Jayson Cuadrado is not afraid of hard work.<\/p>\n
The 43-year-old has worked on construction sites, on building maintenance crews and in kitchens for most of his professional career. But that was before his life was derailed about five years ago when he was sentenced to state prison on drug charges.<\/p>\n
His trouble with the law and time behind bars has made it difficult to find and keep work, something he knows he needs to do in order to turn his life around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have temporary work right now in construction, but I need a steady paycheck,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to be able to provide for my family and show people that I have changed. I will do just about anything at this point to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cuadrado said his past is holding him back from a better future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I fill out applications I get nothing back \u2014 they see my background and they won\u2019t even give me a chance to prove myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll do whatever it takes to show that I\u2019m not afraid of hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cuadrado is not alone in his struggles.<\/p>\n
He was one of hundreds of eager job seekers who visited the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Reading to check out the recent career fair hosted by Connections Work that helps connect those with criminal records with employment and resources.<\/p>\n
![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-ConnectionsWorkJobFair2185.jpg\")
Ruth Besson, human resources manager for Summit Flagging, talks with Jayson Cuadrado of Reading about employment opportunities during the Connections Work Job Fair held at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, 701 Penn St., on March 9. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Over the last 16 years, Connections Work has hosted two job fairs annually for those looking to become contributing members of society.<\/p>\n
Organizers of the event say the career fairs are important because employers show that they are willing to hire individuals with a troubled background, and the individuals who need that second chance are given an opportunity to connect directly to those employers.<\/p>\n
There were more than 30 employers attending the event March 9. Those companies included New Castle Lawn and Landscape, Tower Health, Brentwood Industries, Redner\u2019s and East Penn Manufacturing, along with several local social service providers.<\/p>\n
Volunteers were on hand to provide support to job seekers, assisting them with the application process, holding mock interviews and offering general job readiness coaching. Laptops were provided by the Berks County Library System so job seekers could complete online applications.<\/p>\n
![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-ConnectionsWorkJobFair2183.jpg\")
Ruth Besson, human resources manager, greets applicants for work at Summit Flagging. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Construction Master Services is one of the businesses willing to hire those serious about putting their lives back together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been a strong supporter of Connections Work because we believe in second chances,\u201d human resources manager Ruth Besson said. \u201cWe have hired quite a few people that have come to us through this fair over the years and they are still with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besson said those who have joined their team have demonstrated they are reliable workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a great partnership, which is why we keep coming back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Andres Isaza said he has found the same to be true of those he has met at the event over the last several years.<\/p>\n
Isaza is an account recruiting manager for Aerotek, a national company that partners with employers of all sizes in a variety of fields to find good candidates for positions they are seeking to fill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to build a relationship with our candidates so that we earn their trust when it comes to those questions that can be a little uncomfortable to answer,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have found that being upfront about the past is better than trying to hide it. The more information we have, the more we can help find them a job that fits.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Zach](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-ConnectionsWorkJobFair2182.jpg\")
Zach Gardner, landscape designer, talks about opportunities with New Castle Lawn and Landscaping. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Connie Hafer is hoping Aerotek will be able to help her. The Mohnton resident had never attended one of these events in the past and said she was pleasantly surprised by the number of opportunities available.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding a job right now is hard for most people but when you have a background it can feel impossible,\u201d the 56-year-old said.<\/p>\n
Hafer said she is not the person she once was when she committed her crimes and all she needs is a chance to prove that to someone.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what I do, my past will always follow me,\u201d she said. \u201cAll I can do now is focus on moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jayson Cuadrado is not afraid of hard work. The 43-year-old has worked on construction sites, on building maintenance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-140776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}