Is Criminal Record Holding You Back Professionally? Michelle Baron

Michelle Baron-Williamson, CEO of Managed Integrity Evaluation, joins us to discuss what to do if you think your criminal record is hindering you professionally. Securing a job in South Africa today is tough for many. Latest figures from Stats SA indicate that unemployment has increased to 27.2% for the second quarter of the year (from 26.7%) – where hiring organizations are more cautious than optimistic about growth in the economy, their markets, and their businesses. Hiring someone with a criminal record is often just not an option. According to Michelle Baron-Williamson, CEO of Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE), “In times of instability and evolving change, such as we are experiencing now, businesses particularly tend to become more risk adverse to their gainful investment, including in their people, and take a more inspective and discretionary approach to hire. As a result, we are seeing increasing investment into comprehensive background screening solutions to assist businesses in mitigating against the potential risk of an inappropriate candidate being hired. And if a candidate is found to have a criminal record, his or her job application may not be viewed favorably.” MIE research shows that uptake of background screening services has grown by 6.77% in the last five years and criminal record screening remains the most frequently requested check by our clients in South Africa. In 2017 alone, the company conducted over seven-hundred-thousand criminal checks, of which 9.91% were found to have a criminal or pending criminal record; from violent crimes to theft and narcotics offenses, crimes against the state, white collar, and other crimes. “The fact is, having a criminal record – no matter how small or ‘insignificant’ the offense may seem – will haunt a candidate professionally. Just like being ‘blacklisted’ or being recorded as a bad creditor can severely lessen a consumer’s chances of securing credit; having a criminal record could significantly impact--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/africanperspective/support