Harley Blakeman is the Founder and CEO of Honest Jobs, Inc., the country’s largest fair-chance hiring platform. Formerly incarcerated himself, he knows how hard it is to get a job when you have a felony, as 19 million Americans do. He collaborates with partners across the private, public, and nonprofit organizations, with the goal of helping people with criminal records have ample opportunity to thrive at work, at home, and in their communities. He can be reached at Harley@HonestJobs.co.
When it comes to diversity, business and HR leaders acknowledge they’re not where they aspire to be. Since 2020, much of the focus has been on racial diversity - in particular, the share of Black people among applicants, employees, and leaders. However, despite the focus and effort, organizations continue to lag on that dimension, as well as on most other dimensions of diversity.
Business leaders are looking to HR for strategies and innovations to address pressing talent-related challenges. Fair-chance hiring is a strategic, innovative solution to improve talent acquisition, retention, engagement, and DEI efforts.
What is fair-chance hiring?
My name is Harley Blakeman. I am one of the roughly twenty million Americans living with a felony criminal record. As an entrepreneur, my company has taken a pain point that millions face daily and turned it into a viable business – www.HonestJobs.co – a free-to-use, national fair-chance employment platform.
