<story><title>Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?</title><text>Hello HN,&lt;p&gt;Does anyone have experience getting back into tech&amp;#x2F;startups post-felony?&lt;p&gt;I have been looking for work since I was released  for an assault charge in November 2022.&lt;p&gt;Previously I worked in Information Security as a SecOps Eng, most recently at Tinder. Between lack of recent job experience, and my record, I have been through a series of offer reneges, recruiters ghosting me, or going into HR resume black holes.&lt;p&gt;I am eager to get back into tech and feel like my old self adding value to a great team&amp;#x2F;org.&lt;p&gt;Anyone have leads on companies that are open to taking chances on good candidates with less than sparkling backgrounds?&lt;p&gt;NOTE: My offense was not computer&amp;#x2F;finance&amp;#x2F;fraud&amp;#x2F;selling drugs&amp;#x2F;physical violence&amp;#x2F;based at all.&lt;p&gt;Here is my linkedin:&lt;p&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.linkedin.com&amp;#x2F;in&amp;#x2F;saunderscaleb&amp;#x2F;</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>nope00</author><text>Nov’22 is very recent, and won’t be your experience forever. It’s been a little over 20 years for me. Now, I get background checked every year. It doesn’t show.&lt;p&gt;Initially I worked in food service and on phpfreelancer. I spun that into consistent consulting work until a client offered a full time position (less than 15 people, no background checks).&lt;p&gt;As the years rolled by, I kept moving around. Eventually I tried at a large company(around 8 years ago) and nothing showed on the background check.&lt;p&gt;I do NOT recommend being upfront, unless there are no formal procedures in place and being honest actually helps. We are talking about your ability to feed and shelter yourself, so give up on the “honesty” thing. I have -never- been able to provide for myself after having been “honest”.
[edit: after reading felonintexas let me update this. If someone point blank asks, tell them. Don’t volunteer this information. There is nothing to be gained]&lt;p&gt;Also, you are now an edge case. That means most advice doesn’t apply. This is both exciting and horribly anxiety driving at the same time. You will have to become comfortable blazing your own path and doing things others say is not possible.&lt;p&gt;Seriously, good luck. It is possible. It is amazing what you can do that everyone else thinks can’t be done.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Simon_ORourke</author><text>&amp;gt; I do NOT recommend being upfront, unless there are no formal procedures in place and being honest actually helps. We are talking about your ability to feed and shelter yourself, so give up on the “honesty” thing. I have -never- been able to provide for myself after having been “honest”. [edit: after reading felonintexas let me update this. If someone point blank asks, tell them. Don’t volunteer this information. There is nothing to be gained]&lt;p&gt;No better advice has ever been given on HN, from minor things to major stuff. Never volunteer any information about yourself to anyone in the office beyond what is required to complete your job. Never say too much about previous roles and keep it very general.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: Any felons successfully found IT work post-release?</title><text>Hello HN,&lt;p&gt;Does anyone have experience getting back into tech&amp;#x2F;startups post-felony?&lt;p&gt;I have been looking for work since I was released  for an assault charge in November 2022.&lt;p&gt;Previously I worked in Information Security as a SecOps Eng, most recently at Tinder. Between lack of recent job experience, and my record, I have been through a series of offer reneges, recruiters ghosting me, or going into HR resume black holes.&lt;p&gt;I am eager to get back into tech and feel like my old self adding value to a great team&amp;#x2F;org.&lt;p&gt;Anyone have leads on companies that are open to taking chances on good candidates with less than sparkling backgrounds?&lt;p&gt;NOTE: My offense was not computer&amp;#x2F;finance&amp;#x2F;fraud&amp;#x2F;selling drugs&amp;#x2F;physical violence&amp;#x2F;based at all.&lt;p&gt;Here is my linkedin:&lt;p&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.linkedin.com&amp;#x2F;in&amp;#x2F;saunderscaleb&amp;#x2F;</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>nope00</author><text>Nov’22 is very recent, and won’t be your experience forever. It’s been a little over 20 years for me. Now, I get background checked every year. It doesn’t show.&lt;p&gt;Initially I worked in food service and on phpfreelancer. I spun that into consistent consulting work until a client offered a full time position (less than 15 people, no background checks).&lt;p&gt;As the years rolled by, I kept moving around. Eventually I tried at a large company(around 8 years ago) and nothing showed on the background check.&lt;p&gt;I do NOT recommend being upfront, unless there are no formal procedures in place and being honest actually helps. We are talking about your ability to feed and shelter yourself, so give up on the “honesty” thing. I have -never- been able to provide for myself after having been “honest”.
[edit: after reading felonintexas let me update this. If someone point blank asks, tell them. Don’t volunteer this information. There is nothing to be gained]&lt;p&gt;Also, you are now an edge case. That means most advice doesn’t apply. This is both exciting and horribly anxiety driving at the same time. You will have to become comfortable blazing your own path and doing things others say is not possible.&lt;p&gt;Seriously, good luck. It is possible. It is amazing what you can do that everyone else thinks can’t be done.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>tonetegeatinst</author><text>Not a felon but grew up with everyone telling us that colleges would search our social media etc.&lt;p&gt;A friend told me that the 2 important rules to surviving corporate environments is the following in no specific order.&lt;p&gt;1. Never lie to someone, and own what you did.  Wordsmithing is a gray area but never lie, the reputation of not being truthful can follow you for decades.&lt;p&gt;2. Never volunteer information that isn&amp;#x27;t specifically asked for.  This isn&amp;#x27;t a free pass to not provide critical info when your working on stuff like a project, but keep in mind that HR always can dig up info when they want to fire you or not offer you a job.  Be honest and to the point, but don&amp;#x27;t volunteer info that can put you in a bad spot.&lt;p&gt;TLDR: if they don&amp;#x27;t ask, don&amp;#x27;t tell. But if they ask, be honest</text></comment>