Consulting w/ Criminal Record - Am I screwed?
Backstory: When I was 16, I stole a bunch of stuff from my friend's parents' grocery store and had a fist fight with my friend bc of it. This stupid, immature decision got me arrested and charged for aggravated robbery (1st degree felony in my homestate, Kansas). Fortunately, I had a good lawyer and he got the charge down to a misdemeanor assault and I received 2 years deferred probation for the crime, which I have successfully completed. Basically, I am not convicted of the crime, but the arrest and deferred probation will show up on a background check.
I am now heading into my junior year of college and I have a 3.9 gpa, leadership positions at school, and have had 2 internships at non-profits (they didn't background check me).
Will my criminal history keep me from getting a consulting internship or job?
I know certain states have ban the box laws, but I don’t know if they will apply to consulting firms. I'm really anxious and worried that I'll never be able to get a job in consulting due to my criminal record. I won't be able to get the record sealed for another year or so and even then there's no guarantee the judge will allow the record to be sealed. I posted this in the IB page as well with a throwaway account, but forgot the password to it.
Ugh yeah man that's pretty tough. Your best case, and I could be wrong, would be to go through the process of networking etc normally and disclose this on your application if asked with a very brief blurb of what happened if asked (and disclose only what is required, nothing more and no details). Hopefully the networking efforts can lead to an interview and you won't be going off solely on your submitted application. In the event these processes are converted to an offer, make sure you have a conversation with HR prior to them running a background check if you're certain it will come up so that it doesn't look like you're trying to dodge around or hide the incident. I know of someone who had a felony charge in college for manufacturing fakes etc and was able to go through his banking recruiting process just fine. Sucks that you've gotta deal with the remnants of your high school self but I believe if approached correctly and with the right narrative, you can move past it with relative ease. Good luck and keep us updated.
Outside of banking and regulated FS firms, companies will only do a superficial background check. They don't even fingerprint. With the same name and DOB this stuff would still come up though, just a matter of finding the right firm that is OK with it.
You seem like a decent person who should not be treated like this because something happened a long time ago. I understand that these checks are there for a reason and I am not saying we shouldn't have them. But there should be a route back into the professional workspace for you and others.
Try to get an idea on background checks at specific companies if you know somebody inside you can trust, you never know. I was surprised by the low level of background tests at my company in some EU markets.
Alot of questions ask if you've been convicted of a felony, in which case you would say no. Feel free to PM me, I was in a similar situation.
Deleniti quia deserunt libero. Nobis facilis repudiandae animi iusto.
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