Finding work as an ex-offender can easily be difficult to many. Most people when asked would state that ex-offenders should be happy for any job. While this may be true in many situations, finding work as an ex-offender should not neglect the person looking for work. When you are out searching for a job, even as an ex-offender, you should be focusing on your abilities just as everyone else would. There are three key areas where you should focus when you do match jobs with your personal goals.

Skills and Abilities

When considering what skills and abilities are suited for employment and can be the most useful, you should ask yourself these questions:

• What skills do you have that can be applied to a work environment?
• What abilities can you do easily which may be useful to an employer?
• What training have you had that may be useful today?

Make a list of all the answers to these questions. Focusing on these abilities will help you find work as an ex-offender. Jobs for an individual, even for ex-offenders, must take into account what you are good at doing.

Knowledge and Experience

Another area you should consider when focusing on your abilities, is your knowledge and experience. Knowledge and experience still counts in jobs for ex-offenders or for any other person. Some things you should not do because of your criminal background:

• Ignore what training you have
• Ignore what experience you had before today
• Limit your job search because you are an ex-offender
• Consider your knowledge and experience less worthy because you are an ex-offender
• Not use what you know to gain a job that you can enjoy and keep
• Not use what you have because someone tells you there are no jobs for ex-offenders
• Believing there are no jobs for ex-offenders with your knowledge and experience

Hobbies

• Experience needed for work may be higher than for a hobby
• Making a hobby into a career may turn the fun into work
• Unlike a hobby, work can not be stopped when you don’t want to do it.

Jobs for ex-offenders do not need to be mundane, limited or low wage positions. Finding a job as an ex-offender requires you to simply focus on your abilities and search for work accordingly.