1. HR doesn't really read to see what you're good at - that's what the interview is for. HR screens to make sure you're not someone who's unqualified wasting everyones time applying for an executive management position with a degree in artistic interpretation and no relevant job history. That said, there should be a section to explain the situation - so as long as you have good reasons or a "Look, I was a dumb kid", then you're probably fine. A LOT of people have misdemeanors - felonies are a different story. I've had warrants out for my arrest because of unpaid tickets that I just spaced on and never got a reminder about.

2. If something comes up in a background report, after they decide to hire you, you'll get an adverse action type letter if it's a big deal, or if it doesn't matter, they'll just hire you. When I got hired for the stuff I'm doing now, a background check was done on someone named Michael Taylor in Utah. Apparently there's a dude with the same name (Different spelling, mine is micheal) who decided money laundering would be a good career choice and did the dumb thing and got caught. They tried to deny me the position on those grounds, so I fought it and made some calls and got the "investigator" company management on the horn and they fixed that !@#$ quick with profuse apologies, and voila', I was employed.

3. Not disclosing the info would probably come up in the interview, and unless the explanation was good, will probably still come up. They're going to want to know why you broke the law so they can determine if your motives were in the right place, or if you've changed, etc. Just be prepared to explain it. The fact that you've been doing things for the last 17 years, (And I'm making an assumption that you have a decent job history) you'll be proven enough on paper that the misdemeanor won't matter.

Worth browsing quickly:

[www.careerbuilder.com]