Tag: employment

How the post-exam challenge of ‘what next?’ became do-able

Author: | 3 May 2023

A key part of a Longford Scholarship is the Employability support given to all award-holders to turn a degree into a degree-level job when they graduate.  For Longford Blog, our scholar Hugh describes the benefits of attending our recent all-day employability training session, run by the trust in partnership with StandOut.

A handful of us scholars met at Friends’ House in London on April 18.  Some of us have been buried in our final uni assignments but, as we emerge from those tunnels, it can feel a bit startling to be faced with the prospect of ‘what’s next?’ We’re all caught in the bit between university finishing and the rest of life beginning. The StandOut trainers were on hand to help us to clarify and quantify the steps we need to take to turn our grades into jobs.

Navigating Disclosure

Covering a cross-section of topics, Alex, Hannah and Erin introduced us to thinking about how to break down our next steps so we can feel confident bringing both our newly-acquired qualifications and our unorthodox life-experiences to the workplace.  We shared many anxieties with each other, such as: how to present as a confident candidate; how to navigate that, often tricky, topic of disclosure; and what is commonly the slog of mounting a concerted campaign of job-searching.

The latter can be deflating and long. So, understanding our internal relationship with how we might approach the jobs’ market was particularly useful. As we heard, treating the job search as a job in itself can help us in both pacing ourselves over a potentially lengthy task, and in structuring it to reduce that time as much as possible. We learned how effective it can be, for example, to really think about where we might look for vacancies we want – who the gatekeepers are of the graduate roles we might be seeking? It gave me a lot of confidence in rethinking my next moves.

Building connections

Considering it all took place on one day, we managed to cover so many useful topics. Networking, Alex explained, was better thought of as ‘building connections’. This meant that we would approach opportunities to do so with the right mindset. We were more likely to come across naturally – more honestly- if we started from a more human, and less transactional position. Thinking about how we might research specific sector knowledge would enable us to uncover connections we might have otherwise missed. Signing up to newsletters and other mailing subscriptions for important organisations in our chosen fields would give us the best chances of being exposed to opportunities.

Social capital

What was clear to those of us in the room is that the sort of inside information – distilled to us by the StandOut trainers- is often taken for granted by those who follow a ‘traditional’ trajectory through education and the early part of their vocational lives. When strong social structures support you through secondary school and you’re lucky enough to go to university and beyond, you get to learn the tricks and tips for finding more lucrative jobs.

For those of us who, maybe, took a different path, and had previously found themselves unsupported, it is often the case that this ‘social capital’ tends to allude us. The Longford Trust and StandOut were helping to even the playing field for those of us still trying to turn our lives around. Now we know about ‘the hidden market’, as our peers do. And we have the skills and valuable knowledge to bring to those industries too.

Realising our potential

Our group, as is indicative of a collective of Longford Scholars, had a wide variation in interests and talents. Some of us explicitly wanted to enter the Criminal Justice Sector as ‘lived-experts’- people who wanted to use their experiences (both the skills we have and the lessons from our own mistakes) as tools to help others in similarly difficult situations. Others wanted to pursue a life that had little to do with where they may have been before.

But in every case, our experiences had taught us some common things. We all understood the power and importance of giving people the opportunities to realise their value. The difference having the right, versus the wrong, information in going about our job searches was also realised in the group.

Bespoke job search support

In spite of covering so much in such a condensed time-slot, StandOut had also committed to supporting us going forward. We have all been booked in with a member of the team to discuss our individual plans and challenges in one-on-one sessions in the coming weeks. We’ll have the chance to set out a bespoke strategy for refining our job search.

The result is that I already feel like I’ve a better chance of finding something suitably challenging. But I knew, as I left the StandOut session, that there were many personal obstacles to simply jumping back into employment. Still I feel eager to work through those in the coming weeks and that’s down to the Longford Trust and StandOut. They make an outstanding collaboration. If you’re a scholar, I implore you to StandOut by booking yourself on the next course!

The next employability training course run by the Longford Trust and StandOut is being planned for the autumn. If you want to reserve a place, contact our Employability Manager, Abi Andrews.

The elephant in the room: disclosing to a future employer

Author: | 18 Jul 2020

It’s a dilemma for anyone with a conviction: when and how to tell a future employer if you have a conviction. For people with a university degree, disclosure can feel just as  daunting. 

Here employment expert and trainer Jamie Grundy offers practical advice… 

Anyone reading this post is likely to be familiar with the work of The Longford Trust and sympathise with the difficulties experienced by Scholars and others, trying to find employment. For me, the conversations I’ve had with numerous men and women, released from prison and trying to find work, are very similar, it’s sad to say. I also have experience on the other side of the table: being the employer, which is why I’m often sought out.

I recently led two webinars for current Scholars on what is so often the elephant in the room: how to deal with a conviction when looking for work and advice on being strategic and pragmatic with your employment search. I offered guidance and hope about successfully moving forward with a job search when a disclosure is involved.

As the employer in an interview situation, you have a decision to make. Sometimes it’s your decision alone and other times you are part of a panel so the responsibility is shared. Other times you are merely the facilitator, the gatherer of information, and scorekeeper. It can literally be a tick box exercise designed to prove to management that the ‘best’ candidate was selected. Or it can be an acting exercise where the people who perform best at interview are hired.

Loyal and hardworking: their experiences in jail build resilience

So, where does the conviction fit into this decision making? Well irrespective of whether roles are subject to, or exempt from, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) -a blog post in itself!- it all comes down to the employer.

“I’ve taken a few lads on who have previously been inside. Some have left and some are still with me. One has progressed to maintenance foreman and is doing an exceptional job. I’ve found most ex-offenders to be very loyal hardworking guys, eager to impress and make up for lost time. In some cases their experiences in jail have helped build their resilience to problems they may come across in work. As a manager a bit of understanding and patience is well worth the rewards of the respect and support you get in return. “

Tim Wegener, Knight Fire and Security Products Ltd / Arun Electronics Ltd

Tim’s experience is not only heartening to see, it also recognises the business aspect to it: they are hardworking, enthusiastic and loyal. Glassdoor suggest it costs about £3,000 to hire a single new employee and that it takes about 27 days to take someone on from start to finish. If you are a business owner, then surely anything you can do to reduce this cost and increase staff retention or loyalty is worthwhile, isn’t it?

Turning a potential negative into a positive USP

It is also important to be proactive. One of the best ways you can do this is to flip the conversation away from the conviction towards one of personal growth since that time. In this way, whilst acknowledging what has happened, you are placing it in the past. A timeline showing training, education and volunteering, for example – post conviction – shows a potential employer in clear terms how you have learned from the experience and that you are, evidently, a different person from the one who was convicted.

Put like this, for an employer, the opportunity to be a part of your “journey” can be extremely appealing. You are framing the conviction as your USP and inviting them to be a part of your success story.

Sometimes an employer is proactive because of personal experience

Hayley, who is a business owner, remembers how she felt when she was looking for a break:

“Personally I would prefer (disclosure) at interview as this gives the candidate a chance to be honest and explain in a way they want to. I have a spent conviction from many years ago and always mention this at interview as I feel I have no skeletons in my closet. I worked for [an organisation] and someone wrote into my boss stating they were appalled I was working there as I had a criminal record. My boss did not entertain the anonymous letter, mostly because I had been upfront from the start. I still have it here somewhere to remind me of how far I have come. I now am a CEO of my own business.”

As you can see, the experiences of others both positive and negative can have a motivating effect on people with similar backgrounds facing the same challenges and prejudices. I am fortunate to be a Co-Director of Inside Out Support Wales with Longford Scholar, Chris. He tells many people referred to us that you have to be spotless – don’t give them any reason to say no. Chris also recommends going the extra mile just so they can see you are serious. This was Chris’s own experience. When he was first released he volunteered for months as a support worker, before they offered him a role. He’s testament to a proven way to get hired.

While writing this blog I asked for opinions on social media from what employers prefer when faced with an applicant who discloses a conviction. The overwhelming majority of responses I had were that they prefer applicants to be upfront, and they prefer some context. This suggests the importance of both a disclosure statement and disclosing early are the things that an employer prefer. This is what Hayley did and she was able to see the benefit, as was her boss.

Some other application stats….

No two job applications are identical of course, but it is important to note that if you have been unsuccessful it may not always be because of the conviction. Online recruiter Monster suggest that 59% of graduates can take up to two months to find employment. And Talent suggest that only 13% of applicants get to the interview stage. Part of the reason for this is because an employer will only look at a CV for an average of 7 seconds before a decision!

I state these figures here, not to dissuade you from applying but to recognise that there will be reasons in any job application where will be other reasons, non-conviction related, why an application is unsuccessful, just like any job search. The trick is to shrug these off and move forward with purpose.

Staying positive

To this end, it’s important to end on a positive, and I choose that word carefully. ‘Positive’ as a word has its roots in fifteenth century philosophy where it came to mean ‘dealing only in facts’, and also ‘confident in opinion’. Both I feel are relevant for this conversation. Positive is the mindset you need to adopt and keep, as reaffirmed by Chris, my colleague:

“The mindset you had pre-release, getting back on your feet, working, making a change… it’s important you focus on the end goal, the prize. The new life you envisaged whist you were inside your cell, dreaming of a better life. That life is most definitely still within reach.”

Spending time with lawyers focused on a fresh start

Author: | 25 Feb 2020

My day with the lawyers by Scholar Ash Rookwood….

Towards the end of 2019 Ash met staff involved in regulating solicitors as part of a training event. For Longford Blog, he reflects on the experience and what it says about rehabilitation.

 

The day in December when I met staff at the Solicitors Regulation Authority – the body which oversees who can and can’t be a solicitor, ensuring professional standards -was a little different from my normal routine. As a postgraduate student of Behavioural Economics, I have begun my career in the City and financial sector. I am committed to helping influence and embed positive change throughout the world, so meeting staff at the regulator seemed like a good idea – especially as they had recently reviewed their policy on applicants with a criminal conviction. I was heartened by the fact they were moving away from a one-size-fits all approach. Encouraged that they were committed to understanding more about how people make good after an offence, move on and repay second chances.

A double-act with a task….

So, what were my first impressions when I arrived at the venue in Birmingham for their away day? Everyone was friendly, keen to get to know me and what made me tick. Keen to find out about my background and circumstances of my younger life. It seemed to me that they were taking early steps in understanding someone like me and another scholar. We were a double-act, our task for the day was to tell how we had walked our path to rehabilitation.

I’m articulate and unashamedly ambitious, I’ve got my string of GCSEs, A levels and a First class, honours degree and yes, most of them had been achieved in prison through sheer hard work and determination to make the most of my potential. Just by being in the room with the regulators, showing them that someone who has been in custody can be articulate and is frankly ‘normal’ seemed an early win. It was essential in my mind to help everyone in the room to put a face to a criminal record, show them we’re not all scary and dangerous looking. I could potentially be an applicant.

The risk/rehabilitation equation.….

What emerged is an understandable priority of risk. Risk – and limiting it- both sides played into the rehabilitation equation. Weeding out who has made good, who hasn’t and who never will. As guardians of solicitors’ professional integrity, on one level risk management must, of course, be up there. But on another level, and this is one of the reasons it was so good to have the face-to-face dialogue, it is important to develop self-awareness about the need for nuance and insight, challenging perceptions. That’s why I am so pleased myself and the other scholar were able to start an important conversation.

There was one question which took me by surprise. The gist of the questioning focused on a concern about external factors. What can be done about the public perception of applicants with a criminal record? Whilst unexpected, I was pleased they’d had a chance to air the concern. They were able to articulate their fears, they have an alternative perception of what they see on the news. All we can do is give our narrative, they can reflect and address their fears. I sincerely hope that’s what we achieved.

Lessons from Hollywood …

On returning to my regular professional life, it brought to mind a new film “Just Mercy”, which tells the real-life story of a civil rights attorney who defends inmates on death row in Alabama who are subject to questionable convictions.

I was lucky enough to have attended an advanced showing, and subsequently meet stars Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Bryan Stevenson at a private dinner. Real-life lawyer Bryan Stevenson, played by Jamie Foxx – has a profound saying,

‘Each of us is more than the worst we’ve ever done’.

So true. Yet too often a criminal record from a terrible two or three seconds when someone is young becomes THE thing which defines them for life. They’ve done their time, just as I did. Most have shown remorse, as I have. They’ve been punished, rehabilitated and moved away from the guy they were seven years ago. Yet, the way our records system is at the moment it’s like asking someone what’s your worst mistake? Everyone has to know. Which is the opposite to how it works for most of us. When most people go for jobs, we are defined by what we do best.

As punishment- and its severity- becomes the running thread through current news, policies  and law-making, it makes it more important than ever for someone like me with ambition, goals and wholehearted commitment to continuing a successful life sits down with decision makers. It will take a while for significant changes but I’m convinced my day with the lawyers was a game-changer. I sincerely trust that it’s a step in the right direction for all lawyers in the making.

 

 

If you are interested in studying law with the support of the Longford Trust, take a look at our Patrick Pakenham scholarships for a law degree.