As a career coach, I have helped hundreds of clients craft resumes and cover letters that have landed them jobs. I’ve seen the number of hours they put into conducting company research, tailoring resumes and cover letters and practicing tirelessly for their interviews. The job search also requires a significant amount of emotional energy as they ride the ups and downs of the process - celebrating their small wins in one moment, or soothing themselves from the pain of rejection or ghosting in the next.
Yet, despite the efforts made by job seekers, some of them find themselves trapped in lengthy, ambiguous and cruel hiring practices where they feel like nothing but a number to be scrutinized, interrogated and then discarded.
How can a candidate show up in their best self when the hiring process reduces them to a mere statistic?
The job search is tough enough. Employers, stop making it even harder for job seekers with hiring practices that are exclusionary at best, and patronizing at worst.
Practices that create extra stress for candidates, “weed out” the competition in aggressive ways, or create a pressure-cooker environment where only the best survive are counterintuitive to your goal of hiring the right person for the job.
These poor hiring practices damage your company’s reputation, impacts your ROI and drives away top talent:
Are your job descriptions complex, gendered and unnecessarily long?
Do you have a slow hiring process that takes place over the course of several weeks?
Are you requiring tests or assignments that take days to prepare?
Do you make job interviews feel like an interrogation?
Are you ghosting your candidates?
Remember, before anyone was a [human] resource, they were human.
Inclusive Hiring Practices
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is not a checklist or a task to be completed. The work is never done and you’re always learning. Inclusion is a commitment to ensuring fair and equal opportunities for all; a value woven into the very fabric of the organization. Inclusive hiring goes beyond just gender and race in recruitment, it means developing a process that reduces as many barriers as possible for the most number of people. This win-win situation not only benefits candidates by creating a more accessible and fair experience, but also helps organizations increase the likelihood of finding the best talent for the job and creating a more diverse workforce that resembles the real world.
Here are 9 inclusive hiring practices you can implement quickly and easily to increase your impact:
1) Interview Process
Let candidates know what to expect. Reduce as many unknowns as possible. Be transparent about your process, timeline, agenda, and names of the interviewers, etc.
Have a reasonable process and timeline. Avoid having multiple interviews over the span of days or even weeks. A candidate who is currently employed often has to take time off work to take an interview - be considerate of the risk they might be taking
Don’t ghost your candidates. After the interview, get back to both the successful and unsuccessful candidates in a timely manner (within 1 week if possible)
Ask candidates for their accessibility requirements and accommodate as many as possible. Does the candidate need a sign language interpreter? Does the candidate require extra time to respond?
Don’t make your questions too long. Length, multi-part questions can be difficult for some people to process and digest on the spot. Ask in separate parts or make your question more concise.
Print out the interview questions so the candidate has text to complement the verbal questions
Allow candidates to use a pencil and a notepad to quickly organize thoughts prior to answering a question
2) Pay Transparency
Equal pay for equal work.
State the salary range or starting salary on the job posting. Salary transparency helps job seekers make informed decisions about whether to pursue a position, leading to a more diverse pool of candidates. It mitigates the risk of wage gaps based on things like gender, race or negotiation skills. It also fosters a culture of trust and openness within the organization, as candidates feel valued and respected knowing that their compensation is based on an objective criteria rather than subjective negotiations.
3) Use Gender Neutral Language
Keep it simple and focus on the job at hand.
Use inclusive language that avoids gender bias and industry-specific jargon. Eliminate masculine and feminine words (gendered language) from the job posting to attract a more diverse pool of candidates. For instance, consider using 'parental leave' instead of 'maternity leave' to promote inclusivity. Studies show that gender-neutral language fills positions faster and appeals to a wider range of applicants. Tools like Gender Decoder can help identify and eliminate subtle biases, ensuring that the position description remains gender-neutral and inclusive.
4) Literacy Inclusion
The concept of literacy inclusion is not widely known, and is often overlooked when thinking about equity and inclusion. Literacy inclusion recognizes different levels of literacy and reduces barriers in the job search for those who have accessibility needs.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Use short sentences and brief paragraphs
Instead of italics or underlying words, use a larger font and bold words you want to highlight
Use white space to reduce noise
Use an accessible font such as Arial, Comic Sans Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Trebuchet, Calibri or Open Sans
5) Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) Statement
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is not simply about recruiting people from underrepresented backgrounds in an effort to tick off a box. Consider including an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) Statement about your organization’s commitment to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of factors such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic; as well as ensuring a fair and inclusive workplace environment.
6) Establish diverse interview panels
Diversity in your interview panel can help the team form a well-rounded view of each candidate and assess different qualities. It can reduces bias by introducing a range of perspectives that better ensures a fair evaluation of candidates from various backgrounds.
7) Widen your search to source diverse talent
Referral programs are an effective recruiting tool, but it can be detrimental as people are more likely to refer others that are similar to themselves, which can lead to building more homogenous teams. Consider seeking out talent by:
Attending events and partnering with communities
Considering those who non-traditional career paths
Networking through career fairs
8) Offering Feedback
Inform candidates when they are no longer being considered for the role, regardless of where they are in the process, in a timely manner. Consider offering feedback to non-selected candidates, focusing on constructive insights that can help them grow professionally. By doing so, you can show appreciation for each candidates’ effort, contributing to a positive job searching experience despite the outcome.
9) Reflection
Diversity and inclusion work is an ongoing journey that requires continuous reflection. After each hire, take a moment to reflect on your practice, policies and culture to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth in order to refine future hiring practices.
Let's hear from you!
What practices have you implemented to make your hiring process more inclusive?
Leave a comment below!
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