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Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

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431–440 of 541 posts

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for sharing that. It's a common story. Attitudes are changing quickly, so I hold out hope. I very much appreciate your support.

It would be so great if attitudes were changing quickly in a positive direction. In tech, it is still impossible to get your first job after a career change as a woman, a person of color, or a person over say 35. Many of these people fall into one or all three of these categories. In addition to that, they have this ridiculous other hurdle to clear, and tech is still trying to figure out if women can do any technical…

One of the first ideas might be to talk with people who meet those categories. I for one do not feel marginalized by my company or the tech industry in general (there are a lot, in fact too many, bad apples I've encountered, but the entire industry isn't rotten). In fact I would say I dealt with more bias when I worked in the government than in private tech companies.

For starters what you can personally do is not purchase or use services from companies you feel are unethical. Explain to your network why for example you won't use Uber or Reddit or whatever other company you're fed up. If you can get enough other consumers to see from your view you'll force these companies to change. This just recently happened with health food junkies, now we have McDonald's at least paying lip service to healthy eating and serving things like kale.

One thing that won't work if you're a tech outsider is shaming people who work in the industry. It's hard to collaborate with people if they feel your tone is hostile.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#432

Hey, thanks for sharing this. I actually just wrote an article (not yet published) for an organization that helps inmates learn how to code while in prison so they can have some life skills for when they are done serving their time and get out in the real world. I'm not talking about murderers or pedophiles or people who just probably don't belong in society at all, but when it comes to people with lesser crimes -- p…

I teach college classes for a degree-granting program on occasion and have taught murderers. They are in prison doing their time, and some will eventually be paroled. They can be given a second chance as well.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what most white people in this country feel, but I can only conclude what they feel from the state of their institutions.--James Baldwin

Presumably your definition of white is the convenient one that includes Asian people, right? Tech hiring has jack all to do with racism when the big companies are matching the ratios coming out of uni with CS degrees.

Obligatory reminder that tech companies at scale are nowhere near 100% CS grads. In most companies where I've worked (me: CS grad) over the last ~20 years, CS (and related) grads were the distinct minority of overall staff.

The population benchmark for "tech hiring" probably should look more like "college graduates" than "people with CS degrees."

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you have to reveal that you're a felon by law? I ask because we have a student in our CS academy who is in a very similar situation.

It probably depends by state. I was required to reveal I was a felon while on parole. Once I was off parole I no longer had this requirement but... I was constantly faced with the question on my job applications. My approach was always not to lie and only answer the questions asked, adding "will discuss during interview if needed". Twice I made it to the interview only to be rejected after the nature of my crimes wer…

I was the same on re-entering society. I went ahead and put my convictions on the job apps, as I figured I didn't want to waste time going past the application if the company had a problem with my record.

Funny thing is that my dad told me I'd never get a job by doing that, but I got one two weeks after my release.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#436
Richard, a suggestion:

Have a way for parole/probation officers to search for jobs nearby for their charges. My PO was actually a helpful guy, as he figured if I was working, I was more likely to stay out of trouble. Just have some way for them to engage and provide assistance to new parolees.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#438

Um, why are all of the photos on the site of African Americans? Yes, it's true that African Americans make up 40% of the prison population, but whites make up 39% and hispanics 19%. It seems the images you have chosen are an unfair stereotype.

Some studies* have found that black men with a conviction experience significantly more hiring discrimination than white men, so the pool of "people with convictions struggling to get a job" is probably even more skewed towards black people.

* random example form googling, but I've seen a few on the topic https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015/04/03/race-crimin...

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you have to reveal that you're a felon by law? I ask because we have a student in our CS academy who is in a very similar situation.

It probably depends by state. I was required to reveal I was a felon while on parole. Once I was off parole I no longer had this requirement but... I was constantly faced with the question on my job applications. My approach was always not to lie and only answer the questions asked, adding "will discuss during interview if needed". Twice I made it to the interview only to be rejected after the nature of my crimes wer…

Happened to me too. Went straight to probation though, no prison time. Still, was given a job offer and worked for two weeks then the company asked everyone to do a background check. I was out in two days after that.

Now almost a year into my current full time job. I've been very lucky and fortunate but the threat of a background check will always look in the distance :/ will keep my chin up though.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#440
Richard, another thought I had:

There is a tax break for businesses that hire a new parolee. Something like $4-5k tax credit for the first year of employment. Would be good to find out about that and let employers know - help encourage them to hire criminals.

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