Looking for Great Talent in None of the Usual Places
Seventy million Americans―one in three adults―have some kind of criminal record, and all experience pain in finding a job. In an era of historically low unemployment, recruiting for the 6.6 million unfilled jobs is a challenge. More and more employers, armed with the Society for Human Resource Management's research, are coming to understand that old attitudes toward returning citizens may not apply in today's changing workforce, and much is to be gained by asserting a company's leadership as a fair-chance hirer.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn to separate the myths from the facts regarding applicants with criminal records.
- Understand how to socialize an initiative that fosters a humane, second-chance environment.
- Learn what pursuing a job is like from the point of view of an applicant with a record.
- Learn the appropriate roles in your organization for the formerly incarcerated.
- Determine your organization’s internal criteria ― “what we can accept and what we never can."
- Learn what to expect when an ex-offender joins your workforce.
- Understand how to make decisions that are data-driven.
Richard Bronson
Richard Bronson is the Founder and CEO of 70 Million Jobs, the first national, for profit employment platform for people with criminal records. The Y Combinator company’s job board matches a community of one million plus+ active job seekers with some of the nation’s largest employers.
His career began on Wall Street, where he was a partner in the infamous Wolf of Wall Street firm, before launching his own 500-person, $100 million business. Some of the company’s actions were outside the law, and he was punished with a two-year prison sentence. When he was released, he served as Director of the prominent reentry non-profit, Defy Ventures.