What is the most effective strategy of addressing a drug-related arrest during my job hunt?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I'm a second year Accounting & Finance student at a university which ranks in the top 10 universities in the UK. Last year (age 18) I was arrested and given a conditional caution for possession of a class A (MDMA).

It's my understanding that drug-related criminal records are viewed as extremely bad - especially a class A. I've been trying to deal with it and I've thought about it every day since it happened. I massively regret it but nothing I can do will change it now.

I am looking at applying for accounting placements at the Big 4 accounting firms and possibly Financial Analyst roles.

What is the most effective strategy of addressing this issue during my job hunt?

manpreet 2 years ago

There's good news and bad news..

The Bad News

A caution will remain part of your criminal record for life (well until you turn 100 anyway, see point 30 - it's not a conviction though) and will show up on all Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (formerly Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)) checks (basic, standard and enhanced). If your planned career would take you into a position that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consider a "controlled position" then they are legally required to carry out a DBS check before employing you. They won't be doing this until the offer stage at the earliest though so you will have a decent opportunity to explain yourself.

The Good News

Certain types of caution (including your specific one) are eligible for what is called "filtering" where they after a certain amount of time they are automatically filtered from the results of a DBS check. As you were 18 or over at the time this will take 6 years from the date of the caution, so although it's technically still on your record (and available to the Police in a Police National Computer (PNC) check) it won't be affecting the DBS results after that point.

There's more good news in that having a record doesn't automatically mean you won't get approved - the FCA take various factors into account:

• The nature of the offence and the relevance to the controlled function
• Whether the nature of the offence raises questions about honesty, integrity and/or competence
• The amount of time that has passed since the offence occurred
• Whether the offence relates to an isolated incident or forms part of a pattern or behaviour.
• The applicant's honesty when applying.

The last one is especially important - basically for the 6 years post-caution you need to disclose it before the DBS is carried out. Lying or neglecting to mention it will kill your FCA approval dead. They take that very seriously Once your caution has become eligible for filtering it's up to you but feel free to not disclose it as it won't show on the DBS check.

So in summary it's bad - but not career-ending. I doubt the FCA is going to consider a one-off caution for possession when you were 18 to be particularly relevant to most positions and as long as you are squeaky-clean after that point