Cargill Hiring Overview For 2023

Official company policy for hiring felons

When we contacted Cargill to check whether or not they were open to hiring felons, we did not get any response. We were also unable to find any official information regarding this matter in our research. Their website has this statement, however:

At Cargill, everyone matters and everyone counts. Cargill is committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive and diverse work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. As such and in alignment with our Guiding Principles, Cargill’s long-standing equal employment opportunity policy prohibits discrimination and harassment against any employee or applicant based on race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, marital status, family status, citizenship status, veteran status, military status, union affiliation, or any other status protected by law.

Cargill also complies with all applicable national and local laws and regulations pertaining to non-discrimination and employment.

Has Cargill hired felons in the past?

When we looked into this, we found a mixed bag. Since we didn’t find a confirmed instance of them hiring a felon, though, it’s hard to think they have.

Does Cargill hire people with misdemeanors?

There was even less information on this. That said, they could have!

Will Cargill hire you with pending charges?

This is a maybe, even on lesser charges. There’s a good chance the company will want to wait until the charges are resolved before deciding.

Is Cargill on the Ban the Box list?

There is no official information about Cargill being part of Ban the Box, which aims at not adding a box on applications asking if candidates are felons. We could not find any data regarding the company and the Fair Chance Business Pledge, suggesting they don’t go out of their way to give former felons and people with misdemeanors special opportunities to get back to the job market.

Does Cargill have special programs for hiring felons?

There is no information regarding special programs to hire felons on their website.

What are the odds someone with a felony will get hired?

After extensive research, Relaunch Pad gives your odds of getting hired at Cargill at uncertain. They aren’t on Ban the Box or the Fair Chance Business Pledge, and we have no confirmed reports that they’ve hired people with records in the past. However, their website includes a section on inclusion and diversity, so hopefully their process is true to that!

What are some entry-level jobs?

Cargill has jobs in almost any role you can think of because it’s such a large company. Whether you’re looking for something in their warehouse or want to work in their IT department, your best bet is to look for entry-level work here that has very few barriers to entry for you. Check out their careers page for more.

Tips to get hired here with a felony

If you would like to try and get a job at Cargill with a felony, we’ve got you covered! Keep in mind you’re going to need a good resume, so keep our guide handy to help you put your skills on paper.

One of the best things you can do is highlight your abilities in an attractive way by making your skills relevant to the company.

What skills will they value? It depends on the job. If you’re applying for a job working on machinery and doing repairs, you should have some of those skills already. So, if you’ve spent time working in a machine shop or garage, you’ll want to highlight that experience. If you’re applying for production work, you’ll want to demonstrate times you handled materials and did other packaging.

Even if these skills were developed while serving your sentence, you want to talk about them! They care that you have the skills, not necessarily where you got them.

Cargill wants to know you’re a high-caliber person. They expect you to be honest and do your job with integrity and conviction. What does that mean? To start, you need to be upfront about your record. Then you need to tell them how hard you’ve worked to correct that mistake, preferably with examples. Doing these three things will show them those three characteristics and will give you a chance to introduce your references.

To make your skills sound even more impressive, be sure to ask for references and share them as soon as possible. Whether this is a letter from a previous boss or even your PO, it speaks volumes about your integrity if you have people who have worked with you saying you’re a good egg.

They absolutely do. Everything online (from their careers page to company review sites) says that they do. Remember that their own statement says they follow applicable hiring laws, however, so there are some limits on what they can check for.

Here’s what you need to know about background checks:

While Cargill will ask about your criminal record, these states will only show what happened in the last seven years:

•     California
•     Colorado*
•     Kansas*
•     Maryland*
•     Massachusetts
•     Montana
•     Nevada
•     New Hampshire*
•     New York*
•     Texas*
•     Washington*

(* sometimes certain pay or salary bracket positions require one.)

There are eight other states that only look for guilty verdicts. They are:

•     Alaska
•     California
•     Hawaii
•     Indiana (limited check)
•     Kentucky
•     Massachusetts
•     Michigan
•     New York

Some states, though, will look at everything. The following states show your entire record, even the not guilty verdicts:

•     Alabama
•     Arizona
•     Arkansas
•     Connecticut
•     DC
•     Delaware
•     Florida
•     Idaho
•     Indiana (extensive check)
•     Iowa
•     Louisiana
•     Maine
•     Mississippi
•     Missouri
•     Nebraska
•     New Jersey
•     North Carolina
•     North Dakota
•     Ohio
•     Oregon
•     Rhode Island
•     South Carolina
•     Tennessee
•     Utah
•     Vermont
•     Virginia
•     West Virginia
•     Wisconsin
•     Wyoming

Company ratings

We spent some time evaluating the ratings given by former employees to Cargill. Checking glassdoor.com makes it very clear that the company has a good reputation among its current and former employees. They have a general rating of 3.6 out of 5. The main highlights for the company are that they value their staff and provide a great benefit package. The biggest complaint seems to be working too many hours.

What felonies Cargill will not hire

The company didn’t tell us, so we can’t say. The next section has what we believe are the charges they’ll be most concerned with.

What felony convictions might have a hard time getting hired here?

Does Cargill hire felons? . . . Maybe? There are definitely going to be red flags found in the background check, so let’s look at a few that might really hurt your chances:

• Theft charges will make them think twice about you interacting with their inventory and sensitive information
• Property damage can make your life harder when trying to get a job in the commodities field or food processing area
• Dings on your driving record may also impact your chances of getting a job driving a truck or even a forklift

Does Cargill hire sex offenders?

There is no evidence or information on this, unfortunately.

Does Cargill drug test?

Online comments say they do, so be prepared. It seems they’re done before you get offered the job, and they could be done at other times once hired as well.

Have you applied for a job or worked here? Share your experiences!

Have you been through any hiring process at Cargill? If the answer is yes, we would be happy to hear from you! Your experience can help others understand if they can get a job at Cargill with a felony.