Does anyone know of an individual or company in the NJ or NYC area that might be willing to offer a chance at a worthwhile job opportunity to a pretty well educated, very experienced Info. Technology professional who also happens to be an NJ parolee until Oct '04? I've gained and lost three great jobs since release due to having to notify my employer of my status, and am rapidly becoming dispirited and depressed. I have solid references, a stable homelife (marrying in June '03), and am a genuinely good guy..all I need is a chance to succeed. Any help, pointers or assistance would be highly appreciated.
Thanks,
-jla
Wyldtalent@aol.com

Hi Jla,

I have no clue to your question, but I just hop by to wish you good luck and welcome you to the PTO family :)
All the best
Philippe

JLA,
First welcome to PTO.. Glad you found us and we'll see if we can help. Second, my father is Harvard educated and has a clear criminal record, and he is having a hard time finding a job too. Not sure if it's a criminal background only thing, but I know it is a real pain in the ass, from first hand experience.

I have a couple questions. Do you have to notify your employer about your criminal record? Second, what area of the Tech industry?

David

Thanks for the reply...
in answer to the questions:
Do I *have* to notify my employer? well, I fortunately have a *very* understanding Parole officer...and he's given me the 'luxury' of waiting at least thirty days after I start work anywhere to officially notify them of the parole status...but the truth is, it's a double-edged sword type of situation if I don't tell them up front...they generally feel like i've been deceptive when i do tell them later, regardless of what my performance and accomplishments have been in the meantime...and things are so competitive right now that telling them up front (which tends to be my natural inclination; *some* people seem to understand that folks make mistakes) is an almsot guaranteed "no, thanks." I did get a job while in a halfway house as a 'data entry clerk', which after a few months months was 'MIS Manager', reporting to the CIO...but was let go after 18 mos when they downsized in 2001. and after a bit of unemployment, i landed a great job as IT manager at another company, having only notified the recruiter of my status, not realizing that he hadnt told the client company. When my parole officer contacted my supervisor after two months, they escorted me off the premises the next day, even though I *thought* I had been upfront in that situation...(NJ law currently says that employers have to be notified of status)and even though I had built them a brilliantly designed, secure and virus-free infrastructure in the meantime...

As to what area of the industry...at this point, I be willing to do the lowest of tech support; I'm not proud, nor arrogant...i can work my way back up, i've done it before...but I've got years of experience as an IT and network manager, as a systems consultant, as a desktop support tech...mostly with Windows2K, WinNT, Active Directory, Exchange 5.5/2000, Citrix, networking, security...most of the Microsoft products etc....and I'm a *very* quick learner and problem-solver...don't know everything, by any means, but i know where to look for the answers....

Your best choice in info technology may be as a consultant or self-employed. That way you may not have to tell anybody anything except that you can do the job.

You have an impressive resume. I would say aim a little higher than starting at the bottom and working your way back up.

dmb:

Actually, that's where I am, as a consultant, just to make ends meet, but i'm not a salesman, and i dont have any capital with which to make a go of the self-employment hting...which is why, at least for the moment, i'm looking for fulltime employment. but given that i'm trying to support a family now, not just myself, i need at least a *little* stability...and a real job, with benefits, is what i'm looking for. I wasn't saying, btw, that I *wanted* to start at the bottom...i was saying that i'm willing to do whatever it takes...

Jla,

I wish you much luck in your search--it seems to me that once you've paid your debt to society and served your time--you deserve the opportunity to move forward. I remember the judge saying to my husband when he sentenced him that this is just a small blip in your life--you will go on and lead a full life afterward. From what I've learned this is a challenge. My husband will be out in March 04 and I wonder what he and I will face as he re-enters the workforce (he's an IT professional as well)

My question is "What is the purpose of the parole officer contacting your employer?"

Take care,
Molly

I just wanted to say welcome to pto and I wish you the best of luck :)

Thanks, molly...and as for the "reason"? Take your pick..."public safety", "full disclosure", "government protecting its law-abiding citizens", "staying tough on criminals"...whatever it might be, although it's currently mandated by NJ law, i know that a 18 months ago, it wasn't...and 18 months before that, it probably was, and so on; apparently, they flip-flop on the liegislation there, for unknown reasons...it doesn't make much sense to me, if a parolee is doing what he's supposed to, simply another hurdle to overcome...
but i have to say, the PO I have has been very good about working with me in having to follow that particular rule, so at least I have that good fortune and luck going for me. it's not all bad, just not easy...and it probably stems from someone screwing up big-time while on the job and on parole, and the public outcry that would inevitably follow such an event...and we know how that goes...

jla,

First - Welcome to PTO! I am glad that you found us...

I truly sympathize with your situation.

I am currently in the 'staffing' industry and understand the kinds of challenges that most people today can face looking for a job even if they do not have a criminal background to admit to... I really do feel for your situation and think that there is a fundamental problem here that needs to be addressed by the criminal justice and punishment system...

I have a suggestion that I would like to put forward. I have been thinking of this a lot because I have a Partner incarcerated that will be coming out one day, but also for the general resource of this community, I want to find a way to try to offer solutions for employment. This is a tough situation to say the least.

My thought is this... and I don't want you to run off and do this without considerable thought and consideration to the potential negative consequences...

You are a professional with perhaps a professional designation... regardless of the designation you have positive references... As an IT professional you will be well familiar with all the online job boards such as Monster...

What have you got to lose at this time if you post a 'plea' of sorts as a preamble to your resume online stating your criminal record? State your case and tell of your difficulty in finding work. State the fact that you have positive references. Tell the perspective employers of your quest for work and how hard it is to get that one chance that is so necessary to re-enter society as a productive member?

This suggestion may seem totally off the wall to you and you may look at it and say 'yeah, right... give me a break and there is no way I can do that..." I would fully understand if you felt that way. I have been thinking about this for some time and just feel that it is worth a try. Who knows, you may pull someone's heart strings that is willing to give you a chance. If nothing else you know that if you get a call that they don't have issue with your background.

Now, from the negative side... This will potentially expose you more than you want to be exposed. This may expose both you and your family?

You can post a resume on Monster that is 'blind' with your address and has just an email button to contact you so that you can keep your family and address out of the picture.

I am thinking out loud here and as I said above - even if you think this is a good idea, make sure you have thought through the potential consequences of doing this...

Good luck with your search and regardless, my thoughts and prayers are with you...

Hi! jla,

First, Welcome to PTO! Secondly, I will PM you the company I last worked for they seem to not have any problems hiring felons.

Thanks for the assistance, tekela. AS i indicated, though, they have no locations in my area, NJ or NYC. However, did you think about perhaps posting the name publicly in these forums for other folks that might be having the same issues and problems?

I am sorry they did not having anything in your area. I know they lost a marketing office in the 9/11 tragedy. I assumed they put somthing back in NYC. I am afraid if I post the company publicly they may tighten their polices, depending on whose attention it may receive.

My advice/opinion from my experience is to ALWAYS be honest about your criminal background! Don't put all your hopes into one job, put all your efforts into getting it, but not all your hopes and then move on to the next. The key is to spread your shots every single day. Everyday you need to be sending about 6 resumes fax and interviewing at least every other day. The telephone is your weapon and the yellow pages is a great resouce. Learn how to sell yourself. Build a your verbal presentations...pick up the phone and start dialing. There are many methods of approach to an employer about your background. But you need to be honest and move to the next potential job as quickly as possible..and if someone calls you back, make sure you keep notes and records and do your thing.

Now if you have update tech skills..then you can do two things...get registered with as many temp.(preferrably tech) agencies as possible, at least half will bond you. But you ultimately have to sale yourself. The second thing to do is do volunteer work to keep your skills fresh and to add more experience to your resume.

thats all I got for now. I hope you read my advice carefully.

PEACE

Umm.
I'm not quite sure how to respond to that post, except to say "thanks for taking the time to type it in."
I won't respond point by point to what you wrote, because it doesn't apply; I've had budgetary and management responsibilities, and a decade of increasing IT experience. Firehosing resumes just gets more of them thrown out, especially in this economy; I was appealing to the community to see whether there was a known resource/ individual/company that someone could point me towards; Life Skills 101 isn't quite what I was looking for...but thanks for the input, perhaps someone will find it useful.

-jla

JLA,
I am sure you have already hit upon all the monster.com's, etc. With having a background in tech and vast experience with the net, you probably have already hit upon these places.
I think what we can offer you mainly deals with the probation situations, etc.
I don't know how kind it is of that PO to contact your employers after a month. As you said, they will feel like you decived them. In a case like this, I think it's obvious the best play is to be up front, but that still cuts you off in 99% of the interviews.
Knowing how thick Harvard grads are, have you been in contact with anyone from back then? You might want to check those possible entry points.
There is one other thing I thought I would mention seeing as you have listed quite a bit in the way of Network Admin'ing.
There is a pretty good market right now for Server Admins, and a variety of other online, remote accessed fields.
I know this because I was looking for one a while back to admin our dedicated server.
I recommend going to www.webhostingtalk.com and a bunch of other places relating to this. MANY companies are outsourcing not only their servers but their IT people. You could make a lot in admining from your place on a contract basis. I got lucky and got a student for our last server and only had to pay him between $50-$100 a month to make sure everything was up and working.. Most of the people I contacted were wanting between $100-$400 a month depending on services, maint. etc..
You might want to check into it..
Send me a PM for a full list of areas you may want to jump into regarding this.
David

Hi and welcome to PTO!! :) With this economy, it's hard to find a good paying job no matter what your background is. But I can relate to your situation. It makes me think that if you are having a hard time and you have a quality education, it will probably be that much more harder for when my sweety gets out of prison. He has no college education. He is working on his GED, and he will probably receive his GED by the time he is released in 2006. I do want you to know that things will get better, even though it looks like it won't. Just keep on keeping on, and I wish you the very best in all that you set out to do. :)

JLA, Howdy and Welcome to PTO!!
I am in IT Manager of Operations. I am in the Dallas area and know 1st hand how tight things are right now! We have a hire freeze on and they are asking some to retire. I wish you the very best of luck.
Renee