Employer: Mr. Ex-Con, thank you for coming in. I’m very impressed by your
résumé, but it looks like you’ve been out of work for awhile. Tell me about
that.
Ex-Con: I was in prison for the last five years, sir.
Employer: Oh, you were? Oh, yes, I see that now. To be honest, my brain
skips all these other little boxes. I mean, your list of skills? I imagine
your education and experience would tell me what you can do. And if not,
that’s what the interview is for, right?
Ex-Con: I suppose so, sir.
Employer: You don’t have to call me that. In fact, I would rather you not.
Ex-Con: Okay, Mr. Employer.
Employer: So, we’re always looking for interesting new blood here. We want
you to have been in the workforce, so you know what it’s like to clock-in,
get along with your co-workers, have a boss; that sort of thing. We’re not
necessarily looking for particular experience, though. I’m very curious
about the two years you spent as a park ranger. I’ve never met anyone who’s
done anything like that.
Ex-Con: Yes, sir—I mean... [sighs]
Employer: It’s okay. Go on.
Ex-Con: I took that job so I could help transport drugs into the city. The
park crosses just a little bit into Canada, and that’s how we stayed under
the radar. It was meant to be my job to stop people from doing that, but I
abused my position, and I regret it terribly.
Employer: Right on, right on. So, did you come across any bears?
Ex-Con: Bears, sir?
Employer: In the park.
Ex-Con: No, no bears. Plenty of mountain lions, but it was fine.
Employer: Oh, that’s cool. I love wild animals, that’s why it piqued my
interest. Not that that’s all you have going for you. It seems you also know
your way around a boring ol’ office.
Ex-Con: That’s right.
Employer: And you’ve done warehouse and factory work as well.
Ex-Con: Indeed.
Employer: Well, I think your experience speaks for itself. Why don’t you
tell me a little bit about yourself? We have a lot of teams here, and
they’re all run by different people. Please don’t be afraid to answer this
next question, because you think it will reflect poorly on you. What do you
look for in a boss? Like, if bosses had to apply to supervise you, what sort
of characteristics would you look for?
Ex-Con: I’m...I’m not sure...
Employer: No, it’s okay. It’s important that you be able to vocalize what
you need out of your job. We have openings on every team, and like I said,
they’re all different. Nothing you say is going to hurt your chances. It’ll
only help us decide where to place you.
Ex-Con: This is all moving so fast. I mean, I expected you to ask me about
my labor gap, freak out about my prison time, and just politely tell me
you’ll call me if something opens up. Just like everyone else.
Employer: Well, that’s not how we do things here. Truth be told, we need
bodies. These are all entry level positions, so my only concern is where you
fit in; not if you fit in. I promise you there’s a place for you here, but
you are going to have to want it, and then every single day, you’re going to
have to earn it. We lose about forty percent of new hires in the first
month. Some don’t like it, some just don’t work out. But I would rather give
those people two paychecks, and turn them over, than risk not taking a
chance on someone who could be really great. I don’t really care about your
criminal record. If the system let you out, that’s good enough for me.
Because we got cameras all over this facility. There are zero blindspots, so
if you try to use us to go back to your old ways, we’ll know it, and we’ll
put a stop to it. I’m not going to reject you before you have the
opportunity to prove to us you’ve changed.
Ex-Con: I have changed. I don’t want to do that stuff anymore. Lots of
people go into lock-up, and get worse, because of the things they have to do
in there. I hated every second of it, and it made me hate the person I used
to be that led me there.
Employer: Well, great. So how ‘bout it? What kind of boss do you prefer?
Ex-Con: Someone who’s willing to take a chance on an ex-con, and who likes
wild animals.
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