Creating a winning resume has a lot to do with pushing your strong points, and knowing what the “right amount of honesty” is when it comes to talk about your felony conviction and your past.
In most job applications you will be asked whether or not you have had a felony conviction in the past seven years. You are obligated by law to be honest about your felony convictions, so it would benefit you to answer truthfully despite the possible consequences. There is usually a line or two available for you to explain the charge. It would also be beneficial to attach an additional sheet to your job application that explains the charge more fully, perhaps along with an explanation like the one mentioned in the previous chapter, where you explain the charge and the fact that you are trying very hard to rebuild.
The situation is somewhat different when it comes to a resume, because there are no laws or special guidelines in place about admitting to felony convictions in your resume. Still, because your resume is meant to be a complete snapshot of who you are, you are not going to want to leave large gaps in your work or housing history. For example, if you appear to have a seven year gap between living in your last known address and your current address, prospective employers are going to have to ask you about the discrepancy. If you fess up to your conviction at that point, the employer may feel as if you were being dishonest, so this can really hurt your attempt at getting a job.
So the trick when it comes to your resume is to know how to be honest about your resume, without necessarily being too honest, or not honest enough for that matter. There is no reason why you have to include a paragraph all about your conviction in your resume, but if you were in prison for any length of time or if you were employed by the prison during your sentence, then these are details that absolutely need to be included within your resume in order for the prospective employer to know that you are being honest.
The purpose of a resume is to get the attention of a prospective employer so that they will bring you in for an interview. The purpose of a resume is never to actually get you the job. What this means is that there is plenty of time for you to bring up the details of your conviction when asked during your interview. For now, you should pay more attention to outlining your qualifications and other important information so that prospective employers will be excited to call you in for more information.
If you spent any length of time in jail, then you are going to have to explain that length of time in your resume, especially when it comes to your job history and your living history. If you leave large blanks in these areas of your resume or job application, you will be asked later. If you admit later that you left them out because you were in jail, you will be perceived as dishonest. Here are some tips for explaining gaps in employment in your resume:
- * Be honest above all else. Getting caught lying in your resume or job application is going to hurt you much more than being honest about the gaps in your employment or housing situation.
- * When explaining a gap in your job history, you should make sure to explain it in the right light. More companies are not going to be turned off if you explain what you were doing in your downtime, even if you were incarcerated. Your honesty will go a long way. Did anything positive happen during this period? Did you take a correspondence course? Did you learn any new skills? Make sure that these things are mentioned and it will make the jail time seem much less significant.
- * Make sure to use the right wording when you are explaining employment gaps in your resume. Remember that your resume is all about emphasizing experience and information that is relevant, and nothing that is irrelevant or a waste of time or space. You do not need to explain what you learned or what skills you developed while in jail unless those skills or that additional knowledge will actually benefit your job search.
- * There is a difference between honesty and brutal honesty, and it would benefit you to understand it. You should absolutely always be honest when you are filling out your resume or applying for a new job, but there is no reason to be absolutely, brutally so. While you should not be lying about situations simply because you believe that they may reflect badly on you, you also should never volunteer more information than is necessary. You should always aim to find a positive spin on your personal experiences and work history. How you go about displaying yourself in your resume will make a big difference in getting interviewed and going on to get hired.
