I GOT CAUGHT SMOKING POT. WHO'S GOING TO HIRE ME NOW?

Says One HR Person: 'I Wouldn't Hold A Long-ago Transgression Against A
Candidate, But I Would A Recent One.'

Dear Annie:

I'll graduate in January from a good college and am just beginning to talk
with corporate recruiters. My grades were excellent all through school,
I've been active in sports and other extracurricular activities, and I
believe I've got a lot to offer an employer. There's just one problem: In
my senior year of high school I was arrested along with several other
students and convicted of marijuana possession. I had just turned 18, so
instead of juvenile probation I got slapped with a lifelong criminal
record. I have not touched any drugs since then and have never been in any
other trouble (with the law or otherwise). Will this one mistake destroy my
chances of getting a good job? And how should I handle it in job
interviews--bring it up myself or wait to be asked? Worried in Washington

Dear Worried: Scant consolation though it may be, you have plenty of
company. The FBI reports that in 2000, the latest year for which figures
are available, there were 734,497 marijuana-related arrests in the U.S.
(about 90% for possession), up from 588,964 in 1995 and 326,850 in 1990.
Although grass was outlawed in 1937, the 1999 National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse found that 76 million Americans admit--to researchers from the
federal government, no less--to having used it. (Politicians and certain
former Supreme Court candidates, of course, like to say that they
"experimented," which conjures up an image of a bunch of serious-minded
people in white lab coats standing around taking detailed notes.) From an
employability standpoint, how big a deal is your one youthful error? To
find out, I went to ProfNet.com and conducted a survey of several hundred
human resources types and hiring managers, asking, first, whether they
would hire you and, second, whether you should volunteer the facts about
your criminal record. On the first point, here's a representative sample of
their answers.

* "All of us were young and crazy once. Some indulged in illegal
substances; some were caught, some weren't. If you managed to live through
those years, then put them behind you and create a successful track record,
a single youthful indiscretion should not be held against you."

* "Maybe it's because we're a new-media company, but to me a single
marijuana conviction at age 18 would be in the same league as a speeding
ticket. You broke the law, but as long as it has no effect on your current
job performance and potential, it doesn't matter to us. Human beings make
mistakes."

* "I wouldn't hold a long-ago transgression against an employee or job
candidate, but I would a recent one. And I would be far more concerned
about the use of hard drugs and drinking, especially a DWI, than I would
about marijuana."

* "If you have a stellar background except for one, and only one,
conviction for marijuana possession at age 18, it is immaterial. In fact,
the person could actually have jump-started his creative and inventive
processes, which are lacking in today's environment. Our focus is on recent
results and achievements and future successes."

* "Most employers will overlook something like this, as virtually no job
seeker is perfect, so employers are used to taking chances and often hire
based on a gut feeling that the candidate will work out well."

* "Kids are kids. What someone did at age 18 is not necessarily a
reflection of what he will do as an adult. The arrest could have turned the
person's life around--or maturity might have done the same."

Well, fine. On the second part of the question, though, there isn't as
clear a consensus. About half of those polled say you needn't bring up your
criminal past unless the interviewer (or the job application) asks directly
whether you have one; the other half urge you to come clean with no
prompting. Writes Steven Rothberg, head of CollegeRecruiter.com: "Job
seekers are salespeople. The product they're selling is themselves. They
shouldn't lie, but like any salesperson they're under no obligation to
disclose negative aspects of the product unless specifically asked." The
opposing view, from Eric Boden, president of a firm called HireRight, which
investigates job candidates: "We've found that 85% of FORTUNE 500 companies
now do background checks on applicants, so there is a high probability that
a criminal record will show up at some point in the selection process. Be
honest and up-front about your record. Character counts as much as
credentials." If you decide not to mention it, says Deb Keary, head of the
Information Center at the Society for Human Resource Management, "the main
thing is, relax. Don't go into an interview nervous or it will be obvious
that you're hiding something--and people will imagine it to be something
far worse than it is."

One last point: You characterize your criminal record as "lifelong," but
you may be glad to hear that it needn't be. First, many states have laws
limiting employers' background checking to the past seven years--and in
some states, including California, marijuana possession can't be held
against an applicant if two years have passed since he was convicted. So
the more time that goes by, the less you need to worry. And second, many
states allow you, after a given period of time with no new convictions, to
go to court and have your record expunged. "One mistake at age 18 doesn't
have to follow you through your whole career," says Keary. "It would be
worth investing in an hour of a lawyer's time, in whatever state you're in,
to get the details on when and how to make your record go away." Indeed.

Send questions to askannie@fortunemail.com.