The terrible truth about having a criminal conviction on your record is plain to see whenever you start hunting for work. Simply put, no matter how high your education, skill level or experience may be, having a marred record with a criminal conviction can and will cost you jobs.

Fortunately, you may have the option of expungement, which is available for some types of conviction. Through this process, you can essentially scrub your record clean. This can improve job prospects in many ways.

Facing criminal background checks

Indeed discusses the ways in which an expungement can help you improve your chances of getting a job, starting with the contents of a criminal background check. Around 84 percent of all employers do a check of criminal and background records before deciding whether or not to offer a job. Some people cannot pass a background check at all, while others may simply end up passed over for another applicant with a squeaky clean record.

Obtain a license

A criminal record might get in the way of obtaining a professional license, too. This can include licenses for doctors, lawyers, nurses and more. It can affect driving licenses for commercial drivers, as well. Many of these licensing bodies will refuse to grant licenses to people with criminal backgrounds.

Avoid bad interviews

Finally, you can avoid the possibility of an awkward interview. Simply put, even if your record does not disqualify you from the job, it will likely come up in the interview. You will end up having to discuss uncomfortable topics and will waste valuable time that you could have used to highlight your skills and accomplishments.

For these reasons and more, you may benefit from expunging your records.