Hiring for grit

Discover the high-potential talent your business can’t afford to overlook

Talent is harder to find than ever. But while businesses compete for candidates, they’re overlooking a proven source of potential: system-impacted individuals. Shaped by adversity, this group has tenacity, resilience, and a hunger to succeed. And yet, hiring processes often shut them out. It’s time to rethink what makes a great candidate and start hiring for the trait that matters most: grit.

Our research report draws on quantitative insights and qualitative stories from care leavers, justice-impacted individuals, and neurodivergent job seekers to reveal the real barriers they face — and the practical steps employers can take to unlock this extraordinary talent pool.

We surveyed 226 system-impacted individuals, and here’s what we found:

82%
believe their background has cost them a job
87%
say a supportive team matters most when choosing a job
60%
who disclosed their background received a negative response

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Hiring for Grit: The Podcast

A three-part series exploring what grit really means, and how employers can start hiring for it.

Hear from the people leading the charge to change how employers think about talent. We explore the research behind grit as a predictor of career success, hear real stories of resilience and lived experience, and get into the practical steps businesses can take to open their doors to candidates they’ve been missing.

Listen or Watch

Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Watch Episodes

Meet the Speakers

Ben Read
Ben Read
Managing Partner, MSL UK
Host
James Fellowes
James Fellowes
Founder, Bridge of Hope
Chance Bleu-Montgomery
Chance Bleu-Montgomery
Co-founder, Bridge of Hope
Sarah Bohn
Sarah Bohn
Founder, Open Space Academy
James Cartwright
James Cartwright
Associate Director, MSL UK

Watch the Episodes

Episode 1
What is grit and why does it matter now?
Ben Read is joined by James Fellowes and Chance Bleu-Montgomery from Bridge of Hope to unpack what grit really means, why it's so often shaped by lived experience, and why it matters more than ever in today's world of work.
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Coming Soon
Episode 2
Why is grit important for your business?
James Fellowes and James Cartwright make the business case for grit — from productivity and psychological safety, to employer reputation and the hidden cost of overlooking it.
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Coming Soon
Episode 3
How to hire for grit
Sarah Bohn from Open Space Academy joins Chance Bleu-Montgomery and James Cartwright to explore what hiring for grit looks like in practice — the barriers in traditional recruitment, the role of bias, and where to start if you want to do things differently.