Charged With a Crime? Here’s How to Save Your Career
Getting charged with a crime can catch you off guard and make your whole life feel unstable. Whether you’re working for someone else or running your own business, the uncertainty of how things will play out can be a major source of stress. For instance, you might get fired or be forced to surrender your professional license after a conviction.
Most people don’t think about how an arrest might affect their career until it’s already happening. And even when it seems like everything will be fine, you might overlook things that can escalate your situation. If you’ve been arrested, here’s how to protect your career.
Consult an attorney right away
Most importantly, get a lawyer as soon as possible and follow their advice. Don’t attempt to handle your situation on your own. That choice will backfire. You need professional guidance from a lawyer experienced in defending cases like yours. Decisions made without consulting an attorney can hurt you.
Take your charges seriously
It’s tempting to brush off your charges when they seem small or think they’ll get dropped. However, your employer won’t necessarily see it that way. Even simply being arrested can cause concern depending on your field. For example, if you’re in a field like healthcare, finance, education, or anything sensitive, employers tend to play it safe. Simply being arrested can trigger an internal review or disciplinary action, and it’s legal for employers to fire at-will employees for being arrested.
Even if you aren’t convicted, your arrest – as a public record – will show up on background checks. This means all future potential employers will see your arrest and you won’t have the chance to explain yourself. And although employers can’t generally make hiring decisions based on arrest records, they could deny you anyway.
Think about what a conviction could mean for your career. If regulatory requirements will bar you from your industry, start looking at new career possibilities. You don’t need to assume the worst but you do need to take it seriously.
Know your workplace rules before speaking up
Unless your company’s rules require you to report your arrest, you might want to wait and ask your lawyer for advice before saying anything. Saying the wrong thing or saying too much can create problems. Check your employee handbook to see if you’re required to report your arrest. If so, follow the rules and report it or you could get fired. However, avoid telling anyone your life story. You don’t need to explain your entire situation to your coworkers or even your boss. Keep it simple, stick to the facts, and keep doing your job.
If you aren’t required to report your arrest, don’t. If you end up getting your charges dismissed or are put into some kind of alternative program and aren’t sentenced to jail, you might be able to get around mentioning it at all.
Lock down your social media accounts
If your employer knows you’ve been arrested, they might start searching your social media accounts for more information. If what you post on Facebook doesn’t match the story you told your boss – or if your posts just come across as sketchy – you could get fired.
You can’t hide your social media accounts from the court, but you can turn everything private to keep your boss out of your business.
Start repairing the situation early
Even if you get convicted, your career won’t automatically be over. Many people move forward after a conviction without any issues. First, look into the possibility of expungement or getting your records sealed, especially if you’re under 18. And make sure you complete all requirements the court asks of you. If you were required to complete any classes, keep documentation of completion in case you need to prove you’ve grown as a person.
Plan how you’ll explain your situation
At some point, you might need to discuss what happened and what you say matters. Keep it honest and simple. Don’t lie, and don’t overshare. Employers usually care less about what you did than how you grew from the situation. However, don’t improvise. Create a clear explanation and memorize it. Even if you don’t recite it word-for-word, it will still be better than coming up with an explanation under pressure.
You can control the next phase of your life
It’s rough getting charged with a crime, but it doesn’t have to kill your career. By making the right decisions, you can limit the damage and move forward into the next phase of your life. A conviction doesn’t have to be the end of your career.
