Dear Hiring Manager,

Let me start by acknowledging the obvious. You have options. Plenty of applicants with polished résumés, tidy timelines, and no complicated disclaimers. Then there is me. I have a past. It comes with paperwork.

Still, I’m applying.

You might think those years I spent inside were wasted. They weren’t. I’ve had structure drilled into me more effectively than any onboarding program. I know how to follow rules unquestioningly, whether or not they make sense. Someone thought about that rule. That is good enough reason for me.

I show up on time. I wear what I am told. I take instructions seriously and don’t need reminders. I have also developed a very high tolerance for bad coffee, flickering lights, and team members with questionable hygiene. I am not saying that describes your workplace. I am saying it wouldn’t bother me if it did.

I know when to speak. And I know, perhaps even more importantly, when not to.

I have learned to read people. To stay calm when things go sideways. To see trouble coming long before it arrives. In prison, those were survival skills. Out here, they apparently fall under the heading of emotional intelligence.

Most employees still have their one big mistake ahead of them. I already have mine behind me. I learned from it. I paid for it. I do not wear it like a badge, but I do not pretend it never happened. It made me more careful, more deliberate, and more aware of the consequences of getting it wrong.

If you take a chance on me, you are not just hiring someone who wants a job. You are hiring someone who knows exactly what a second chance means, and who knows exactly what the cost of a wasted chance is. Hire me and you will get my loyalty, not out of obligation, but as gratitude for the second chance in life.

Thank you for considering my application. And if you do invite me in for an interview, expect me early. I am still adjusting to the idea that showing up on time is good enough.

Sincerely,
A Candidate With History, Good Timing, and No Desire to Go Back

– Ed, Never incarcerated

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