A jail term on your CV might mean being creative in your honesty. By Jim Bright.

This week we have a very tricky issue, one that is confronted by up to 27,615 potential job seekers in Australia.

That is the number of sentenced and unsentenced people in Australia's prisons according to the Australian Bureau of Statistic's Prisoners in Australia 2008 report.

A reader wrote to me who was imprisoned for a white-collar crime, wondering how he should deal with this recent conviction when applying for jobs.

He got a role after being open with recruiters and employers, only to lose it after a colleague googled his name and eagerly spread the news of his misdemeanours.

He explained his dilemma: "Advising the potential recruiter or employer at the first instance will almost certainly halt any progression of your application.

Alternatively, withholding the information is not ideal in building a rapport or relationship. I have used both and certainly believe that it should be mentioned at the first instance."

Perhaps it is useful to reflect on the familiar phrase "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" — it may be relevant in a court room but does it apply as rigidly in job hunting?

The answer depends on the role and the questions asked during recruitment. My view is that denying a criminal record if asked outright is wrong and I would never condone it.

However, as a general principle, I believe it is up to the employer or recruiter to ask for information and it is not the applicant's responsibility to offer what is not asked.

Clearly, there are exceptions and sensitive roles, for instance those involving contact with children would head my list.

So there is no reason to make an issue of it but that may still leave the issue of a gap on your CV.

If the gap cannot be readily covered with the usual tricks — such as using only years and not months on job histories — then simply leave it unexplained.

Despite what recruiters say, we found in a large survey only 50 per cent of recruiters noticed a gap of 12 months on a CV.

If the concern is your misdemeanours can be readily found online, then the options appear to be to either discuss it up front and provide a compelling narrative as to why and how you have been rehabilitated and what you can offer, or consider ways of dealing with the aftermath or changing your identity.

I am sure if I recommended changing your name, some readers would be outraged, but what about a female offender who subsequently marries or remarries and changes their name in the process?

If you, like the reader, were forced out of a role when your past came to light and you got the job without deception, then you might look for remedies in wrongful dismissal.

If you cannot stomach yet more legal battles, then request the employer give precise reasons in writing for your dismissal. This request alone may cause the employer to think again.

You might also consider keeping meticulous records of your achievements in the role, should you need to defend your record. It is important to maintain hope — there are many employers who believe in a fair go and redemption.


Jim Bright is professor of career education and development at ACU National and a partner at Bright and Associates, a career management consultancy. Email brightside@jimbright.com. For more workplace advice, visit mycareer.com.au/advice.