Josh Nowack
The ASCEND Collective
Board Member
Now imagine trying to get hired when you’ve got a felony record. Or you’re a veteran just back from deployment. Or you’ve got a disability that makes employers uncomfortable, even though it has nothing to do with your ability to do the job. Different stories. Same punchline: nobody wants to hire you.
At The ASCEND Collective and Talents ASCEND, we see this play out over and over. The criminal record? People say, “Well, you made your bed.” The veteran? “You don’t have the right kind of experience.” The disabled candidate? “We just don’t think you’re the right fit.” It’s always something. Translation: we’d rather hire someone who looks and sounds like us. Safe. Familiar. Predictable.
We hire people we’d grab a drink with. We hire the polished. The pretty. The “put together.” And hey—I get it. I’ve been in those rooms. You scroll a LinkedIn profile, see someone with the right college, the right photo, the right buzzwords—and boom, interview. But here’s the thing: we’re missing out on some of the best people because of our own blind spots.
Take someone who’s reentering society after incarceration. You know what they’ve got? Grit. Perspective. Creativity. I’ve had better meals made from ramen and vending machine cheese than I’ve had at some white-linen restaurants. That’s ingenuity. That’s hustle.
Or the vet who can stay cool under actual fire. You think a deadline stresses them out? Try sleeping in a forward operating base with mortars flying overhead.
And don’t even get me started on folks with disabilities. Some of the most thoughtful, disciplined problem solvers I know don’t navigate the world the way you or I do—but they’ve learned to adapt. Every day. That’s not a weakness. That’s a superpower.
Here’s the line I come back to again and again:
You can teach skills. You can’t teach hunger.
You can’t teach someone to care. To show up early. To outwork the guy next to them because this job isn’t just a paycheck—it’s a lifeline.
So many of us in hiring don’t even realize we’re narrowing the field before the race starts. We think we want “qualified,” but what we need is capable. Motivated. Invested. And most of all, hungry.
Let me say something that might piss some people off: fair chance hiring isn’t about giving someone a break. It’s about giving yourself the best shot at hiring someone who will move mountains for your company—because they’re tired of being underestimated.
Think about it. You’re hiring because something broke, someone quit, or you’re growing. In all three cases, you don’t need perfection. You need people. Humans. With heart.
The ones we overlook? They’ll out-hustle the folks with perfect resumes every single time. Because when you’ve got no safety net, when nobody’s calling you back, when every “no” hits like a gut punch—you show up differently when someone finally says yes.
So, let’s stop pretending like this is about charity. Fair chance hiring is smart business. It’s loyalty. It’s creativity. It’s resilience in a world that changes every damn day.
If I want a buddy to grab a beer with, I’ve got a few of those. But if I want someone who’s going to show up, give everything, and care about my company like it’s theirs—I’m hiring the guy who knows what it means to fight for his shot.
Josh Nowack is a dad, a fair chance employer, and someone who believes deeply in second chances—because he’s lived one. He’s the co-founder of Breaking Free Industries, a custom apparel company in Orange County, California that hires those who’ve been told “no” too many times. Josh also serves as Chief Development Officer and lead instructor at Inmates to Entrepreneurs, where he’s proud to help others build the businesses that can change their lives. He sits on the boards of both Inmates to Entrepreneurs and The ASCEND Collective, and hosts the podcast From Cell to CEO, where he shares real stories of resilience, grit, and growth.
He’s just trying to pay it forward—with purpose, not perfection.
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