The biggest challenge facing felons after returning home is finding jobs for felons.
Even companies known for hiring felons typically do a background check.
While looking for work, a felon who has experience with working in retail may want to apply for a job at Family Dollar.
This blog post will cover whether or not Family Dollar runs background checks.
- What is Included in a Background Check?
- Family Dollar Application
- An Opportunity for Felons?
- Can You Run a Background Check on Yourself?
- Tips for Getting a Job at Family Dollar
Contents
What is Included in a Family Dollar Background Check?
Employers who review an applicant’s background don’t want someone who doesn’t succeed after starting a job.
This is considered to be a “bad hire,” which is someone who:
- Doesn’t produce quality work
- Has a negative attitude
- Doesn’t work well with other employees
- Doesn’t deal well with customers
- Doesn’t have the skills they stated on an application
- Has attendance problems
- Is dishonest on the job
The last question is the biggest challenge for felons.
Their criminal history can be a problem even if they are now committed to living an honest lifestyle.
An employer will view credit reports, driving records, and educational records in addition to criminal offenses.
Background information helps an employer to determine a candidate’s past mistakes, character, and financial fitness as well as to identify hiring risks for security and safety issues for the company.
The criminal record review of a background check includes examining criminal history files for any criminal offenses, which will reveal all convictions and non-convictions, including cases not prosecuted or ones dismissed.
Convictions can be reported with no time limit while a non-conviction will show up for seven years.
A crime will not show up on a background check if a felon has his or her record expunged.
Family Dollar Application
Family Dollar Stores is an American variety store chain in the United States.
Family Dollar is always looking for hardworking and dedicated people who want to be part of their team.
The company places a high value on customer service and sales.
There are many job types in the three official categories of Family Dollar jobs:
In-store:
- Customer service representative
- Assistant store manager
- Store manager
- Field specialist
Store Support Center:
- Finance
- Marketing
- Corporate communications
- Merchandising
- Store operations support
- Loss prevention
- Supply chain
Distribution Center:
- Shipping loader
- Bulk order filler
- Repack order filler
- Repack stocker
- Yard switcher
- Forklift operator
The application includes basic questions about age and eligibility to work in the United States and detailed information about skills, job history, and shift availability.
The process divides everything into categories:
- Personal information
- Education and work experience
- General questions
- Job-specific questions
- Assessment questions
The interview process with Family Dollar is similar to other retail positions.
Some potential questions to expect during the interview include:
- What do you think are the most important qualities to have when working with Family Dollar?
- How long do you plan to work with the company?
- Are you free to work on weekends?
- What previous experience do you have?
An Opportunity for Felons?
Family Dollar has more than 7,000 stores and employs more than 40,000 persons.
During the application process, an applicant will be asked to consent to a pre-employment background check.
Any employment offers that are made will be contingent upon passing this background check.
An applicant will also need to consent to a pre-employment drug screening.
While Family Dollar does hire felons, they do not hire anyone with a violent or sexual offense.
They also typically don’t employ individuals with a conviction of theft or forgery.
For other crimes, Family Dollar will consider an applicant based on:
- The nature of the offense and the circumstances
- Length of time since the conviction
- Work experience
- An applicant’s skills related to the job for which they are applying
The background check is run for Family Dollar to protect itself, its employees, and its customers.
In evaluating the results, they look for discrepancies between the report and responses on the application.
They also evaluate the nature of any criminal offenses discovered by the report.
A felon would have the best chance at getting a job at Family Dollar by having his or her record expunged.
Can You Run a Background Check on Yourself?
Doing a background check on him or herself before applying at Family Dollar will allow a felon to know exactly what will be discovered when Family Dollar does their review.
A felon with any questions can contact an attorney.
It is essential to take action and not risk a chance on the results.
There are different kinds of personal background checks that a felon can run:
- From the court in which he or she was charged
- A credit report that will help determine how financially responsible an individual is
- Driving records for any job involving driving, such as a truck driver
- An educational report through the National Student Clearing House
For someone wanting to do a background check on themselves, there are places that can help.
Tips for Getting a Job at Family Dollar
Suggestions for a felon to increase his or her chances to be hired at Family Dollar are:
- Be willing to apply at different store locations
- Be flexible in work availability, willing to work different hours
- Have reliable references
- Be ready to provide a job history and skills used in those jobs
- Be honest about all personal information and history
- Get there early for an interview
- Dress appropriately
- Be polite and respectful
- Speak up clearly and show enthusiasm
If possible, applying in person allows an individual to talk directly to the manager at Family Dollar.
He or she shouldn’t hide the fact that he or she has a felony conviction if it comes up.
Instead, explain the facts about that conviction without being emotional or defensive.
It is never a good idea to lie about one’s past on an application.
This could result in not being considered for a job if Family Dollar finds out about it.
He or she should highlight skills and abilities that qualify him or her for the job, and focus on them during the interview.
He or she must take responsibility for past actions and explain how he or she is putting life in order.
Doing his or her own background check allows a felon to know what an employer will see on his or her record.
A felon needs to remember that he or she is not defined by his or her crime.
We are not defined by our mistakes but in how we recover from them.
He or she must be willing to seeing him or herself in a different light, ready to establish an honest life.
The best opportunity for success in a new life begins with having support from family and friends.
So what do you think about this blog post about whether Family Dollar runs background checks?
Have you or someone you know had Family Dollar run a background check?
What was that like and were they successful in being hired?
Please tell us in the comments below.
