Employment is key to a successful reentry, but securing a job can often be a slow process. Here are some suggestions to help with the job-seeking process:
- Industries to seek out: Some industries are more open to employing the formerly incarcerated than others. A few that are more available for reentry hires include hospitality, warehouses, restaurants, and call centers.
- Create a Resume: When putting a resume together, there will be a gap due to the time they were incarcerated. It’s a good idea to fill that gap by listing any transferable skills they may have learned from jobs they had during incarceration.
- Job Interviews:
- Secure appropriate clothes for interviews.
- Your loved one should have an interview strategy regarding how to explain any gaps on their resume resulting from their time while incarcerated. They should know in advance how to talk about it and focus on skills that they may have learned while incarcerated. There is no need to be ashamed of work done while incarcerated, as it can be valuable and marketable experience for a job.
- Your loved one should remember they don’t have to talk about being incarcerated if they don’t want to, so they should be prepared to say they would rather not discuss that time period.
- Volunteering: Taking an unpaid volunteer job can be a great way to get some immediate experience, and is also a nice way to give back to the community.
- Local churches, food pantries, animal shelters, community events, and inner city community centers are good places to look for volunteer opportunities.
- This work can inspire a sense of gratitude and community. It can give a person reentering a real sense of worth, in that they are now an asset to their community.
- It can change a formerly incarcerated person’s mindset by doing something positive for those in their local area.
- Also, it can even lead to meeting new people and possibly future paid work opportunities as well.