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25 of the Best Ways to Find Jobs for Felons in Oklahoma City in 2023

By Last update August 20, 2022
Oklahoma City Oklahoma cityscape

When it comes to finding jobs for felons in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, we have the goods! Relaunch Pad staff have been in touch with the largest employers right across the country — over 1,000 in fact.

We ask them how to get a job at their company with a criminal record. We also find examples of some good entry-level jobs. Many of our staff have been in trouble with the law and that’s why we’re driven to help ex-felons.

Almost 650,000 people live in Oklahoma City, so it’s no surprise that there are some big businesses. It’s the state capital and a busy place because it’s on one of the main corridors between Texas and Mexico. The main industries are natural gas, oil and petroleum and it has one of the world’s largest livestock markets.

Jobs that hire felons in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City Oklahoma skyline

To find jobs that hire felons in Oklahoma City, take a look at our search function. It’s populated with some of the largest companies in the area. When you punch in an industry sector — say manufacturing or ranching — we can quickly show where the jobs are at the moment.

Top companies that hire felons in Oklahoma City

Our research tells us there are ten top companies that hire felons in Oklahoma City. We’ve already mentioned several of the main industry sectors — livestock and energy. But, there are other big employers to consider.

Choose the ones with the most employees that interest you first. Then, scroll through the others to see what type of entry-level jobs they have. This is where you’ll get a better idea of some that you want to apply to. 

Don’t spend too much time putting together the perfect list. Just pick out the few you’d like to start with and go from there. Our information will still be there if you don’t land something right away and need to see what other large employers there are.

Do you have enough advice to get started? Check each company individually from this list or read on below for more.

Hobby Lobby

University of Oklahoma

INTEGRIS Health

OGE Energy

Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores

Rudy Construction

Sonic Drive-in Restaurant

Paycom

Dell

Helmerick and Payne

Writing the best resume as a former felon is so important. This is the piece of paper that will help get you a call for an interview. Our guide is the place to start.

Hobby Lobby

If you’d like a job in retail/wholesale, consider Hobby Lobby. It’s one of the biggest employers in Oklahoma City. Supplying stores and crafters with arts and crafts material and party supplies sounds like fun, right?

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Cashier
  • Customer Service
  • Stocker
  • Warehouse Staff

University of Oklahoma

How about working at a busy university campus? With a very big student population, the University of Oklahoma depends on employees in all kinds of different positions to keep things running smoothly. Apply for an entry-level position and build a career you’ll love at an established educational institution!

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Receptionist
  • Office Clerk
  • Bookstore Cashier
  • Security
  • Cleaner

INTEGRIS Health

Think of applying for a job in health care. No matter what your work duties are, you’ll feel good that you’re part of a team that helps people get better. INTEGRIS Health is ranked as one of the top 25 healthcare systems in the country. Plus, it has the best hospital in Oklahoma City!

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Patient Transport
  • Receptionist
  • File Clerk
  • Maintenance

OGE Energy

Oklahoma Gas and Electric meets the energy needs of thousands of households and businesses in the city. So, you can imagine how busy they are! From putting in new infrastructure to dealing with power outages, they need hard working dedicated employees.

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Phone Sales
  • Customer Service
  • Office Clerk
  • Plant Operator

Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores

Love’s is a family-owned chain of over 500 truck stops and convenience stores across the U.S. There’s more than a few locations in Oklahoma City. And, their head office is there, so they may be hiring for office jobs as well.

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Cashier
  • Customer Service
  • Restaurant Staff
  • Tire Care Technician
  • Driver

Rudy Construction

Getting into the local construction industry is a smart move here in Oklahoma City. You’ll have work year-round and a chance for overtime in the building season. Bring a strong work ethic, however, because the work is demanding.

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • General Labor
  • Framer
  • HVAC Installer
  • Roofer

Sonic Drive-in Restaurant

Do you like the busy energy of a fast food restaurant? There’s nothing like serving up tasty burgers, fries and ice creams to a happy crowd! Also, if you’re fast on your feet, you might enjoy working as a skating carhop. By the way, Sonic is another company that has it’s American headquarters in Oklahoma City.

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Restaurant Crew Member
  • Carhop/Skating Carhop
  • Cook
  • Customer Service

Paycom

Here’s a big business in the city that employs a large number of people. Paycom is a growing company that provides payroll services for a range of businesses. They have some entry-level jobs that don’t require higher education. If you have great phone manners and can do a little data entry, go ahead and apply.

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Outside Sales
  • Verification Specialist
  • IT Technician
  • Administration

Dell

People rely on their computers for so much these days. Therefore, how about working for one of the biggest tech companies around? Selling computer hardware and software and sorting out customer concerns at Dell might be just your thing.

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Customer Sales
  • Tech Support
  • Technician
  • Administration

Helmerick and Payne

If you don’t mind physical labor and can work well on a team, this might be a good place to apply. Helmerick & Payne is a contract drilling company doing on-shore and off-shore drilling. They’re one of the biggest employers in Oklahoma City, so they’re certainly worth a look. Some of the entry-level jobs below have names you’re probably not familiar with, but read up on the job duties. 

Some of the most promising entry-level jobs for former felons:

  • Floorman
  • Routabout
  • Motorman
  • Derrickman
  • Driver

Trucking jobs for felons in Oklahoma City

How about a job driving a truck? Actually, this is the place many people with a criminal record get back into the workforce. What’s more, most of them stay there and build a long-term career!

It’s well-known that trucking is one industry that hires many former felons. As long as your driving record checks out, there’s a good chance that you can find a good job with a trucking business. 

Here’s a short list of trucking jobs for felons in Oklahoma City:

  • Transam Trucking
  • YRC Freight
  • Estes Express Lines
  • Brown Transportation
  • McCorkle Truck Line Inc

Warehouse jobs for felons in Oklahoma City

Warehouse jobs for felons in Oklahoma City is another option. Since these jobs are mostly entry-level and there’s a lot of them, warehouses should be on your list.

It doesn’t matter what type of business we’re talking about, if it’s big enough it needs a warehouse to store and ship products from. As well, even large stores have smaller warehouses attached to them. This means that there’s many places you can apply.

These are some of the largest warehouses to apply for jobs:

  • Anixter
  • Blagi Warehousing
  • D&M Distribution
  • Home Depot
  • Burris Logistics

Temp agency jobs for felons in Oklahoma City

One of your best bets is to apply to temp agency jobs for felons in Oklahoma City. Employment agencies are the places that employers go to find people for short-term work.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why spend a lot of time and money advertising a temporary job, when you can ask a staffing agency to find some good candidates?

Of course, temporary employment agencies help out job seekers too. It can be a great way to get your foot in the door with a large company, and then apply for a permanent position.

We’re not kidding when we suggest applying for employment agency jobs for felons in Oklahoma City! That’s because there’s a long list of great agencies, such as:

Second chance and job training programs for felons in Oklahoma City

Unfortunately, Oklahoma isn’t one of the states that has Ban the Box legislation for all employers. However, they’re heading in the right direction with this law for government jobs.

Why is this important? A Ban the Box statue means companies must remove the criminal record check box from job application forms. Therefore, they must offer a job based on the applicant’s skills and experience.

A criminal record check can be done after the job offer has been made. This helps former felons not be pre-judged based on their felony background.

Here are several good second chance and job training programs for felons in Oklahoma City that can help:

  • The Last Mile
    • Mission: The Last Mile’s mission is to reduce recidivism by providing in-prison tech education and post-release mentorship.
    • Services offered: Education
  • C.A.S.A. Recovery and Newstarts Prison Ministries Mission
    • Mission: Christian Against Substance Abuse Recovery Ministries is the source of our other outreaches in Newstarts Prison Ministry, CASA Recovery, CASA Juvenile Justice, the CASA Prayer Team and Messenger of HOPE Publications. It is our desire to equip the ex-offender with the proper tools to succeed when they are released back into society. To help then avoid relapse and lower the rate of recidivism by offering prerelease helps and aftercare.
    • Services offered: Addiction and Recovery, Education, Spiritual Services
  • Women in Recovery
    • Mission: Women in Recovery (WIR) is an intensive outpatient alternative for eligible women facing long prison sentences for non-violent drug-related offenses.
    • Services provided: Addiction and Recovery, Education, Family, Mental Health
  • City Rescue
    • Mission: City Rescue Mission offers a path back to hope. Instead of indefinite shelter, we offer a clean, safe, temporary place to stay and successful programs and services to help people transform their lives for the better.
    • Services offered: Education, Employment, Housing
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Sandy Bell-Murray
Reentry Educator

Sandy Bell-Murray worked for more than thirty years for the Ontario public service, mainly in adult and youth justice. She began as a Probation and Parole Officer, then became a policy analyst, program supervisor and manager. Currently, she delivers workshops focused on building personal resilience and managing stress. She is an active member of Toastmasters International.