As part of their effort to plan 2020 content, the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC), a nonprofit consortium dedicated to equity and inclusion in the academic workforce, put out a simple open-ended survey question to over 2,000 job seekers: “To help you advance your higher ed career, what topics would you like HERC to address in its job seeker materials?" The second-most common response – requests for how to combat ageism. Appearing 68 times in the 762 responses,

Reason: Calling candidates or jobs “diverse” has two problems. First, “diverse” is not synonymous with minority or a specific demographic. To use it in that way devalues its intent. Diversity means having representation across many demographics, backgrounds, differences. Second, calling a candidate or a position diverse is the same as tokenizing the job or individual. How many do you think want to be the “diverse candidate” whose value is to increase the organization’s divers

Reason: Unfortunately, we don’t always have all the answers to candidate questions, including when it comes to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging. Candidates will see through empty or disingenuous responses, or if they don’t, will become disappointed when they discover it once they are hired. It will leave them with a sense that the organization doesn’t actually care. If you don’t have an answer (which is common), rather than muddle through, ask instead. “That is a g

Reason: Parting gifts are a wonderful touch to an engaging candidate experience, unless those gifts give a very clear message of “I don’t get you”. Gifts that are distinctly designed for a specific gender, race, age, etc., will become problematic. First, because it requires the gift giver to make assumptions about how the recipient identifies themselves (and could get it wrong). And second, because it implies that those who do not fit within the assumed preferences do not bel

Reason: It used to be common advice – when attending a video interview, make sure you are dressed appropriately, and the background is appropriate. Find a quiet place with good reception and neutral walls. Then COVID hit. Candidates are dealing with many situations, from overburdened internet to co-habituating with children and family, to shared workspaces. In some locations, people cannot leave to find a quiet neutral space, perfection in internet connection is no longer a f

Reason: Diversity statements are plentiful. Unfortunately, many linger in the words giving candidates the impression that they are nothing more than empty promises, and result in alienating talent rather than including them. Rather than tell candidates that you are diverse, equitable, and inclusive, show them. Give examples of how you are driving diversity, cultivating an inclusive culture, and promoting equitable practices. Showing examples of programs will not only validate

Reason: engaging, informative job descriptions attract and excite all those who would thrive in the position, including those who may not have thought to apply to a job in that discipline or industry before. For industries and/or disciplines that traditionally lack diversity, exciting, informative descriptions can expand inclusion, welcoming a wide range of talent. Unfortunately, many organizations use boring job descriptions with little more than a dry generic description of

These days many technologies offer ‘try before you buy’. These pilot or trial programs are designed to do one thing – to get you to want to buy the product. Just like a first date, the tech and the team will put their best foot forward. You will be dazzled by shiny features, pampered with attention, and no requirement is too large or unobtainable. When done right, trials are a great experience. The technology is shiny and exciting. The support team is helpful and insightful.

“This candidate is great and is only asking for 70% of what everyone else on the team makes – what a deal!” “If I promote that person into the team, I can save 20% vs. hiring externally – what a deal!” “I was able to negotiate the new hire down, so they are only 75% of what we budgeted for – what a deal!” You hire that person, and pay them 10%, 20%, even 30% less than anyone else in the department or team, saving the company money while getting that great new employee… or hav

While a rose by any other name still smells sweet, when it comes to jobs a name and description could be the difference between attracting great talent and falling flat. Job titles and descriptions are the first windows into the job. They allow potential applicants to imagine the stage of the organization, the role they would play, and determine if they would want to take on that role. When done well, job descriptions will resonate with those that will be great for the positi

The Lily pads or the stone It’s 2020 and, like many Americans, I decided to kick off my new year with a popular resolution – weight loss. But this year, rather than start with the gym membership that would ultimately go unused, I took it nice and easy and started with a brisk Sunday walk around the lake. As I walked along the lake side, I picked up a small stone and threw it into the water. The stone sent ripples through the water causing the lily pads to dance and shift. Wit

Five culprits of confusion for minimum ‘must have requirements’ on a job The first step to qualifying candidates for a job is to check that they meet minimum requirements. These are the basic knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes a person needs in order to be considered as a candidate for a job. When used correctly, checking for minimum requirements increase the rate of effective hires, drive diversity and inclusion, mitigate the risk of unfair practice and discr

Diversify at the source: three tips for driving diversity in your candidate pool While diversity challenges don’t always stem from the source, without diversity in your candidate pool, there is little chance for diversity flowing into the workforce. And with diverse workforces driving value such as competitiveness, profitability, and retention, ensuring diverse candidate pools is well worth the effort. So, how do you increase diversity in your candidate pool? Here are three w

Diversifying your workforce starts at the source… maybe. Here’s how to discover if your D&I goals are being hindered at the source. It’s not uncommon to incorrectly assign blame for a problem on the wrong step of the hiring process. For example, “We don’t hire enough women” does not necessarily mean that the reason is not enough women apply for positions. It could be that there are plenty of women applying, but few are making it through the screening or interview steps. Incre

There is no shortage of terminology describing the hiring process. Unfortunately, we aren’t all using the same ones to describe the same things. This often leads to inefficient (and sometimes amusing) misunderstandings. So rather than talking in circles or adding to the confusion, here’s a map of our interview process terminology. The five steps of the hiring process: Attracting = convincing people that they want to work for your organization Before spending time and energy c

Prepare a communication plan to ensure no candidate is at a disadvantage by not getting important information, especially those with...

This ten-minute conversation is a good time to thank the candidate for their time, get feedback on their experience and...

Designate and communicate a single point-of-contact for all questions so candidates are not left blasting out emails to everyone, or worse,

Define and communicate a change request process so candidates know what to do and that you understand...

The best methods for assessing candidates depends on what you want to ask and what type of response you want to receive. Here are three....