Concept: The 3 P’s of an Employment Comeback

For those recovering from addiction and past criminal justice involvement, the challenge is often not finding employment — there are many entry-level minimum wage jobs available. The bigger hurdle is finding a good job that pays well and has opportunities for advancement. Many employers are apprehensive about hiring people with large job gaps on their resumes and/or criminal convictions.

One way to overcome these difficulties is by using a system that I’ve adopted from the world of marketing, called the “3 P’s of an Employment Comeback,” which provides a blueprint for how to prepare yourself for that Career position (as described in my ABC Employment Path). Each component provides guidance about how individuals in recovery can overcome a potential employer’s perception.

Component 1: Product

In this case, the Product is you, and the goal is to present the best product possible to an employer. How do you make sure you are the best Product you can be? Some easy ways are to be engaged in your recovery, build skills by working entry-level jobs, volunteering, getting more education, and collecting recommendation letters. All of these things serve to create the best Product possible.

Component 2: Promotion

No matter how well you improve yourself as the Product, it won’t make any difference unless you can communicate how great you are to an employer. I’m not talking about shameless bragging — I’m talking about telling an employer about your skills and what you can offer them as an employee. You communicate this through your resume, cover letter, letters of recommendation and informing them of any awards or certificates you’ve earned. If you have criminal convictions, you will also need a good letter of explanation that addresses your history.

Component 3: Place

No matter how great you are as a Product, and even if you do a great job of Promotion and telling the story of who you are and how you can help an employer, you have to look in the right Place for work. This will be different for every person based on their skills, abilities, and what they want for their future. In general, if you have criminal convictions, then the best places to look for quality employment will be small to medium-sized companies because they will have the greatest flexibility when it comes to hiring people with criminal convictions (they may not even run a background check).