Quote:
Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby
Speaking of making assumptions...
You have no idea what the job, organization, landlord, etc. will or will not do. In some of these situations, it is not even legal to consider an arrest without a conviction.
In the case of a GLO, as the OP originally asked, you don't know any better than I do how they will view an arrest. Maybe they are liberal hippies who think that police officers sometimes abuse their power, and that a black man is especially likely to be the target of such abuse.
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I've worked extensively with people in re-entry and I've never heard of it NOT coming up as a topic in conversation. In EVERY situation it has come up. Sometimes, fortunately, the person doing the interview is understanding, but that's not often the case (unless you are dealing specifically with agencies who work with offenders, but that's a different story. The general public, in my experience, has not been very kind to ex-offenders, even those with very minor offenses.) It's difficult for people to talk about, espeically in a high-pressure situation where they really want to impress someone, so I reccomend working on it in workshop-type settings before the actual interview. Be prepared for the hard questions- and they are hard, because no one is ever proud to admit to this sort of thing. Have a friend or family member ask those sorts of questions so you know how to respond when on the spot.
Having a record makes it REALLY hard in this world. People have access to the information, and they are going to want an explanation. One often finds themselves having to "sell" themselves that much harder in an interview type situation. It's best to be prepared.