How do I get a job if I have a criminal record from seven years ago?

If you were not sent to state prison for your felony conviction and have successfully completed your probation, you may be eligible for expungement of your criminal record. One of the benefits of expungement in California is obtaining and securing employment.

Depending on what kind of felony you got. If it was a "wobbler" - could be charged as either a misde or a felony, at the end of probation you can have it changed to a misde and then can truthfully say you have never been convicted of a felony. If a straight felony basically you are screwed. You can apply for relief under 1203.4 of the penal code (expungement statute) but it really doesn't ERASE your conviction - just lets you truthfully state you have no convictions. But stop telling the truth. The truth will only keep anyone from hiring you. If you bullshit them at a small company it is illegal to get your rap sheet BUT bigger outfits make you sign a waiver so they can legally get your rap sheet. Google your name. See if the convictions come up. If not, as Nancy Reagan said: JUST SAY NO. the worst that can happen is they find out you lied and then they fire you. But hopefully they never find out or if they do it is long enough after you have been doing a great job so when the question comes up you can tell them you were afraid if you told the truth you'd never get a chance to prove what a good worker you are.

By convincing the employer you have turned your life around and are a trustworthy person now. Get character reference letters from anyone you can to prove it. It can be done with an honest presentation.

Call an attorney who can look at your record and advise on the remedy for your case. How you clear your particular conviction will depend on the specific charge, whether or not you had probation and how you did on probation. Call a criminal attorney.

This is a common question however I have never had a problem with this issue. I wasn't always a lawyer, in fact I prior to becoming a lawyer I was convicted of a felony in California. It was not a 'regular' felony but a strike. The only time my conviction became an issue was when I applied for a job with General Electric. The manager that hired me was clear that I had to disclose all convictions for felonies because they did a background check. He went on to explain that it wasn't a problem if I had a felony as long as I disclosed it. He was right and I got the job. Some people chose not to disclose a conviction. I cannot advise anyone to lie however I would not be surprised to learn that most companies would never find out because it cost quite a bit of money to run a thorough background check. So the short answer to the question "How do I get a job if I have a conviction?" The answer is "The same way you get a job if you do not have a conviction which is treat your job search as if it was a full time job by itself. Spend 40 hours a week looking for a job and you will find work eventually.

Since your conviction was for a felony, you'll need to hire a criminal defense attorney to file for 1203.4 relief. Sometimes people call this an expungement. If the 1203.4 is granted by a judge, then the conviction ceases to exist and you no longer need to disclose it to potential employers (with a few exceptions).