An exception to the rule: belief in redeemability, desistance signals and the employer's decision to hire a job applicant with a criminal record

An exception to the rule: belief in redeemability, desistance signals and the employer's decision to hire a job applicant with a criminal record

This article examines whether employment outcomes for exoffenders are associated with employers’ subjective belief in redeemability, mediated through exoffenders’ objective desistance signals. An online factorial vignette survey was completed by 367 employers, which examined their hiring decisions in the context of exoffender job applicants. OLS regression and serial multiple mediation analyses revealed that both belief in redeemability and desistance signals positively and significantly predicted employers’ hiring decisions. As well, exoffenders’ objective desistance signals mediated the association between belief in redeemability and employment outcomes. These findings highlight the importance for exoffenders to effectively communicate their desistance from crime to employers in their endeavors to obtain employment.