Kenneth didn't know how hard it is to find a job with a criminal record until he found himself in that situation. He was looking for a job for 12 months. Then, with the help of Honest Jobs, he found employment within a couple of hours. Hear Kenneth share his story in the video below:
Read the full interview with Kenneth here:
What was your experience looking for a job before you found Honest Jobs?
Kenneth: “I have a couple of second degree assaults on my criminal background. I thought if you did have a felony, you could get any job that you possibly wanted. While looking for a job, I found out that wasn't the case. I was looking for a job for 12 months. I was looking for a job online, through Indeed, and I also just walked around the neighborhood for local jobs. My background kept coming back that it is messed up. So it kind of frustrated me a little bit that I can't find a job. I just knew that there was some type of website out there that helped people who have backgrounds.”
What was your experience using Honest Jobs?
Kenneth: “Through Honest Jobs, I filled out my application for Amazon and they told me to come in for my onboarding hiring process. And it took about a couple hours to get hired. I was definitely shocked about it.”
Tell us about your new job!
Kenneth: “Currently, I work for Amazon. I work in a warehouse. As far as benefits, they did send me a letter in the mail recently saying that I am eligible for 401k and health insurance. The hourly pay rate is $15.90, but because I do work at night, I get an extra $1.50. Warehouse work is fairly new to me. Just being with Amazon, I see that there is a lot of potential for growth. Maybe I can be a team leader or somebody that can train new people [who are] coming through the job. And they do have different positions that you can work your way up to gradually.”
Would you recommend Honest Jobs to other formerly incarcerated job seekers?
Kenneth: “I think that that's the best way to go. Because a lot of times people that have background get discouraged. Because they do go on interviews and sometimes they do hear those “No”-s. Like “No, we can't hire you because of your background”. And sometimes that's discouraging, makes you just want to give up. But if there is a website like Honest Jobs that could help people, I say go for it.”
Do you have any messages to employers?
Kenneth: “If you're looking for somebody with a background, when you post a job, just let people know, like, “Look, if you have a background, this is probably not the best job for you to apply for”. Because a lot of times employers don't tell you that until you get to the interview and you go through the whole process. And then you realize when they say “Alright, we're gonna run the background, check certain things. We are willing to look past some things, but we just can't look past.” But if you're upfront and let people know what they're applying for, then that way you can cut back on the candidates that you have [to reject].”
Do you have any messages to job seekers?
Kenneth: “Just don't give up, keep looking. Something is going to come through for you. If you hear one “No”, there is probably two “Yes”-es behind it. Just don't give up."