Addicts in early recovery sometimes have a tough time finding employment. Often they have no skills or job training. They've spent much of their life pursuing drugs, committing petty crimes, or wasting time in jail. When these applicants show up looking for work the employer looks at their history and finds out they've been arrested or served time in jail. In many cases, particularly today, employers would prefer to hire someone with no record. And who can blame them?

In an ideal world employers would look at applicants differently. If a man were clean and sober and trying to change his life the employer would hire him based on his skills. But when an employer has two applicants, one with a record, and one without, who’s he going to hire? He'll likely hire the one who presents less risk to his business and income.

This came up yesterday when I was talking to an addict who'd spent 16 years in prison for murder. Two of those years were spent on death row, until the United States banned capital punishment. While murder is a heinous crime, in this man's case his involvement was peripheral. He was 18 at the time and someone had asked him for a ride to a friend's house. While he waited in the car, the fellow he'd chauffeured murdered someone inside. Because he was the driver, under Arizona's laws, he was convicted as if he'd pulled the trigger himself.

However, while in prison he determined to change his life. He didn't participate in gang activity while locked up. He didn't engage in drug dealing or other criminal activities. He went to school, working menial jobs, and kept his nose clean. When released from prison he went to school and became a counselor. After a few years he gained an advanced degree and became a social worker. However, he still suffers repercussions from his past when he seeks employment. But in the 20 years he's been free he's never given up. He persists in seeking a top professional job that will match his credentials. And I believe his perseverance will help him succeed.

I tell those in our employment centers to use their tenacity and survival skills. Maybe they don't have specific training, but they have the toughness that allowed them to pursue drugs and survive incarceration. I tell them if they spend 10% of the time pursuing employment as they did pursuing drugs, then they'll be wildly successful. When they become discouraged when turned down for a job I ask how discouraged they became when they couldn't find drugs.

"When the dope man told you he didn't have anything," I asked, "you didn't just say well I guess I'll go home today, there's no dope. No, what you did was go to the next house and the next house until you found what you wanted." I go on to explain that they need to use that same persistence and tenacity while trying to rebuild their lives.

Sometimes perseverance equals success.