This is Help Wanted, the show that makes your work work for you. I'm Jason Pfizer,

editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur magazine.

And I'm money expert Nicole Lappin. On Tuesdays, Jason and I answer the helpline and help

callers solve their work problems. And on Thursdays, I give you one way to improve your work and build a career or company you love.

And it starts now.

I bet that right now you are trying to decide whether or not to do something. I don't know what it is. You know what it is.

There's some decision that is ahead of you and it feels scary and risky. You're hesitant, unsure, afraid, is it worth the risk, you don't know, and look, there's no way to guarantee success.

I wish there was. But there is something important that you are not considering right now as you try to make this decision.

Today I'm going to help you consider just that and to start I'm going to share how this

helped someone land a big big job and escape their haunted past.

All right for context to and escape their haunted past.

All right, for context to understand this story,

I do not usually get emails from former prison inmates.

Just not an audience I'm usually reaching but I got one recently and the guy was in

a panic I'm gonna call him Steve so Steve had stolen some things and he served time and he now wants to turn his life around.

Finding a job was very, very hard. That is just a cold hard fact for basically anybody who has served time, but he eventually landed

some freelance work for a big company, which was really exciting, huge opportunity, and he threw

himself into it, outworking everyone and getting noticed.

After a few months, in fact, a senior leader at the company called Steve into his office

and they talked for 20 minutes, then the leader offered Steve a full-time job.

So just fill out these forums, the senior leader told him, and we'll do a background check

and then, you know, let's get to work.

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