Blog Post: Small Business the Most Likely to Hire Ex-Offender

 This is an interesting question. In my experience, I have found that many ex-offenders find it very difficult to find work with large national chains and companies. There are some good reasons that this has become a problem.

 The first and most obvious is that large companies must cover all of there affiliates and satellite operations with a general policy. This translates in many cases to a more conservative approach in hiring than can be achieved with a smaller and more personal human resource operation.

 State laws in regards to hiring ex-offenders differ as well. Whereas some states offer some protections against undue discrimination by employer, other states do not. Most national chains and employers again will adopt the most conservative stance on hiring in this case as well. They may also require that all hiring decisions be approved by a national office.

 The tendency to take the “personal” out of the Personnel hiring is a trend that many large national chains and companies have adopted. With most of these businesses, you will be directed to a computer at a kiosk instead of to a manager. In fact, many of the managers in these companies no longer have the authority to hire the people that they work with and supervise. This decision is mad in many cases by a central human resource authority that is in most cases out of state. The criteria for hiring has been pre-set and any applicants not fitting this pre-set “ideal” are not considered.

 For the ex-offender this spells disaster!  It is common for me to hear stories form an ex-offender who has applied at dozens of national companies and not received a singe call for an interview. They are genially vetted out of the employment process because of not meeting the generalized ideal qualifications set by a human resource system that is completely devoid of personal involvement.

 In some cases an ex-offender will make it all the way to an interview only to find out that the national company does not hire ex-offenders. This is a waste of both party’s time and energy. It is also very discouraging for the ex-offender.  

 This having been said, I want to move on to a more productive approach for the ex-offender. It is hard to accept but some employers are just not going to hire a person with a criminal background no matter how hard that person has tried to set their life straight. However, there are employers who still look at people on an individual basis and judge on merit not on statistics and assumptions. Surprisingly the largest employer in the nation is the best bet for ex-offenders.

   Small business as a group is considered the largest employer in the nation. Small businesses can be firms with 99 or less employees. That is pretty large if you think of it. Small businesses employ over 45 million nationwide with many industries dominated by the small business employer.

 Although most small bossiness do have set employment policies, these policies are more likely to be interpreted by the local hiring manager or owner when unusual or non-standard situation occur. The hiring authority with many small bossiness is closer to the policy maker than with large national corporations and can influence changes based on individual needs.

This gives the ex-offender some advantage as the hiring authority in a small business will most likely be willing to consider circumstances and changes in the ex-offenders life. The needs of the industry in many cases will outweigh some reluctance to hire ex-offenders as well.

 The best way to find small business is thru networking and cold calling. In many cases the small business does not advertise positions in traditional venues such as the newspaper or online. Word of mouth or a sign on the front window advertising the position may be the only way that that particular business recruiters. 

Many agencies that work with ex-offenders recognize this and go out of there way to establish contact and relations with small business operators.

If you would like more information on how to seek out employment with small business please contact us at the Community Reintegration Coalition at www.azcrc.com or contact me at www.teamsaz.org we will do our best to help you find an employer who will hire you.

Steven B. Temple GCDF

President / Founder

Community Reintegration Coalition

© Steve Temple 2008