In 2009, I found work at Linode. The founder of Linode is an understanding guy and I was up front about my situation. It was also more unique because my career up to that point had been broadcast television and radio; when I was convicted, I was an on-air technical director at a Phoenix news/talk station. So I had no demonstrable work experience in computing. I was given a unique interview and passed, so I spent the next two years and change working at Linode. My situation was not a secret to anybody at Linode.
Once I had that experience on my resume, I translated that to Foursquare, where I worked for a year and a half. Again, same story: I was completely up front with everybody I spoke to about the situation, and my immediate manager only wanted to know the details out of curiosity. I do not keep my conviction a secret, even from my colleagues and those around me. It is a part of me and I am no longer embarrassed by it.
After Foursquare is where the tragedy begins, and the salient part of what you're asking about.
Earlier this year, I courted and finally accepted an offer to work at Google. I disclosed the conviction to Google right at the beginning of the process. The recruiter assured me it shouldn't be an issue[1], but they do something sneaky: they offer you employment then perform the background check, and write their offer so that the offer hinges upon the results of the background check. Everybody else I've worked at has had this reversed (including my current employer), so this was a first for me. They let you see the Google offer and get excited, then begin the background check.
The results of the background check arrived very soon. I want to say by the following Monday. I followed up with another e-mail, and Dan said the results go directly to company leadership. I heard nothing for two months, even after I began work. To reiterate that, I worked for two months at Google while Google had the results of the background check in hand. After two months, Google scheduled a meeting half an hour in the future on my calendar and terminated my employment. Ben Treynor and Ben Lutch, two higher-ups in the SRE organization, fired me having never met me. My immediate manager appealed but Ben Lutch refused to reconsider or even speak with me.
Considering I know of some very public felons that work at Google, I can't help but feel shafted, but it taught me a valuable lesson about how to negotiate during the offer process regarding a felony. From Google, I courted three companies:
- Facebook was honest and said with a felony it was unlikely. The recruiter did everything possible to basically talk me out of continuing the process once I disclosed it.
- LinkedIn suddenly filled the position once I disclosed it, even though the position remains open on the Web site and it is a general position.
- Apple resulted in a closed offer. I was up front with Apple as I was Google, and I requested that we put all the horses in order before we move forward. They were understanding of that, given my Google experience, and I am happy to report that I am far better off at Apple than I was Google. I'm not going anywhere; Google is an extraordinarily passive aggressive culture and I could tell I wasn't going to be happy there anyway. Apple also compensates me better than Google did. The side benefit of my long-term goal at Apple is that by the time I'm considering moving elsewhere (if I am at all) the felony will have long passed the seven-year mark. I'll probably have long since set it aside in Arizona (Arizona has no "sealed", just "set aside").
Two other highlights of my career to show you mistreatment of felons by companies:
- Rackspace booked a flight for me to San Francisco when I still worked at Linode, then I took time off from work to fly out and they cancelled the flight the evening before with about 12 hours to go once I disclosed the felony conviction. They pointed to their terms of service with their customers.
- 1010data, a competitor to the Foursquare offer, called me in for a meeting during my offer process. They were vague as to what the meeting was about. When I was brought into the room I discovered most of the board of the company as well as various senior leadership, and I was grilled about my 'prank' felony for better than a half hour by investment banking types in their upper forties and fifties. I wish I would have known that was coming. To their credit, they did the research and still extended an offer, but that meeting left a bad taste in my mouth.
Your best advice, which I received in the thread when I discussed this before[2], is just to be up front and explain it and own your felony. I promise.
[1]: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6121606/assurance.pdf