How a DUI can affect Someone’s Employment?

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Having a conviction or a legal charge on your record affects your personal life and your employment opportunities. If you are applying for a job and your prospective employer asks if you ever had any convictions, be it a misdemeanor driving under the influence or a felony charge, it will affect your opportunities with the employer. And if you think that you can give wrong information to the employer, you will land in even bigger troubles as every employer who asks for your records, runs a background check with a cobb county DUI lawyer to confirm the information provided by you. If your career requires you to drive or handle sensitive material or deal with children, then your prospects are narrowed by your conviction. 

Let us see how a DUI can affect your career prospects.

  • Conviction vs arrest: Arrests for DUI don’t usually affect the employment opportunities but being convicted does. In most states, employers ask only about convictions and not about arrests, but there may be certain jobs where the employer asks for arrests as well. You are required to give just as much information as asked by the employer. If you are asked only about convictions, then give information only about convictions. Disclose any DUI arrest information only if asked specifically in the interview or in written form on the documents.you can also ask a cobb county DUI attorney to expunge any information about your DUI conviction from your records and then you will not have to acknowledge any conviction on your job application or in your interview.
  • Sensitive jobs: Some career prospects or job opportunities are sensitive and the employers are more concerned about the DUI records. Job positions that require you to work with children as a teacher or daycare provider are very sensitive towards the DUI records and might be difficult for you to find if you have a conviction on your record. Jobs that require you to drive a vehicle, especially a company vehicle, such as bus driver, truck driver, outside salesperson, delivery drivers, etc. will not consider your job application if you have a DUI conviction on your records. Also, the companies that deal with confidential information restrict themselves from hiring anyone with any criminal record. You will also not be able to apply for military, police or any government job if your record shows a DUI conviction. 
  • Some other issues: Besides negatively affecting your record, a DUI conviction can have various other effects on your job search. For example, if you lose your driving license for a certain period of time due to your DUI conviction, you will have no vehicle to drive to your work, and if you live in an area lacking proper public transportation it will affect your work or job search to a great deal. You can not rely too much on your relatives and friends as you will not have any control on when you reach your office for meetings or an interview, or on how you return from there. It disturbs the whole routine and lifestyle for you. Also, if you clear an interview, you will not be able to give your driving license to the Human Resources department for your further hiring paperwork. Though you can provide them with some other reliable and valid identity card for the hiring purpose, a lack of driving license can raise some issues about you in the employer’s eyes. 

What to do when you have a DUI conviction?

Except for the DUI sensitive jobs, if you are applying for another job, you can contact a cobb county DUI lawyer and prepare a proper response that will neutralize the damage caused by your DUI conviction before the employer or interviewer. You should never disclose any information upfront until and unless asked for it. If you are asked about any DUI conviction, then inform only about that. But if you are asked about DUI conviction and arrest both, then acknowledge both. You should never lie about your DUI record at any cost because it can be found out in the background check and then you can be charged with fraud for lying about your convictions. Your explanation for the DUI should be short, to the point and should be apologetic in tone, if the interviewer is experienced, he might not be shocked or might consider your DUI record over your skills. You can mention that the offense was committed by you due to the lapse of judgment in the given circumstances or moments and that you have learned your lesson from it. You can also tell them about some responsible actions taken by you after the incidents and let them know that you are working positively to make changes in your life. 

You can also ask for help from DUI attorney Marietta on how to deal with your convictions for your job search and some steps to take to remove the black spot from your records.