Since I lost my job a decade ago, I haven’t been able to land another one due to an offence that I had committed at the time. I promptly settled the fine, but since then, whenever a prospective employer does a background check on me, the news article of my court case will pop up on the search engine, snuffing out any interest in taking me on board.
It would make sense if the offence was theft, because I understand how nervous a recruiter would be about having such a person on staff. Instead, it was minor and took place outside of work.
Still, I wish I had been more careful then, to have the foresight to know I may have to pay the price for my youthful stupidity. I now have a wife and three children, and I have been making ends meet by working as a part-time salesman, all the while, making sure that I stay out of trouble. Any trouble.
What really gets me down is this endless punishment. We live in the digital age now, and every news article is permanently etched on the Internet. While I don’t blame these companies for being cautious, especially since our country is seeing an increase in theft cases, a part of me hopes against hope that I would eventually be forgiven, and that someone would give me a break.
Down In The Dumps
