Skills for Ex-offender Job Seekers

You might have skills that employers want and not even know it. Use your free time to gain skills and experience.

Employers are looking for candidates that have the skills that match the job. Each type of career has its own set of technical skills that are learned at past jobs, at school, job training programs, and other ways. But soft skills are sometimes more important to employers.

Soft skills

Job seekers, including those with criminal records, who have the technical skills needed to do a job are sometimes turned down by employers because they didn't have the right set of "soft skills."

Soft skills are your personality traits, attitudes, and manners. They can also include the clothes you choose to wear, your hairstyle, and overall appearance. Soft skills are sometimes called people skills, interpersonal skills, or work-readiness skills.

Employers value people who can interact comfortably with coworkers and customers, including people of different cultural backgrounds. In other words, employers want to hire people who know how to behave properly in the workplace. That's why employers look for people with good soft skills.

Unlike technical, or hard skills, soft skills are transferable. The same soft skills are used in all types of jobs. A person who knows how to show employers that they have the technical and soft skills needed to succeed in the workplace has an advantage during the job search.

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1. Know your skills

   Some soft skills can be taught in school, such as how to use proper grammar, but most soft skills are learned in everyday life situations. That means that you might not be aware of all of the skills that you have to offer an employer.

   Employers sometimes don't want to hire ex-offenders because they think that people who have been incarcerated do not have the people skills needed to behave appropriately in the workplace or interact with customers.

   The more you know about your skills, the better you will be able to talk to employers about what you have to offer. Examples of the soft skills that you can list on a resume or talk about in a job interview include:

   • Ability to serve customers in friendly and respectful manner
   • Able to accept change and easily stop, start or switch duties
   • Comfortable working with people of diverse backgrounds
   • Listening, understanding and following instructions
   • Reading and understanding reports and charts
   • Speaking clearly to coworkers and customers
   • Taking criticism or being corrected by supervisors or coworkers
   • Taking responsibility for decisions and actions
   • Understand industry and business practices
   • Understanding and willingness to follow company rules and procedures
   • Willing to take initiative and work with little supervision
   • Willingness to learn new skills or take on different projects
   • Working as part of a team
   • Working calmly in busy environments and completing tasks quickly and accurately
   • Writing reports, e-mails or business letters that are easy to understand

   Employers say that most job seekers could improve some of their soft skills. Practicing and increasing your soft skills is often easily done, and could lead to more job offers.

   Work with a career advisor or someone who knows about the type of jobs you are applying for to help you identify the skills that employers want.

   If you are still not sure of your technical or soft skills, take a skills assessment. An assessment measures your skills is several categories, such as communication skills, problem-solving, physical abilities and more. Assessments can be found online or at career centers in schools, community center and Workforce Centers.




2. Gaining skills

   Acquiring technical skills often requires formal training, such as earning a college degree as a dental hygienist, enrolling in a job-training program to be an administrative assistant, or completing an apprenticeship as a plumber.

   Some technical skills can also be learned on the job. However, most high-paying occupations ask for candidates with formal training and/or previous experience. Job seekers with little or no related work experience can feel cut off from applying for jobs that require experience, but are not able to get hired so they can gain that needed experience.

   There are several ways for someone to gain new skills and show employers their work experience without getting a paid position in their field. Some of these options include:

   Volunteering

   Nonprofit agencies and community groups need people willing to help them with office work, computer projects, accounting, working with clients, planning events, building maintenance, transportation and many other tasks related to their everyday business operations.

   As a volunteer, you could help with a short-term project, or work at an organization on an ongoing basis. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to learn new skills, prove that you can complete projects and meet deadlines, and work with people who will likely be willing to give you a good recommendation.

   Find a volunteer opportunity that will allow you to do work related to your chosen career so you can add it to your resume.

   Internships

   An internship is a learning opportunity that gives you on-the-job training in your career path. Most internships are unpaid. However, prospective employers are less interested in the wage you earned for the experience on your resume, than they are in knowing which skills you can bring to the job. In other words: an unpaid three-month internship in your field is more valuable to an employer than an unrelated job on your resume.

   Most large companies only accept interns who are students (by law everyone working there has to be either collecting a paycheck or earning school credit). However, smaller companies and most nonprofit organizations don't have the same restrictions on who can intern or volunteer with them. Call companies that you want to intern with and ask their human resources department if they allow for non-student interns. Or call a nonprofit agency and ask if they need volunteers with your skills.

   Have clear goals for yourself before setting up an internship. Talk with the intern provider so you both know how long the internship will last, what your job duties and title will be, and who will be your direct supervisor. Also, let the internship provider know that you are job searching, so you might have to leave the internship when you find employment.

   Treat the internship and the company with the same respect and professionalism that you would a paying job. Prove to the company— and yourself— that you are a competent, skilled worker.

   Don't expect to be offered a paid position at the end of your internship. Instead, ask for a written letter of recommendation from those who know your work the best. You will also gain a job title and duties to put on your resume.

   Hobbies

   If you have a personal activity that is directly related to your career path, then add it to your resume. An example of this is a person who rebuilds computers and created a LAN in their house could talk about that experience when looking for work as a computer technician. Or a person who has planned large family or community events could add that to their resume as a caterer or event planner.

   Be prepared to provide documentation for any experience you add to your resume. Keep track of dates, people's contact information, important documents, marketing materials, photographs or other proof of personal projects you've completed. Also, ask other people involved in the projects to write recommendations for you.