Felon wants Job as Chef

On the Rise Bakery gives felons, addicts second chance

I have a 22 year old daughter that is very intelligent, (which upsets me more about what she did) and a dedicated worker who knew she wanted to be a cook since 8th grade. Over the past year, she was dating a whack job that threatened her with a gun. One day while he was working, she went to his apartment and took his gun. Not a bad idea if she threw it in the river; however, stupidly she hocked it using her friends ID. the felony charge is not for taking the gun but using false id to hock it. She graduates the end of the month and cannot find work.

This is kickoff time for AZ but the big hotels that doing the hiring are doing thorough background checks. She had a great job lined up with Wigwam. In fact, the HR director told her--this is a great company and a ache to work any where in the world. That Friday she was supposed to go to orientation. Unfortunately, the HR Dir. called her and said because of her felony change they cannot hire her. She did a stupid thing--no question there; I told the judge that regardless that we are from New Jersey the closest she had come to seeing a gun was by a policeman and not Tony Soprano. She is really in the dumps. She is seeing a psychiatrist and works with a psychologist.

Do you have any suggestions to help her get her career going?

Thank you for time,

Felon wants Job as Chef

All is not lost. As I often suggest to ex-offenders and felons who seek jobs in the culinary arts, large corporate outlets may not be the best choice. They often have hiring practices that are determined at the corporate level. She may be better off looking for jobs at independent restaurants and catering companies. Check your local telephone directory and start calling.

Also she may seek assistance from independent temporary employment agencies. Often temporary assignments turn into full time jobs. There are temporary agencies that primarily work with the service industry. Smaller independent temporary staffing agencies are not bound by discriminatory hiring guidelines as larger nation-wide agencies and can hire anyone they choose.

Ex-offenders and felons looking for jobs may have to put in extra work to get hired.

I hope this helps.