Planning for the future
Planning for the future - Getting into employment
Approaching employers

Approaching employers

This helpful section on writing your CV and the interview process has been written by Andrew, a specialist recruitment consultant who also spent a long time in prison and understands the issues facing prison leavers returning to work.

Preparing yourself for post-sentence employment may be a challenge, but it is important to remember that there are many sources of help. You may feel anxious or fearful that having a record will prevent you entering the workforce, however, many employers are now beginning to adopt a more liberal approach to employing ex-offenders. You may be concerned, particularly after a long sentence, that you lack the necessary skills and whilst it’s important to be realistic and understand there will be challenges, there is assistance available.

Having spent a long time in prison myself and hearing the stories of how difficult it would be to secure employment I understood that training and development would give me the best possible start. I graduated from the Open University, coinciding with my move to open conditions. I was able to gain my Master’s degree through day release and also gained a laboratory internship at the same University upon graduation.

I was approached by a recruitment company and offered a position, working within a specialist field, recruiting for large well-established companies to small spin-out firms. I was promoted within a year and haven’t looked back since. Due to my experience of having been in prison on a long sentence, my education and training and my specialist role within the recruitment sector I have been asked to provide post- sentence employment information that will hopefully be useful.

CVs

First and foremost, let’s tackle your CV. Your CV is an opportunity to sell yourself. I spend a lot of time giving CV advice and formatting them for industry standard. Here are my top tips:

  • The old adage that a CV must be only two A4 pages is old hat for most CVs are now viewed electronically and the ‘two-page rule’ is not as closely adhered to.
  • A CV must be relevant and tailored for the role you are applying for.

The general format for a CV is:

  • name, address (postcode only, not house number), email and phone number
  • a short profile highlighting your key skills and attributes – this should be three or four sentences and customised for each application/role
  • a skills section, bullet pointed, highlighting your skills, both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’. This is for any practical skills you have, IT skills, work-related skills and the ‘softer’ skills, such as time management, communication, self-motivation, etc.

Examples of what to include in your skills section are

  • Your work experiences. Include the company name, job title and dates you worked there. Bullet point your duties and responsibilities and include major achievements within your role under the bullet points, one or two are enough.
  • Your education and work-related training. List the college or training centre, the course and qualification, along with the date(s) you attended. List any projects you were involved in and any skills you gained.

And, some general points:

  • You do not need to include a references section or ‘references on request’, potential employers know this and will request refences once an offer is made.
  • You should always be honest on your CV, but ‘sell’ the best version of yourself.
  • Resist writing huge blocks of text.
    • Keep it succinct, relevant and utilise bullet points.
    • Lots of text in big chunks can be off-putting.
    • Hiring managers and recruiters read a lot of CVs on a daily and weekly basis, they are looking for clear, well-formatted CVs that give information quickly and cleanly.
  • Keep the font the same. Don’t try to ‘stand-out’ by using different fonts, it doesn’t work, believe me! Use bold sparingly to highlight your role, or key points – too much will make it lose its effect.
  • Sell yourself! Don’t be afraid to ‘big yourself up’ as long as it’s real. This is your opportunity to show you are perfect for the role you’re applying for.

There is plenty of helpful information online with regards to writing your CV; a good link, with more information, is www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates-and-tips/

Making contact with a prospective employer

Your opening communication with a prospective employer will be from your CV and a cover letter, if requested. If the advert has a contact details for the manager, HR contact or recruiter then give them a call. Use the opportunity of speaking to them directly to find out more useful information about the role and type of person they are looking for.

At this stage of the process you do not need to raise your conviction(s). If they do not ask you are not obliged to disclose them. As a general rule, some companies have a section asking about criminal convictions; companies should, strictly speaking, only ask if it is relevant to the role. A company may wish to conduct a DBS check, but can only do so with your permission. Be honest and open – you’ll be surprised how far it can take you!

Using Jobcentre Plus facilities

Do take the opportunity to use their resources, telephone, computers, adverts, etc., they are there to help and advise you.

Recruitment companies

Recruitment companies do not generally ask if you have a criminal record*, unless they are recruiting for sectors where safeguarding issues need to be considered. They will ask for your CV, the type of role and salary you are looking for and any other useful information. They will then register your CV and details on their database and contact you if and when suitable positions arise.

Some recruitment agencies specialise in assisting ex-offenders. Some are listed in this Directory but an internet search will throw up more options.

The interview

Telephone, and more recently video interviewing, are an important part of the application process. Particularly in today's climate, they are becoming increasingly utilised as an interviewing tool. They are often used as a first stage interview to screen for suitable candidates.

It is important to fully prepare for such an interview, and this means preparing in the same way as a face-to-face interview. Don't take this type of interview lightly. Research the company, prepare for common interview questions, review your experience and have some questions ready for the interviewer. If it's a telephone interview, it's fine to have notes to hand to jog your memory. But it shouldn't be a script to read from. Answers should always be fluid and naturally delivered.

For video interviewing, if you do need notes, don't make it obvious that you're reading from them. Split your screen and just glance at them. And for video interviews, absolutely dress smartly. Make the effort and show you're taking the process seriously. When speaking via video, and even more so for telephone interviews, let the interviewer speak and make sure they've finished speaking before you reply. It's easier to talk over people during phone calls and somewhat more so during video calls, so make sure to let them speak. This will create a nice rhythm and build rapport. The rest of the usual interview rules apply. At the end thank them for their time and ask what the next steps are.

So remember:

  • fully prepare and take the process seriously as you would for a face-to-face interview
  • dress smartly for video interviews
  • let the interviewer speak – build rapport
  • use notes, but sparingly
  • ask what next steps are at the end

Remember to be positive and enthusiastic! These are the key attributes all employers are looking for. A negative, pessimistic attitude will not help and may potentially impact your job search. Don’t be put off by rejections, use them to gain feedback for future applications and interviews.

Be determined and don’t give up. If you are positive and welcome opportunity, you will get a break somewhere. A positive attitude, coupled with determination, will go a long way to getting you back on the employment ladder and making a positive change to your life and circumstances.

Useful links

National Careers Service - nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk
Interview advice and tips - www.hays.co.uk/career-advice/interview-tips/index.htm
Google – CV libraries and 'jobs in [my town]' to find websites to upload your CV to and search for jobs.


Andrew
Recruitment Consultant


* For a brief summary of things to know about criminal records and employment, see the Appendix Ten things to know about criminal records.

A note from the Editor

Don’t forget that in the funding section Smartworks and Suited & Booted may help provide you with suitable clothes for interview. Also, Johnsons the Dry Cleaners offer to clean interview clothes for free if you can show them you have an interview: www.johnsoncleaners.com/