How to overcome the cost of a criminal record for getting hired

Abstract

Many theories emphasize how employment is protective against criminal recidivism, yet a criminal record is a major barrier for getting hired. We asked 591 managers to make hypothetical hiring decisions between two applicants whose key difference was the presence or absence of a criminal conviction. In addition, we randomly manipulated the education, references, wage, or experience of the applicant with the criminal record to identify which manipulations can offset the cost of the record on an applicant's probability of being selected. We found that, when credentials were the same, the applicant with a criminal record was unlikely to be hired. That applicant, however, could become likely to be hired (i.e., the likelihood crossed 50 percent) by having at least 1 year of relevant experience, a GED or a college degree, or references from a former employer or a professor. Incomplete degrees, references from criminal justice professionals, or wage discounts did not make the applicant with the record likely to be hired. Findings confirm that a criminal record carries a high employability cost but also indicate that this cost can be superseded by specific credentials that signal an applicant's reliability, which can be provided by existing programs and institutions.

What motivates users to adopt cybersecurity practices? A survey experiment assessing protection motivation theory

“…Finally, we used an opt-in sample of American adults recruited via Qualtrics. We used Qualtrics because it provides samples that closely resemble the U.S. population (Boas et al, 2020), is increasingly used in social science research (Pew Research Center, 2019), and has been used successfully in prior criminological research (e.g., Moule et al, 2019;Santos et al, 2023). Further, given our interest in online behaviors and the perceptions of technology users, an online sample is appropriate for addressing the research questions in the present study.…”

Degrees of difference: Do college credentials earned behind bars improve labor market outcomes?

“…Recent research has begun to investigate whether positive credentials-such as letters of recommendation, state-sanctioned certificates of rehabilitation, or trade certifications-can improve hiring outcomes for this population by neutralizing stigma associated with the negative criminal credential. Notable research in this area includes several audit studies in which researchers apply to real jobs as fictional applicants with criminal records and varying positive credentials (Cundiff, 2016;Decker et al, 2015;Leasure & Andersen, 2016, 2020Leasure & Kaminski, 2021;Lindsay, 2021;Ortiz, 2014), experimental surveys in which respondents are asked to make hypothetical hiring decisions about applicants with varying positive credentials (Cullen et al, 2023;Denver & DeWitt, 2023;DeWitt & Denver, 2020;Reich, 2017;Santos et al, 2023), and interviews with employers (Fahey et al, 2006). Initial evidence supporting the ability of positive credentials to improve hiring outcomes is mixed, although employer recommendations and positive work histories have shown particular promise (Cullen et al, 2023;Denver, 2020;DeWitt & Denver, 2020;Santos et al, 2023).…”

“…Employer beliefs that colleges/universities are reliable, honest assessors of an applicant may be eroded or overridden if these same employers do not similarly believe in the honesty and reliability of prisons (for a discussion regarding honesty and reliability in the context of desistance signaling, see Reich, 2023). Santos et al (2023) found some evidence to suggest that the signaling potential of credentials can be complicated by their affiliation with prison. Although their research found that reference letters from former employers and professors effectively increased willingness to hire an applicant (for additional evidence supporting the impact of employer references, see also Denver & DeWitt, 2023;DeWitt & Denver, 2020), the effect was much smaller if the reference letter was provided by a prison reentry program supervisor and eliminated if the reference letter was provided by a probation or parole officer.…”

“…Notable research in this area includes several audit studies in which researchers apply to real jobs as fictional applicants with criminal records and varying positive credentials (Cundiff, 2016; Decker et al., 2015; Leasure & Andersen, 2016, 2020; Leasure & Kaminski, 2021; Lindsay, 2021; Ortiz, 2014), experimental surveys in which respondents are asked to make hypothetical hiring decisions about applicants with varying positive credentials (Cullen et al., 2023; Denver & DeWitt, 2023; DeWitt & Denver, 2020; Reich, 2017; Santos et al., 2023), and interviews with employers (Fahey et al., 2006). Initial evidence supporting the ability of positive credentials to improve hiring outcomes is mixed, although employer recommendations and positive work histories have shown particular promise (Cullen et al., 2023; Denver, 2020; DeWitt & Denver, 2020; Santos et al., 2023). A 2018 study by the RAND Corporation found that employers even prefer verifiable work histories over cash incentives in some circumstances (Hunt et al., 2018).…”

“…For example, even though bachelor's degrees have been found to increase callbacks relative to associate's degrees and high school degrees (Cundiff, 2016), associate's degrees have not been found to increase callbacks relative to high school degrees (Cundiff, 2016; Decker et al., 2015; Ortiz, 2014). Employer surveys have also found that unspecified “college degrees” improve employer willingness to hire hypothetical applicants (Albright & Denq, 1996; Santos et al., 2023). These studies did not specify whether these degrees were earned inside or outside of prison, and the author is not aware of any study that tests PSCE credentials specifically.…”