The Next Step, Inc., a Lenexa, Kan.-based company that helps ex-offenders find employment and employers gain tax benefits for hiring them, is set to sign its first statewide contract with the state of Ohio this spring. The company manages the […]
Learning money management can improve chances for success
If you’ve been in jail or prison for a while, it may have been a long time since you handled finances, balanced a checkbook or dealt with such monthly payments as rent, transportation and possibly child support. You may, in […]
Instead of resume use JIST card to highlight strengths, downplay gaps
If you have gaps in your work history or if you want to set yourself apart from other job seekers, think about creating a JIST card and using it instead of a resume. JIST stands for Job Information Seeking and […]
Power pose can help improve your job search and interview odds
If you were a hiring manager, which would you prefer? Would it be the candidate who shrinks back into his chair with arms folded looking like he’s timid or nervous, or the one who sits up straight and looks you […]
Shoe repair business offers career opportunity for ex-offenders
Those looking for a job doing something that improves the environment, helps people save money and won’t be outsourced to India might want to consider learning how to repair shoes. Particularly in these recessionary times when people want to […]
Prison Toastmasters clubs teach skills useful for job search
Although programs of various types exist in prisons across the country, those operated by Toastmasters International have proved particularly successful. Toastmasters volunteers across the nation have taught inmates speaking, leadership and organizational skills and instilled the type of confidence that […]
Tattoo removal can be first step in ensuring job search success
Remove those tattoos, and your chances of finding a job will be dramatically increased. In fact, Father Boyle, who founded Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, said the greatest impediment that those with tattoos face in their job search is the […]
Struggle to restore federal Pell Grants to inmates continues
While giving inmates access to higher education should be a no brainer, it’s become an uphill battle. Take, for example, the struggle to restore Pell Grants to those in prison. Before 1995, prisoners had access to Pell Grants, federal financial […]
LinkedIn group debates effectiveness of using employer hiring lists
A recent lively discussion on LinkedIn’s Ex-Felon’s Employment Resource group brings up the issue of the validity of lists, in this case Ranker.com’s List of Employers Who Hire Felons. The discussion was launched when a member who works for Goodwill […]
Comedy fosters confidence, helps inmates deal with stress
It may not be the sound one would expect to hear in a correctional facility. But on a September weekend the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, Calif. was filled with laughter, as the inmates learned the art of performing […]