THE HARD-WORKING WAY IN
Wes Crawford found the hard-working way in
After 82 job applications and a rain-soaked trip to an interview, Crawford earned an opportunity at AAON and turned it into a leadership role.
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Wes Crawford on the production floor at AAON in Tulsa.
The sky turned black before Wes Crawford reached his job interview at AAON.
The bus dropped him about half a mile from the company’s Tulsa manufacturing campus as the rain began. Within minutes, his suit, résumé, phone, and a bag of clothes for his newborn child were soaked.
Then a stopped freight train blocked his path.
Missing the interview meant losing another scarce opportunity. Crawford crawled beneath the stopped train and kept going.
By the time he reached AAON, he was wet, covered in grease, and unable to use his dead phone to complete the digital check-in. Roughly 75 other applicants were waiting for interviews.
Crawford left believing he had blown his chance.
A few weeks later, AAON offered him one.
Every stop required another decision to continue
Select a point on Crawford’s route. The reporting continues below.
Crawford moved to Tulsa, got sober, and began rebuilding from a bed at a transitional living center.
What changed did not fit on an application
The offer marked a turn in a life that already included college, addiction, incarceration, and years of homelessness. Crawford earned two associate degrees, but his record and the instability of his recent past made it difficult to translate that education into employment.
When his girlfriend became pregnant, the couple decided they needed a fresh start. They moved to Tulsa, where Crawford initially slept beneath a bridge before finding a bed at the Salvation Army and later entering the Tulsa Transitional Living Center.
He got sober and began looking for work.
Crawford submitted 82 applications online and in person. His record repeatedly ended the process before he had an opportunity to explain what had changed.
Preparation—and help with the barriers around it
The transitional living center eventually connected him with Work Ready Oklahoma, a free workforce program operated locally by Goodwill Industries of Tulsa.
The program helped Crawford learn how to discuss his record honestly, present himself professionally, interview effectively, and demonstrate what he could offer an employer. He participated in mock interviews, worked with career coaches, and received a professionally prepared résumé.
Crawford nearly missed the program. He was at another job interview during orientation, but a staff member called afterward and allowed him to join the class.
The program’s first week was required. Its second week, which covered additional workplace and financial skills, was optional.
Crawford’s child was born the night before that second week began. He planned to stay home, but his girlfriend urged him to attend.
She was right.
That morning, a Work Ready coach told him AAON had a record of considering applicants seeking a second chance. Crawford searched the company’s openings and applied for several entry-level positions.
That led to the rain-soaked interview and, ultimately, the offer Crawford had spent months pursuing.
Find. Get. Keep.
Work Ready combines workplace preparation with practical help before and after a participant is hired.
The opportunity became a career
Getting the job did not eliminate every barrier. Crawford did not have a car or driver’s license, so Goodwill provided transportation assistance. It also helped the young family with diapers and continued checking on Crawford after he started work.
Once inside the AAON plant, Crawford carried a notepad onto the production floor. He wrote down instructions, learned where everything belonged, and asked questions whenever he did not understand something.
Five or six months after he started, a supervisor called him into a meeting. Crawford assumed he had done something wrong.
Instead, the company wanted him to take on a leadership role.
Today, Crawford is a quality team lead in AAON’s Tulsa operations and serves as a backup for a line supervisor. His coworkers regularly bring him questions, and he helps newer employees learn their jobs by working through unfamiliar tasks alongside them.
A former supervisor once explained why people naturally turned to him for help.
“He said, ‘It’s because you’re a leader.’”
Crawford and his family now have an apartment, a car, driver’s licenses, and money in savings. The opportunity changed more than his job title.
A bridge between preparation and opportunity
Steve Hahn of Goodwill Industries of Tulsa said Crawford succeeded because he combined hope with action.
“Wesley showed up. From the time he enrolled to the completion of the course, to his interview, to his first day and where he is now, he’s an ideal example of hope and action.”
Work Ready Oklahoma operates through a statewide network of sites, with Goodwill running the Tulsa County program. Its goal is straightforward: help people find, get, and keep employment.
The training covers workplace communication, conflict resolution, reliability, interviewing, and other skills employers routinely say they need. Career coaches also connect participants with job leads and continue supporting them after they are hired.
For eligible participants, the program can address immediate barriers that might otherwise derail employment, including transportation problems, utility bills, and the cost of occupational credentials.
Goodwill also carries the relationship beyond the classroom. When a Work Ready graduate applies to AAON, Goodwill alerts the company’s recruiting team that the candidate completed the program and asks that the applicant receive a close look.
Todd Carner, AAON’s director of manufacturing in Tulsa, said that participation matters to the company.
“When we see candidates who have participated in Goodwill programs, whether on their résumés or applications, we recognize the effort and investment Goodwill has made in preparing them for the workforce.”
Crawford stood out because of his attitude, work ethic, and willingness to learn, Carner said. He also represents a broader second-chance hiring record at AAON. Carner said hundreds of employees came through the company’s doors looking for another opportunity.
“Talent and potential aren’t always found through a traditional path. When employers are willing to look beyond circumstances and focus on character, work ethic, and potential, the outcome can be incredibly rewarding.”
Preparation only matters if it reaches a door
- 01PrepareWork Ready builds the workplace skills.
- 02SignalGoodwill alerts AAON to a graduate’s effort.
- 03ConsiderAAON looks at character, work ethic, and potential.
- 04AdvanceThe worker gets room to demonstrate what comes next.
“Let’s do it together”
Crawford urges employers to conduct careful reviews while giving applicants enough room to explain their records and demonstrate what they can contribute.
“Be thorough, but take another moment. You never know what you might get out of that person.”
He now shares his experience with employees who arrive carrying doubts similar to his own. When someone struggles with a task, Crawford begins the work alongside them.
“Let’s do it together,” he tells them.
Goodwill Industries of Tulsa later recognized Crawford with its Spirit of Goodwill Award.
Work Ready taught Crawford to “do it afraid.” AAON gave him an opportunity, and he supplied the work that turned it into a career.
He has his own phrase for the path he took.
“Don’t look for the easy way out. Look for the hard-working way in.”
