Criminal record complications

[Luckystar]

I am Canadian and have a criminal record (drugs, seven years ago). I could get into a good Canadian mba school. My questions:

Is an mba worth doing for me?

Would any top firms ever hire me with a criminal record?

All firms say they do criminal checks, but do they really?

What area of business should I focus on, if any?

I-banking and consulting are completely not possible, right?

If anyone has answers, advice, or any stories related to these issues, i would be appreciate reading them. thanks.

[Icemastr]

My company does criminal background checks on all potential employees before hiring them. We do not hire anyone with a criminal background however we have made one exception for a convicted felon for a high position in the company on the basis of knowing the person for an extended period of time prior to hiring them. Your criminal conviction may make it more difficult for you but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an MBA being worthwhile.

[sarat]

Most large companies I worked for asked for background information in various employment forms. They did random checks becasue one of the VP , after 6 months on the job, was fired for lying about his educational credetntials. Of course, most government work nowadays requires clearances and they check out your background extensively.
It seems small companies and places where you may have done interships etc (where they know you personally) may be willing to overlook your record as long as they feel comfortable with you and your character.

[cemj99]

You're in for a tough road. Most major companies will not hire you with a criminal background. From the business perspective, you are looked at as putting them at risk. Kind of like if a carpet cleaning company hires a convicted burglar to clean their customers' houses. Not the best move no matter how much the felon has changed. Just keepin it real, you may want to look into entrepreneurship.

[philipwhite]

I'm not sure how Canada views criminal offenses but if it's a misdemeanor or less then you may not even have to report it. Felony level offenses usually leave a pretty bad mark on your application.

A good number of applications only require you to report offenses that occured within the last 7 years. By the time you are out of school, you should be past that barrier. Even on my security clearance application it only looks back 7 years.

Finance may be out. I'm not sure the implications of a drug offense on this segement. Usually fraud or any money crime bar you for life.

I would focus on management and maybe look to go into retail management to get started. You probably have a chance to rebuild your resume this way.