Formerly Incarcerated
General Step by Step Guides to Support Employment
- Employment Information Handbook for Ex-Offenders
- Root & Rebound Roadmap to Re-entry
- Second Chance Re-entry: Resources for Career Support
- Indeed Job Search Guide for People with Convictions
Disclosing Your Status to Employers
It can be very stressful to decide when and how to share your status as a justice-impacted individual. However, it is extremely important that you are honest in your resume, and throughout your application and interview processes. Everything that makes its way onto your resume should be accurate.
Resources for disclosing your status on resumes, applications, or interviews
- Prison Fellowship Resume Guide: How to write a resume with a criminal record
- Successful Release: Writing your resume with a felony conviction
- CHRON Article: How to explain prison absence on a resume
- Presenting your Best Self in Interviews
- How to Prepare for my Employer’s Questions about my Criminal Record
Applying for Jobs & Opportunities
There are many places to find great jobs and opportunities. Explore widely; don’t limit yourself to opportunities branded specifically for returning citizens. Below are a few of our favorite platforms for finding and applying for opportunities.
General job search platforms
Handshake – as an University of Iowa student or Alumni, you have free access to thousands of job and internship opportunities each day through the Handshake portal.
Idealist – mission driven organizations and opportunities. You can filter by issue area – everything from environmental issues to prison reform. or what problems you feel passionately about solving.
Google and Indeed – very broad platforms for getting started. If you have trouble narrowing down your search, go back to the Introspection section of this website for support.
Job search platforms related to justice-affected status
Second Chance Business Coalition – Organizations with stated openness to justice-impacted applicants
Honest Jobs and 70 Million Jobs – Platforms that connect justice-impacted folks with jobs
Inside Out Reentry Community
Inside Out Reentry Community is based in Iowa City and serves people returning to Johnson County after incarceration. They work with individuals incarcerated throughout the state to help them develop re-entry plans, regardless of where they plan to live after release. Returning to and becoming an active member of society after being in prison is tough, and they strive to give these individuals the support they need to reach their goals.