Advice sought in dealing with incarceration on job application

I have a long-time pen pal who is one of the few inmates I correspond with who readily admits he was guilty. He really did hold up those liquor stores. After 20 years of good behavior, during which time he took many courses, he was recently paroled. He is very smart, writes very well, and was granted two complex and ingenious US patents. He is home, with his wife and children, and is entering the job market.

He has written three approaches to a job application letter.
One says right off that he was an inmate for 20 years, but has all these acquired skills, plus the two patents (and five more pending)
Two talks about his many skills and talents, but makes only passing reference to incarceration ("Editor of the educational newspaper at Shawangunk Correctional Institution").
And three says nothing about incarceration, but focuses on the jobs he has had running the several companies that exist to develop and market his inventions.

I have no experience in this matter, and am looking for advice. Instinct tells me that three is probably not a good idea for the initial approach, but I can see merits in the other two.

Thoughts and advice most welcome. (Thank you.)

--John

 

I've got to think it's best to address it straight on. I wouldn't lead off the letter with it, but I would mention it and tell the remorse and rehabilitation part of his story somewhere. That said, I do not think it is a grave sin to NOT mention it in the application letter. I wouldn't necessarily expect someone to disclose a disability, or the fact they went to UoP or some other potentially prejudicial matter in an application letter. For example, I didn't tell everyone I didn't have a degree in my application letter. If it came up, or I had to fill in a formal application, then I addressed it, but otherwise no.

 

It should NOT be mentioned in the cover letter, nor the resume. Both of those documents are designed for one purpose only: to get a job interview. Neither document is meant to comprehensively capture one's life, so omitting many different kinds of information is quite normal. Omit this.

IF one is asked--either in the pre-screening process (common in online applications) or in the interview, then full disclosure is definitely the way to go. No lying, no omitting...when asked. But again, don't offer up what's not been asked.

(Interesting to see another poster in this thread put incarceration, disability, and going to UoP in the same bucket. Cause, you know....)

 

I'm in this camp too.
Around 2001, our culinary arts program considered a new program very very seriously. We were approached to put together a prison to work program in culinary arts. My role was evaluating the job (cooking) and seeing if/what/any aspects could be considered for college credit in our program. In addition, they had some culinary courses that we would also evaluate. On the surface it was a great idea- in fact, we were able to assemble a certificate that used their training/work for 1 semester of credit and upon release, they'd do the second semester with us and accumulate on-the-job hours as well. The thing was, in our program, the students had to get their own apprenticeship site. We couldn't "place" them. So, we went to our chef's association to arrange preliminary agreements for placement. Essentially just getting ABC Hotel to say "yes, we will probably hire at least 1 apprentice this year" and that would be enough. Out of the 60 sponsoring houses, we couldn't get a single participant! And I don't know if you've worked in kitchens, but they are not delicate places. The program was tabled and attempted again a few years later (I wasn't involved in that process) but they couldn't get it off the ground again.

Let me counter that by saying that we had individual students that had done time, and enrolled in our AAS as regular degree seeking apprentices. These guys all landed placements and graduated, etc. In fact, one of the students rec'd our Governor's recognition. https://www.facebook.com/easterniowacommunitycollege/videos/10153824315070883/

My opinion is that if this person you're mentoring is quality in every other way, he'll be able to realize success. It will take someone willing to give him a chance, and then him following through. It will be uphill no doubt. My money says option 2. Leave it off, but I like the Editor line on the resume.

 

In general, as Rich notes, you should not offer up potentially negative information unless directly asked.

In that sense, I can understand a person lumping incarceration, disability and a UofP degree. You could also throw in the fact that you were fired from a previous employer, denied a professional license etc. Basically, you shouldn't draw big circles around a fact that you are not especially proud of.

If an employer asks about criminal convictions you should answer truthfully. But if they don't ask, I would not tell.

I say all of this with the caveat that, in some situations, a criminal conviction may actually help an application. There is a non-profit I worked with in the past that used to secure labor contracts with buildings for janitorial services. They would staff their janitorial teams with individuals recently released from prison. I know that most of them were released subject to parole or probation restrictions but I don't know if that was a condition of being accepted into their program. They maintained a small staff to oversee this group, provide ongoing feedback to them and job counselors who were tasked with placing them in permanent positions in the community after their 3-6 month term.

The idea was to give them that long sought after "first job" post-release and help ramp them up as much as possible to take on a regular job with a greater possibility for success. I had a colleague who was a job counselor there. And she told me that the staff, at a number of their offices, had at least one person who was, themselves, an ex-con who had turned their lives around. They loved a good success story and these individuals helped them to tell that story while providing employees who had a direct interest in helping their clients as much as possible.

So, there are employers out there who may very well find one's redemption from a criminal past to be a good thing. While it is a pretty specific situation it is one your pen-pal might consider while job searching.

I do not expect a resume or cover letter to chronicle a person's life. It is a highlight reel with all of the good things they want to showcase. We require all applicants to fill out an online application as well (which contains the oft loathed conviction question). But a solid resume and a good interview can forgive a lot of past sins in a lot of occupational paths.

 

This is the typical, sound, and reasonable advice anyone from a college careers services office ought to give.

Yet I think in this case it's different. Not only has he been in jail 20 years, he seems to have made excellent use of his time. So there is a story to tell there and it is an empowering story. Why not tell that story? Why not tell it right up front in the cover letter? "I was incinerated for twenty years (bad news) and then blah blah (good news.)" Will some people drop him after the bad news? Sure, but they would drop him anyway IMO.

One way to get an interview is to spark curiosity and nothing sparks curious like a good mystery. I think this fellow might have the opposite problem, people who just want to interview him to hear his story.

So I vote for the first option, right up front.

 

You make some valid points.

I think it largely depends upon what job he is applying for however.

If he applies for a job stocking shelves at a grocery store then it's probably less of an issue. That's only because that's a job that sees a lot of turnover and one which tends to be more favorable toward individuals with some criminal convictions.

If he's applying for a job as say, an engineering technician, then a cover sheet about how awesome he did in prison isn't going to stand up. You're talking about a much more competitive field with many other qualified applicants who are telling a story of relevant work experience that doesn't involve incarceration.

I've only ever hired one person who served a significant prison sentence (which, for our purposes here, we'll call 10+ years). His cover sheet and resume did not reference prison. They focused on all of the positive things he had going for him (an associates degree, welding certification, experience working in manufacturing and warehousing etc.). His incarceration invariably came up. There was a 10+ year gap in his employment he had to account for. When I asked about it, he was honest and he owned his mistakes and seemed committed to making a stable career for himself.

The key is though, he didn't introduce that information until I asked him about it (or the time his incarceration occupied, more specifically). Just "putting it out there" seems noble. But it also gives me a very easy excuse to toss your resume into the circular file in favor of the very large stack of people who either were never incarcerated or exercised the appropriate judgment in not putting it on their cover letter.

Again, the resume and cover letter is your highlight reel. If you sent a college coach a reel of an athlete's worst possible moments immediately followed by their best possible moments that athlete would never get a call. Yeah, great, the reel shows their improvement. But the coach isn't looking for the most improved. S/he's looking for the best of the best.

 

Must have hurt. I'd get some aloe vera.

 

Maybe it's like getting into a hot shower and you get used to it after a while?

 

Thank you, one and all.

This was exactly what I had hoped for, and a reminder of what a good thing this forum can be. I've passed the responses (without attribution) on to my pen pal, who will, of course, make his own decision.

Comparable situation 10+ years ago, when the state of Hawaii launched a worldwide competition to design an Excelsior-like distance learning university for the state. Douglas Dean, who writes the chapter in Bears Guide for incarcerated people -- he earned his University of South Africa PhD while serving life without possibility of parole in a Wisconsin maximum security prison -- wanted to enter, and wondered if he should explain his situation, and why he couldn't use the Internet to prepare his entry. He decided not to mention his status . . . and he won the worldwide competition -- $10,000 prize and, wistfully, a 2-week all expense vacation in Hawaii.

--John

 

I understand the desire of our society to punish offenders. But I also believe in rehabilitation. He can't "pay his debt to society" because it is a debt--the unlawful taking of a life--that cannot be repaid. But sometimes I wonder if anyone's taking the bigger, longer view. Is society better off with him in prison or out? I know there's no easy answers. But even Manson gets a parole hearing every few years. Jeez.

 

I've been fascinated by the prison system in Norway for precisely these reasons.

No life sentences (though, for especially dangerous people, they have means of extending detention indefinitely). And prisoners are treated humanely with a focus on developing in them a sense of responsibility with a long term goal of eventually reintegrating them into society.

Norway is also significantly smaller than the US and likely doesn't see the same sort of violent crime that we do in some of our cities. Then again, it has been argued that such violence is a consequence of our prison system. So it's difficult to say whether such a system would work here (and we are entirely too caught up in notions of vengeance to ever try it out). But still, it's an interesting thing.

I, personally, believe that after you serve your hitch in prison you should be free to build a life for yourself. However this simply isn't the case. I've had probation officers show up at my office multiple times per day for the same person in some sort of attempt to either catch them doing something or, perhaps, to intimidate me into firing them (to get said probation officers out of my office) so they can impart the consequences of not maintaining employment. Beyond that, I've had company insurance carriers threaten to drop property coverage if anyone convicted of any sort of felony is permitted to work in our parts warehouse. I've had threats of dropping general liability if I hire any employee convicted of certain crimes, as well.

If I hire a registered sex offender and that individual sexually assaults a co-worker, I've been advised that our company would likely be sued (and almost certainly lose) for negligent hiring.

Some of these things make sense, in a way. It's probably not a good idea to hire someone who was incarcerated for cheating on his taxes to prepare corporate tax returns. And hiring someone, who had served time for stealing things, may not be the best choice to work in our supply cage.

But if a person with a felony conviction can't get a job in a factory or a warehouse, their prospects are severely limited. And their likelihood of finding a job paying a living wage diminish further. So, does it serve our interests to instead have this person perpetually making minimum wage and likely having to collect government assistance? I don't think that's a good answer either.

But, my rants aside, I hope your pen-pal does well in his search. The last thing I would say is that I, professionally, don't believe in the concept of a dead-end job. There is a guy I went to high school with who worked at McDonalds starting our junior year. He never left. He went full-time after graduation while periodically taking courses at thr community college. Today, he has a bachelors degree. But he's also a regional manager and oversees half of the restaurants owned by a particularly large franchisee. While people used to get a chuckle about his working at McDonalds as an adult, he's one of the few people from my graduating class who makes six figures.

So, don't give up. And opportunities may be fewer, but they do exist. And if he doesn't lose hope and keeps at it with the same sort of positive attitude with which he seems to have handled his incarceration, I'm sure he can do well.

 

The answer as to when you reveal your criminal record depends on where you live. In many states (like Maryland and the District of Columbia) it is illegal for an employer to ask an applicant if he/she has been incarcerated until after a job offer has been made. Only then can the question be asked and only then can an employer run a criminal background check. By then, obviously, the employer has already made the decision that he/she likes you. It seems foolish to me to give an employer any reason to "pass" on you so early in the process. Tell your "good story of how you used your time" after the offer is made and the criminal background question is asked. Furthermore, some private employers do not run criminal background checks at all.

If you live in a location where it is still legal to ask the criminal background question up front, I would reveal your past up front in the form of a very brief, inspiring cover letter. I would not, under any circumstances, reveal the nature of the crime(s) up front.

 

I was stuck in a motel room recently and ended up watching Bounty Hunter. This is the guy from Hawaii who catches bail skippers, etc. and then offers them counsel on the drive to jail. We can all have our opinions on his sincerity versus his image polishing.

But he did give some good sounding advice to one young man. On the part of the application where it asks about felony convictions always write "will discuss". I realize many application are not allowed to ask this sort of thing anymore, but it seemed like good advice for if/when one comes across the question.

 

I was thinking today, as I drove in to work, about this situation. I've never been incarcerated. I've interviewed people who have been. But I recall one job interview where I was actually asked about my degree which seems relevant.

Most people I encounter just look at my diploma and say "Oh, Colorado Tech." There's really no thought or evaluation. I imagine that they file it along with other "Insert State Here Tech" schools. On one occasion, I had an interviewer, however, who was very familiar with Colorado Springs and really wanted to chat about the place.

I was honest. I didn't pretend to know the town. I said that I had only been to Colorado four or five times (true) and that I completed my degree through a combination of distance learning and on-base education (also true) while serving on active duty in the Navy (again, true). His response surprised me. This gentleman had an Ivy league bachelors and a Masters from Stanford. Truthfully, I was expecting at least a hint of academic snobbery. Instead, he said "Oh wow, so you earned your bachelors degree while working full time. That's really great."

We arrived at this conversation, however, without my trying to pretty up CTU on my resume or cover letter. I didn't ramble on about how it really and truly is accredited and how great it was even though it was for-profit. I didn't go on a litany about how I earned my degree online.

Cover letters are not the back cover of your autobiography. They are not admission essays. They are not an opportunity to showcase how you overcame adversity. They are, first and foremost, your "elevator pitch" to an employer. If you were in an elevator with Mark Cuban, you have from the time the elevator takes to go from the lobby to the fourth floor to convince him you are worthy of an interview. Is that really where you would want to mention prison?

At the same time, once you've built rapport with an interviewer and established that you are capable and suited for the job, an honest discussion may very well be received by sympathetic ears. But throwing such a large negative out there in a cover letter is unlikely to result in an interview, no matter how much you try to flower it up. It would be like using your cover letter to discuss how you were fired from your last job for sleeping at your desk but how the experience made you a better father, person and, ultimately, employee. It might be a great story. It might be an inspiring story. But the cover letter just isn't the place to tell it.