The Government sector – considered one of the most secure sectors to opt a career in. Canada offers many financially stable and secure careers, with the ones in the Government topping the list. These are alluring for they offer additional insurance coverage, plenty of incentives and à la carte of employment perks and benefits.
However, the prettiest lady at a dance is the toughest to woo and similarly, a government is relatively difficult to bag. It’s not as simple as just applying for the post and having the fingers crossed, wearing lucky charms and the job is yours. The positions have a plethora of specific demands such as up to the mark qualifications and a specific kind of trait. In such a cut throat competitive world, what about a person who has some criminal record? He/she would be like piloting a sinking ship in a sea populated by the indestructible ones, with the position being the long lost treasure everybody seeks check out nationalpardon.
What are the chances?
“With great power comes great responsibility”, said Spiderman (Tobey Maguire’s version) and the government sector follows the same policy. It’s a platform that allows exposure to the populace, thereby influencing them a great deal. A career in this sector requires a good, ethical character along with the proposed qualifications in order to maintain the behemoth aura of authority and responsibility levied upon selection. Hence, background checks on the candidate(s) are prevalent.
Since all past records, including the ones pertaining to any crime, however petty are prone to the background inspection and therefore, a candidate having a criminal history should endeavor to hide his/her records. If hidden, they are eventually discovered by the authorities and may even impose a fugitive lifestyle on the candidate, if he/she somehow escapes. Such an endeavor may be considered career hara-kiri and the aftermath is extremely severe. Nevertheless, if even you’ve got a criminal record, don’t feel down. A criminal record doesn’t prevent one from not at all being eligible for there are positions that allow certain reliefs.
The main thing is – the category and scale of the crime recorded. Even the judicial system understands the huge gap between a kleptomaniac stealing a bag of wafers and a conman tricking a millionaire into transferring the former half of his riches, though theft is a crime, in general.
Chances vary with the positions and the relevant requirements
A person convicted for participating in a protest and getting arrested and prosecuted for defending his peers during a mob lynching and a person murdering innocents in cold blood are viewed distinctly.
Some positions are just cool with petty convictions and allow applications of such people while others follow stricter norms and don’t allow a candidate with any kind of criminal history, however trivial. Hence, it’s not necessarily true that a convicted person is barred from getting selected at all. To be on the safe side, a convicted candidate should apply for a Record Suspension or Pardon as it provides some relief. For more info on record suspension and other relevant details.
