Getting the RAP Down: Employment Strategies for Job Seekers with Criminal Histories

2-DAY COURSE | TRAINING

Date

March 16, 2020, Monday

Time

9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Program Description

CUNY School of Professional Studies, NYC Opportunity, and Workforce Professionals Training Institute are partnering together to present Getting the RAP Down: Employment Strategies for Job Seekers with Criminal Histories.

By training workforce development organizations on issues and laws related to justice system-involvement, this training seeks to expand access to high-quality workforce services for people with criminal records.

This comprehensive two-day training course is being offered at no cost to the training participant. The training covers legal protections available to individuals with a criminal conviction and provides nuts-and-bolts tools and strategies to help justice system-involved clients prepare for the job search.

Registrants must attend both sessions of this two-day training course.

March 16 (9:30 am to 4:30 pm) Day 1: Legal & Reentry Issues that Impact the Job Search

This session introduces internal and external barriers faced by people with criminal records – and those who help them – during the job search process. We will cover the legal protections available to individuals with justice system-involvement when looking for a job, the information employers can find out about criminal history, and how to deal with criminal background checks. You will also learn concrete strategies to motivate and sustain job seekers throughout what can be a long and often demoralizing process.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Understand legal protections for job seekers who have criminal records
  • Help job seekers understand what employers can see about their criminal histories, and what protections against discrimination they may have
  • Apply Motivational Interviewing techniques to overcome behavioral issues that may impact ability to search for and maintain a job
  • Address common external challenges that hold reentrants back from obtaining employment

March 17 (9:30 am to 4:30 pm) Day 2: Job Search Preparation with a Twist: Resumes, Applications & Interviews for Reentrants

Practitioners struggle to write resumes for job seekers who have been in the criminal justice system, especially those with limited or erratic work experience and skill sets. We will cover key insights into what attracts employers to an applicant, how to play up strengths and experiences developed in institutional settings, answering the dreaded “Have you ever been convicted?” question on an application or interview, and overcoming resume and interviewing pitfalls.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Identify the three key characteristics employers look for from job applicants, regardless of the position
  • Minimize the impact of incarceration or unemployment on the resume
  • Use a 4 step process to vastly improve the chances an applicant will get through the interview
  • Structure the job search process to sustain engagement over weeks and months
Category:

Registration is conducted on Eventbrite. Please click on the button below to access the page.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Space is limited to 30 registrants and you must attend both days. Please note that due to the expected demand for this training, WPTI reserves the right to limit how many registrants can come from one organization for each set of sessions. If WPTI decides to implement a limit, WPTI will reach out to the registrant to notify him/her/them of the other sessions that are coming up. We thank you in advance for your cooperation with this registration policy.

For questions about this training course or registration, please contact Saki Mori at Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) at smori@wpti.org or 646-278-5685.


To participate in the 2020 cohort of the Job Development Learning Group, workforce practitioners must complete and submit the linked application form, and their supervisor must also complete and submit the linked recommendation form. Only submissions with a completed application form and a completed supervisor recommendation form will be reviewed for consideration for the 2020 cohort.

Event Details

Date: March 16, 2020

Start time: 09:30 a.m.

End time: 04:30 p.m.

Phone: 646-278-5685

Email: smori@wpti.org