Finding a job can be stressful for anyone. For someone returning to the community after incarceration, however, employment can involve an entirely different set of challenges.

A justice-involved job seeker may have the skills, motivation, and willingness to work, yet still face barriers long before an employer ever considers what that person can contribute.

At Compass Reentry Peer Support, we understand that successful employment is rarely about simply handing someone a list of job openings. Our role is to help clients prepare, remove barriers where possible, connect them with opportunities, and continue supporting them after they are hired.

The Employment Barriers Begin Before the Job Search

Imagine being told that getting a job is one of the most important things you need to accomplish after release while simultaneously facing several of these challenges:

You don’t have a current driver’s license or state identification.

You don’t have your Social Security card or birth certificate.

You don’t have a working cell phone.

You don’t have reliable transportation.

You don’t have appropriate clothes or work boots.

You haven’t created a resume in years—or perhaps have never had one.

You don’t know how modern online applications work.

You have limited computer experience.

You have a significant gap in your employment history.

You have a criminal record that you know may come up during the hiring process.

You may have spent years or decades incarcerated while technology, hiring practices, workplaces, and entire industries changed around you.

And at the same time, you may be trying to secure housing, report to supervision, obtain benefits, reconnect with family, attend treatment or appointments, and adjust to everyday life outside of an institution.

That is the reality behind many reentry job searches.

A Criminal Record Can Still Close Doors

Justice-involved applicants frequently enter the hiring process wondering when—or whether—their background will become an issue.

Some employers are willing to consider applicants individually. Others may have restrictions based on the nature of an offense, how long ago it occurred, licensing requirements, insurance requirements, contracts, or the particular position.

That uncertainty can be discouraging.

Repeated rejection can eventually cause someone to stop applying altogether. A person may begin believing that nobody will give them an opportunity, even when there are employers willing to consider qualified justice-impacted applicants.

This is one reason Compass works to identify second-chance employment opportunities and build relationships with employers and community partners.

Instead of simply telling someone, “Go find a job,” we want to help identify realistic pathways toward employment.

The Technology Gap Is Real

Today’s job search is heavily digital.

Applications are completed online. Interviews may be scheduled by email or text. Employers use online hiring portals. Resumes must often be uploaded. Applicants may need to create usernames, passwords, and profiles across multiple websites.

For someone who has been incarcerated for many years, even basic tasks that most employers assume an applicant understands can be unfamiliar.

This doesn’t mean the person is incapable of doing the job.

It means the hiring process itself has become a barrier.

Compass helps clients understand the modern employment process, prepare resumes, identify employment resources, and connect with organizations that can provide additional job-readiness and technology assistance.

Transportation Can Determine Whether Someone Keeps a Job

Getting hired is only part of the challenge.

The next question is:

Can you reliably get to work?

A job may start at 5:00 a.m., before regular bus service reaches the worksite. Another may require traveling through several transit systems. Industrial and warehouse jobs are sometimes located far from residential neighborhoods.

A client without a vehicle may need to understand bus routes, transfers, ORCA programs, walking distances, and how much additional travel time to allow.

Compass includes transportation support as part of our reentry model because transportation is directly connected to employment stability.

Our goal is not simply to provide rides indefinitely. Whenever possible, we help clients learn how to navigate transportation independently so they can reliably get themselves to work, appointments, services, and other important destinations.

The First Paycheck May Be Weeks Away

There is another employment barrier that is easy to overlook.

Even after someone gets a job, they may not receive a paycheck immediately.

They still need to eat.

They still need transportation.

They may need work clothes, boots, identification, a phone, hygiene supplies, and other essentials.

Without support during this period, a person can successfully land a job and still lose it before receiving the first paycheck.

That is why Compass views employment as part of a larger stability plan rather than an isolated service.

Food connections, clothing, transportation, phones, identification assistance, community resources, peer mentoring, and warm handoffs to partner organizations can all contribute to someone’s ability to become and remain employed.

A Resume Must Tell More Than an Incarceration Story

Long periods of incarceration can create intimidating gaps in a conventional resume.

But incarceration does not necessarily mean someone spent those years doing nothing.

People may have worked institutional jobs, supervised crews, completed vocational programs, earned certifications, participated in education, developed trades, or held significant responsibilities.

Before incarceration, they may also have years of valuable employment experience.

Compass helps clients identify transferable skills and develop resumes that accurately present what they can offer an employer.

We don’t hide someone’s past or manufacture experience.

We help the client recognize that a criminal record is only one part of their history—not the entirety of their ability, experience, or potential.

Preparing for the Difficult Question

Many applicants are especially nervous about one interview question:

“Can you explain your criminal history?”

Preparation matters.

An applicant needs to be able to discuss the past honestly without allowing an entire interview to become a discussion about the past.

Where appropriate, we encourage clients to focus on accountability, what they have learned, what has changed, what they have accomplished, and what they are doing today.

The goal is not to erase the past.

The goal is to help an employer see the person who is sitting in front of them today.

Compass Does More Than Provide Job Leads

At Compass Reentry Peer Support, employment assistance can begin before release.

When possible, we work with clients to understand their experience, employment goals, barriers, transportation needs, identification needs, and release plans.

We can help with:

• Resume development and employment preparation
• Identifying second-chance employers and realistic job opportunities
• Connections to employment and workforce programs
• Transportation planning and support
• Obtaining or connecting clients with resources for identification and documentation
• Cell phone assistance when available
• Clothing and essential-needs support
• Connections for work clothing and boots
• Interview preparation
• Referrals and warm handoffs to community partners
• Peer mentoring and encouragement
• Follow-up after employment begins

Most importantly, we don’t consider the job search finished simply because we sent someone a link.

Getting the Job Is Not the Finish Line

Landing a job is an important milestone.

Keeping it is often the greater achievement.

The first weeks of employment can expose new problems: transportation difficulties, workplace expectations, scheduling conflicts, family responsibilities, financial pressures, communication problems, or simply the stress of adjusting to an unfamiliar environment.

This is where ongoing peer support can make a difference.

When a client encounters a problem, we want them to reach out before a manageable problem becomes a lost job.

Sometimes the solution is transportation planning.

Sometimes it is connecting with another organization.

Sometimes it is talking through a workplace situation.

Sometimes a person simply needs encouragement from someone who understands how difficult rebuilding a life can be.

Compass walks alongside clients as they move toward greater stability and independence.

We Don’t Do This Alone

Compass Reentry Peer Support is not trying to replace workforce agencies, employers, training programs, apprenticeship programs, community organizations, or other service providers.

We connect people to them.

Our model is built around relationships and warm handoffs.

When a client needs something another organization does well, our goal is to make that connection and help the client successfully engage with that resource.

That is also why relationships with second-chance employers are so valuable. Employers need dependable workers, and justice-impacted job seekers need employers willing to evaluate them based on their qualifications, preparation, accountability, and potential—not simply the worst decision or chapter of their lives.

Employment Changes More Than a Bank Account

A paycheck obviously matters.

But employment can provide much more.

It creates routine. It creates responsibility. It provides opportunities to build relationships. It strengthens independence. It can restore confidence and give someone tangible evidence that life is moving forward.

Employment can also contribute to housing stability, family stability, and stronger communities.

That is why helping someone land a job isn’t simply an employment service.

It is part of reentry.

From “I Need a Job” to “I Have a Job”

When someone comes to Compass saying, “I need a job,” our response isn’t simply to point toward a job board.

We ask what is standing between that person and employment.

Do they need identification?

A resume?

Transportation?

Work clothes?

Technology skills?

Interview preparation?

A second-chance employer?

A training opportunity?

Someone to help them navigate the process?

Then we work with the client and our community partners to begin removing those barriers one at a time.

Because successful reentry isn’t accomplished by giving someone a list of resources and wishing them luck.

It happens when people, employers, service providers, and communities work together to turn opportunities into lasting stability.

Preparation before release reduces instability after release.

At Compass Reentry Peer Support, we help people prepare for employment, connect with opportunity, overcome barriers, and keep moving forward after the first day on the job.

We walk with people until they can walk with confidence.

Connect With Compass Reentry Peer Support

Website: www.compassreentrypeersupport.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 206-557-8593

Compass Reentry Peer Support — Turning second chances into new beginnings.