This is a never ending issue for a lot of businesses out there. Should they or should they not consider job applicants who have a history of alcohol or drug addiction? A lot of people think “once an addict, always an addict” and they believe that hiring someone with a history of substance abuse will only put their business at risk. This might be true, but it doesn’t have to be.

Former addicts are also people, and people make mistakes. You shouldn’t judge someone for their past mistakes. They might just be better at their jobs than the rest of them. Even though this is something you need to notice, it doesn’t have to be the main focus of the whole interview. If you handle the interview properly, you will have a better understanding of that person, his/her past addiction, and whether or not they are over it.

Here are a couple of tips that can help you lead the interview in the right direction.

Don’t ask about their recovery straight away and wait to see if they will tell you about it

Simply put, you shouldn’t focus on their former addiction problems straight away. Just handle the interview naturally and regularly as you would with anybody else who doesn’t have a history with substance abuse. Focus on the candidate’s skills that could be helpful to your business and their previous work experience.

Ask your applicants about their weaknesses, strengths, and see what responses they give you. See whether their previous problem has any impact on them today, and ask questions that might lead to talking about their former addiction.

If the applicant doesn’t ever tell you about his/her addiction, it doesn’t mean that this is a bad thing. A lot of people are ashamed of their mistakes and they simply think that they will lower their chances of getting a job if they reveal their addiction history. Sill, after you talked about everything and the interview went well, you should ask a couple of questions about their addiction, whether they recovered from it, and how they perceive the world today.

Ask them to tell you honestly about their recovery


Sometimes, people will tell you about their addiction problems on their own, and sometimes you will get it out of them. When this happens, it is essential that you ask them forward and sometimes difficult questions without holding back, while at the same time demanding from them that they speak to you openly and honestly.

• Ask them whether they were laid off due to their addiction, or if they have large gaps on their resume while they were in recovery.
• Ask them how they perceive their addiction and what motivates them in life after they finished the process of recovery.
• Try and talk to them about what they learned from their addiction and recovery process.

One good example of an interview with a former addict is “Fusicology Interviews Per Wickstrom”. If you are having a hard time understanding how you should behave, try looking at a former addict interview to learn more from an example.

Talk to them about balancing work and recovery


In case the person in front of you is still recovering from an addiction, your first major concern should revolve around their ability to do the job as well as any other candidate. A lot of people who have gone through their recovery period still have the need to attend various recovery group meetings where they can manage their recovery or any urges to start using again.

As the person who is hiring someone, ask them about how often they go to those group recovery meetings and what is the main reason why they still attend them even after they were able to recover. If you are unsure, you can ask that person to give you some sort of paper-written validation from their counselor, to make sure that the person besides you is eligible for a full time job.

Additionally, see when their meetings take place and see whether or not that person will be able to be at work on time, while at the same time continuing with group meetings.

These are the general guidelines you should follow when interviewing former addicts. It is important that you remember to separate these two aspects efficiently - their addiction and recovery, and their experience and skills to do a job. Analyze them individually and make sure that they both seem positive enough for you to hire the applicant; only when they are both ok can you hire someone.