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Ask HN: Would you hire a felon?

11 points by melonbar ↗ HN
I have posted a few times before regarding this topic but in short I have a few felonies for playing with bitcoins and drugs while in college. I have a job as a full-stack JavaScript dev (just launched a new Gatsby site last week, I <3 netlify) and am a founder in a startup that counts CocaCola as a client (in negotiations with a few more Fortune 500 companies as well). I love to code more than just about anything else in life (aside from perhaps naps and nachos). It legit saved my life from a terrible addiction. I have been out of trouble for six years now, I got my life in order, and am in a great mental space. Yet, I want to get remote work while I continue my own projects. I am a competent developer who can make it past interviews and code challenges alike. Yet no one will hire. I usually get to the end and am told I am a top candidate. But at whatever point I reveal my past, I immediately get 'waitlisted'. Honestly, I am just curious. Would you ever consider hiring someone such as myself? Any advice how I can find those who would? What are some creative ways that I could put myself out there and prove myself? Thanks a bunch for any advice, it means a lot.

19 comments

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melonbar
Also, if anyone has any good suggestions for sites similar to weworkremotely I would love to hear about them :D
wincy
I’d hire you. But I don’t have a company. You need to find a place where the person interviewing you is the person who has the final say in hiring you. Which isn’t most places.
melonbar
Haha, thanks! Yeah, that is how I got my current job. My boss helped me so much by giving me a chance but I feel that I am hindered from advancing at this point. I appreciate the response, bon soir!
gms
Where are the companies that reject you? In San Francisco many companies would never even ask. I certainly wouldn't mind. No one should be eternally damned for a mistake made in college.
melonbar
Right now I am in Philly but I have begun looking for jobs all over. Typically no one ever asks me, but I feel like most places (even after extending offers) do default background checks. If I am not upfront I feel like I am not being honest so it's a catch-22. Thanks though, I will start applying to more out that way. My sis lives at Stanford so I may see if she knows some startups that need someone who is willing to do do whatever it takes!
smt88
Why are you looking for a job if a company you founded has Coca Cola as a client?
melonbarwork
That is a great question. I have thought about this a bunch and am seriously considering leaving my job to pursue it full-time. But I have yet to get funding and I would have to spend some time planning. We booked them as a client last month so it is all new to us.
smt88
I'd be happy to discuss all of this with you on the phone and help as best I can. All of my teams are remote.

(I believe strongly that society should forgive and that former addicts suffer from unfair stigma.)

You can reach me at the address in my profile.

[dead] barsbehindu
In case anyone here doesnt know, coca cola is a hells angels enclave. Right Execution Daily is a slogan of the big red, and the big red machine

everyone on this planet has the potential for positive contribution, some need management or chaperoning, others do so quite candidly, and yet others require leverage and conversion. the nature of the felony, and the area of responsibility are co-considerations.

anonyfelon
melonbar: see my post about this very thing... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18704252

I'm in much the same boat. I feel like for this to seriously change, the laws have to change. That's no small feat.

As long as there are for-profit prisons, there's little/no incentive for criminal laws to change.

San Francisco has the "Fair Chance Ordinance", but you actually have to LIVE there for it to apply to you.

https://sfgov.org/olse/fair-chance-ordinance-fco

I have reached out to you via email, btw. It was back in November. I haven't spoken about that stuff publicly, hence the throwaway account. :/

melonbarwork
Hey, thanks again! I will be reaching out again to keep you posted. I am heavily leaning toward pursuing my dreams.
masonic
I think name-dropping clients is inappropriate in this kind of context. (That's unrelated to anyone's criminal record.)
melonbarwork
Fair enough, but I am open about it to those I work with and those that hire us. I won't say what we do at this point and the app is not even public. It is something that in the end I am very proud of and just because I messed up in the past does not mean that I haven't earned everything I have worked for.
Eridrus
I would, particularly since drugs/bitcoin seem like pretty low level offences. But I work at a large company and have no control over that now.

One thing I have heard is that big companies often care whether you have a record from the last 5-7 years, so as the conviction is further in your past you may find that it gets at least somewhat easier. Even the "Fair Chance Ordinance" mentioned in this thread only applies to convictions older than 7 years.

I don't think there is any creative way to hack this problem, since it is a trust problem, and remote work may make that trust piece even harder.

melonbarwork
Thanks a bunch for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
Khelavaster
Realistically, it depends on the kind and quantity of drugs.
Gustomaximus
> I have a few felonies for playing with bitcoins

What is the charge. It wasn't 'playing with bitcoins'. Was it fraud? If so, I would be hesitant to hire someone, especially if they are coding in areas where money or other high security was required. I believe while everyone makes mistakes, morals tend to stay the same. So for me I would consider if a charge was a mistake anyone could make, or someone of dubious morals.

Side question: are you allowed to ask for a potential employees charge sheet? If you just see 'yes' to criminal record you may hesitate to hire someone. If you see what they did you can see if it was recent, many, types of offences and you may be more reasonable based on the facts.

melonbarwork
Ummm, honestly I think it is very easy for them to find but I am not certain. It was not fraud, I bought drugs on the deepnet and ended up getting in a fight with someone involved. When all was said and done, I was caught with drugs. I had a problem and have worked hard to correct it over the years. Thanks for the response.
inceptivecss
Something important that might be in play is the company insurance policies. If the insurance company comes back and says, "No, we won't cover any activities that this felon does, you're taking on that risk yourself", the employer isn't going to hire you.

Typically this comes up where you're hiring someone for a similar (or the same) sort of work that they got in trouble for.

The same thing will happen if you lie on your employment application; the instant that the employer finds out you lied, they have to fire you or their insurance will stop covering anything you do.

It's possible that insurance is at play, or that their HR department is being overzealous about avoiding risk to the company via that method.