Crimes in College: How they’ll affect your Job Opportunities in the Future

College—While it’s usually a fun and adventurous experience for most students, there are other students who get into legal trouble due to their definition of “fun.” Getting charged with a misdemeanor or felony offense in college is more common than one may think. And while it doesn’t make you the scum of the earth—after all you might’ve been arrested for protesting—your record could still compromise your job prospects after graduating. To see if you should be concerned about getting a background check during your round of job interviews and how you should handle the situation, continue reading below.

What is included in a Background Check?

First things first—you need to understand that just about everything will be featured on your background check, including but not limited to the following: Driving records, credit records, criminal records, military records, workers’ compensation, court records, and whether or not you’re a sex offender. For a complete list and more general information, click here.

What to do if the Transgression is Minor:

Background checks aren’t typically completed until after you’ve nailed an interview and employers are really thinking about hiring you. If your offense wasn’t something too severe—for example maybe you were reprimanded for a minor in possession (MPI) or for a public intoxication, you might not need to talk about it at all—the employer might just gloss right over it if the crime does not directly affect your line of work. Thus it’s up to your own discretion whether you think the issue should be addressed or not. But if you’re really apprehensive about it and you don’t want even the slightest thing to come as a shock to your possible future employer, it might be a good idea to turn your negative offense into something positive when asked “what are your weaknesses or regrets” or some other variant of the question. You can talk about your situation and explain how it made you learn and grow from the experience.

If the Transgression is Major:

If the crime was something more serious, it’ll benefit you greatly to talk about the issue up front. While you may think of waiting so that you’ll have more time to prepare what you’re going to say and how you’re going to explain this situation, the truth is that you’ll probably never get the opportunity to sway the interviewer in your favor if you wait—nowadays employers are looking for any little mistake so that they can eliminate candidates and make the hiring process easier. So if they see a tarnished record before you have the chance to explain what happened you’re application may be immediately tossed out the window. Thus it’s probably best to address the issue and tell the interviewer, “yes I messed up. This is why. This is what I learned.”  You should also talk about the steps you’ve taken to make sure that the incident will never happen again and that by no means will it interfere with your job. It may be best to wait until the end of the interview to talk about the issue, well after you’ve wooed and impressed—it’ll make not giving you a second look all that much harder for your employer if he or she already likes you. Just make sure that you control your temper and try not to get too emotional when explaining your offense. If you’re nervous that your interviewer may throw you a curveball that you’re not prepared to answer, have a mock interview with a friend, family member or even a career counselor so that you’ll be a little bit more prepared on how to defend yourself.

Your criminal record may make it difficult to find employment at first, but be persistent with it—someone will give you a lucky break the more honest you are about it.

Byline:

Jane Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. She writes about criminal background check for Backgroundcheck.org. Questions and comments can be sent to: janesmth161 @ gmail.com