Friggin Jobless >:-[

No one wants to hire a felon. Doesn't matter what type of crime it is, if you have a felony in your file, you're pretty much looked at as no good. I can understand a pedophile not being able to have a job at a daycare, or a theif not landing a job in retails, but damn! I'm not a pedophile, I ain't no petty theif! All it takes is the wrong person with the wrong attitude to bring drama at the wrong time, and now 2 yrs later I'm still serving probation time with a red dot on my case file. And I was lucky.

I applied to a retail store called 5th Saks & Avenue to work in sales. A lady that worked there was a friend of my mom's, and she pulled some strings to get me an interview. I walk in with this Kenneth Cole button-up with this Phat Pharm tie and some grey slacks, looking like a million bucks (I had about $50 in my pocket xD). I arrange the interview so I'm looking directly at the manager. No folding of the hands, no slouching, and I gave honest answers. Everything seemed to be smooth sailing from there...until he asked about my criminal history. I sort of paused for a sec, because I knew it was comin, but I for some reason didn't prepare for it. So I just give it to him flat out without going into exact details. And when I told him, I saw his expression change, just slightly, but I knew it wasn't a good thing. After the interview, he says he likes my personality and he wants to give me a shot. Yeah, right.

About a week went by when I talked to my mom's friend about what was goin on. She says they're waiting on probation papers from the office. Had no idea why they needed that, but since I had to report to them in less than a week anyways, I figure I'd ask my P.O to call them and have her tell the manager about the case and give them whatever info they needed to speed up the process and whatnot. They tell her they're not waiting on the papers, they were trying to get in touch with the guy I got in a dispute with, I guess to make sure what I told them wasn't b.s. I started applying everywhere I could at this time.

Another week went by. I'm gettin a little pissed because I'm doing these little side jobs while I'm waitin on the manager's call, at least to let me know what's goin on now, or at least tell me what they need so I can get it for them. But about this time that old hiring phrase popped in my head, you know, "Don't call us, we'll call you." And it wasn't much longer after that when my mom's friend called and said that business there was too slow, so they couldn't hire ANYBODY who applied there. I wasted time and effort... and time is money.

So now I'm thinking about working at K-mart (damn it). My mom has a friend that works as manager over there, so I'm sure she can help out. I'm plannin to work there to make money and build my credit so later on I can start investing money in small things like bank CDs and mutual bonds. And if that goes well, I can learn more info on investing in the stock market (doesn't look good right now). My real dream, though, is investing in real estate. But all this takes time and careful planning (and serious cash).

I know from reading this myself that all this looks pathetic. I'm finally trying to make money the right way, but now because of my record, it's like a steep climb up a jagged mountain. Pretty much the only shot I have to getting a job is by having good connections and staying postitive.

Why am I telling you this? Mostly because I'm a little pissed off, just venting my emotions.
I hope none of you are going through what I'm goin through, but if you are, I can only say keep your head up. Things can only get better from here.

It's easy to get a job anywhere if you have a clean record. But catch one felony, and you can fuggetaboutit.