I was arrested and for shoplifting when I was 17 (20 years ago) will this show on a criminal check that my job is wanting to complete? It is not a government job, or police job - a sales job.

obviously beacuse you done a crime with the law and your trying to get in a job to be a sales person they might think u will steal sorry ):

Not a legal expert. So not sure it will show up. But as long as it's honestly been 20 years since your last conviction for anything? Would say you should be OK. Just don't hide behind anything. What I mean is to fill the application out properly. If that aspect shows up. Honestly and straight forward answer the question as to what happened. Why it happened. And that your record has been clean for X amount of years. Other then traffic tickets. I feel you have just as strong of a chance as anyone else! Good luck and God Bless!

From my understanding (this is not legal advice) they usuallyclose juvinile records once a person turns 18. But not always. You should check the laws from your area, and maybe call someone who would know. I say this because I've had friends with criminal records, and once they turned 18 those records were sealed. This might not always happen though, depending on the crime and sentence.

I hope you can get the job.