As the title says...

I browsed this Reddit a few months ago and saw a post and there was a lot of back and forth.

Because of the lack of precedence, I wanted to give my own experience on a burner.

I don't want to give anyone false hope or confirm any doom posting because I saw one comment saying "You will never get an entry-level job with a criminal record" but it's not impossible, even though your chances are slim.

AND NO, I DIDN'T GET IN IB. ITS NOT THAT KIND OF MIRACLE STORY LOL.

I am in Canada, in 2018, I got charged and arrested for intent and was caught with kilos of [Redacted]. Federal crime. Served 8 months, then went on parole.

Started working at a company as an assistant manager, it was sales. nothing sketchy, just a service everyone needs. Paid well, no benefits.

When COVID hit, I lost a steady income and decided to come back to school to get a BBA in finance at a non-target. 3.8 GPA, Deans list, extracurriculars, got my CSC (Canadian securities course), and 1 dirty little secret. I worked my ass off.

I saw all my friends finding internships. So I shot my shot in my third year. 200 applications, 30 interviews, 10 interviews went to round 4, and finally received pre conditional offer letter from a bank.

The hiring manager really loved me and wanted to get me started ASAP. As I reviewed the email about the next steps my heart sank and I felt sick, Right there... it said it would conduct a background check. Idk why my secret escaped my memory, or why I didn't realize this was something that would come up.

I didn't respond, the manager emailed me and called me leaving me a message saying to sign the offer letter ASAP and do the check as he really needs to confirm my interest.

I panicked, I asked my friends what to do. 1 really good friend said just be honest, it's all you can do.

So as I planned to meet the manager at his office (unannounced), he called me. I said fuck... I guess I'll just tell him over the phone. When I picked up the phone, he went straight to telling me how excited he was how I was the top candidate, and how we needed to start the paperwork to get the ball rolling.

I cut him off, I told him I needed to tell him something, so I basically told him what's up.

frankly, he was really chill about it, he said he understood that young people make stupid mistakes, but my school and the work I've done so far really showed my change, and also that my owning up and being honest spoke more about my character now, then my past. He then went on and vouched for me to the other managers and said he would see what he could do. I then met with the other managers and told them the same story. In the end, I signed the consent form to do the background check. 1 week later, I got an offer letter. I signed and started working.

I just finished my first summer internship for summer 2023, and they even offered me a job part-time during school. The company's values and culture really helped my case... Idk if I'm just a goodwill comeback story hire or if I was just lucky to meet the right people at the right company.

This summer, I worked in underwriting for commercial financing.

The manager already told me, I have a spot for another round of summer internships in 2024 and they'll support me. If I want to choose a different department like corp finance, estate planning, or capital markets it's done.

my plan now is to just stay with the bank for the next 3 years to see where I end up, then I'll be able to get my record sealed and move to other financial institutions.

That's it, I just wanted to share... I love work and school, and I cant remember when the last time I was this happy and not stressed/depressed.