Minimum Wage Jobs in Indiana

People who have a felony record often face the problem of getting a job in various states such as Indiana. Many businesses are unwilling to take the risk of accepting an ex-felon into their workforce and those that do usually offer a minimum wage salary.

Read the full story

How does a person with a felony find a job after he has served his time in Indiana?  Most felons will find that it’s not easy to find a job, though it is not impossible.  These jobs do exist but you will have to pound a lot of pavement, make a lot of phone calls, and fill out a lot of applications to find them.

People don’t know that there are actually companies that are paid an incentive by the government to hire convicted felons. Work One, the state employment agency, hires employment specialists who work to find or persuade companies to hire felons in Indiana. WorkOne’s program for ex-offenders, for example, helped 150 felons secure employment during 2005.

When looking for a job you should look for one that has a tax credit that can be used to pay for skill development and training for felons. Employers consider the development of communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills as a first priority.

Places to avoid looking applying for a job are long term temporary employment agencies. You will have better luck at a Labor Ready employment service for short term or daily employment until you are hired at one of the companies or businesses which you have applied to.

Keep in mind that small companies are more likely to hire a felon as the owners are more involved in the day to day business, and can see firsthand the ability of their hires to perform the tasks involved in the job.

If you are a convicted felon and have been looking for a job in Indiana, you already know that this can make it even more tough for you to find a good job. If you’re smart about the problem, you can increase your chances of getting a great job, even if you have a felony on your record.

• Be Honest – If you try to lie on your application, you may get caught. Even if you don’t, you will always wonder if it will come up. If you are honest about your felony upfront you lessen your chances of losing the job once the employer finds out you lied on the application.
• Petition – If you think it’s unfair for felons trying to get a job in Indiana, there is a Petition for Indiana Felons looking for work. Will it be successful? Who knows. If nothing else, you can hear stories about looking for work in Indiana from other felons. You might pick up some good tips for finding a job.
• Goodwill Placement Programs – As can be expected, your local Goodwill Industries may have something in place to help felons locate and keep good jobs.

• http://www.goodwillindy.org/jobs/default…
• http://www.fwgoodwill.org/JobPlacement.h…
• http://www.goodwill-ni.org/job_seekers.p…
• http://www.evvgoodwill.org/

Do you have tips for a felon looking for work in Indiana? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about felons trying to find work – anywhere in Indiana. Whether you’ve had trouble or not, sharing your story with others can help … more than you could ever know.