in your behind" (?) and you can't do anything about that but see to it you don't make the same ones over. That's ALL we can do.

Because the funny thing about life is there's just so much more time left to make all new mistakes!!

 

Avmans' correct about employers and criminal records. The worst thing you could do is try lying to an employer about something, no matter how trivial... whether it be juvenile, misdemeanors, or felony convictions. Because theyWILL find it. They will appreciate honesty far greater.

[I_love_rain_hugs_and_you]

Most employers won't ask whether you have been convicted. Only if you are going into teaching, into the a government job, or into a law enforcement job will they ask.

[avman]

Most employers won't ask whether you have been convicted. Only if you are going into teaching, into the a government job, or into a law enforcement job will they ask.

 

That is unfortunately not true. Background checks are getting more and more common. I have had my background checked at every company I have worked at and none of them were teaching, government, or law enforcement.

[I_love_rain_hugs_and_you]

But only in America. In other countries they don't do back ground checks unless you are applying for a teaching, government, or law enforcement position.

 

 

Most employers won't ask whether you have been convicted. Only if you are going into teaching, into the a government job, or into a law enforcement job will they ask.

 

That is unfortunately not true. Background checks are getting more and more common. I have had my background checked at every company I have worked at and none of them were teaching, government, or law enforcement.

[avman]

But only in America. In other countries they don't do back ground checks unless you are applying for a teaching, government, or law enforcement position.

 

Ah, that could very well be true. I stand corrected.

[arwen]

They will check your criminal records as well in the financial sector- I am sure that is the same in the states.

 

I'd take avman's advice here. Be honest and prove you have made a better person out of yourself.

 

Ilse.

[I_love_rain_hugs_and_you]

What your employer doesn't know can't hurt them. Don't tell anything negative about your past. Your employer won't care about your honesty. They will just see you as a criminal and see you as dishonest anyway.

[avman]

Another senario: If you are carrying a concealed firearm(with a C.C.W. permit) and get stopped by the Police... are you obligated by law to tell the officer you're carrying a gun? Absolutely not. That's your call.

 

That is not true in every location. There are several states (mine included) where you are required to tell a law enforcement officer you are carrying a weapon.

 

What your employer doesn't know can't hurt them. Don't tell anything negative about your past. Your employer won't care about your honesty. They will just see you as a criminal and see you as dishonest anyway

 

So you'd lie on your employment application? I think thats ill advised. Thats grounds for immediate termination and in some cases they'll prosecute you for fraud or sue you for damages.

[I_love_rain_hugs_and_you]

Job interviews are different from carrying guns. Let's stay on topic please.....