GlitterBuzzStyle Women's Issues Think you have a clean record? Think again.

For those of you out there planning to be teachers, pre-school helpers, school psychologists, even substitute teachers, or anything remotely related to working with children, make sure you have all the facts about how you appear on paper. Your state and federal records may not be as clean as you think. A lot of you, like me, may have been under the impression that having "a record" only applies to those who've committed a felony. WRONG. Not only do misdemeanors of any kind show up on a record (DUI's, shoplifting) but if you have ever been arrested at all, whether you are found guilty or not, when someone runs a background check on you, it will report your status as "has a record in the state of ___." Furthermore, for the average person looking at a RAP sheet, non-convictions are hard to discern from actual convictions. (For those of you who don't know, a RAP sheet is a Police Arrest Record). This means that for anyone who has been arrested, and perhaps had charges dropped, or were charged and tried and found not guilty, your record may still paint an unattractive picture of you for those running a background check. It doesn't seem quite fair, and hopefully our police officers won't make too many mistakes in arresting the innocent, but being conscientious is the best prevention method. However, if you do have a record of non-convictions, all is not lost. In order to have those non-convictions removed from your record, you need to hire an attorney to file a "motion for expungement."
Our economy is under enormous stress, without any sign of improvement in the near future. Unemployment is up, and everyone is cutting back, which means getting a job is even more difficult, and it can be frustrating when you get constant rejections. Some of you may wonder why you are being rejected when you are completely qualified, maybe even over-qualified, and still getting denied a position. You might want to do a background check on yourself. Give yourself the opportunity to take things off your record that might prevent you from getting that dream job. The fee that you have to pay out to a lawyer is worth your good name, as well as a good status in the job market. Every job is a competition, and you deserve the chance to look the best you can, off OR on paper. (photo taken by the Associated Press).