I know an incredibly talented person with more skills and experience than most people I have met. Three times her organization has asked her to step in on an interim basis to run her organization in the top job.
Each time when her board of directors interviews for a permanent Executive Director, she has been passed over because she does not have a bachelor’s degree. Is that fair? Is that piece of paper most of us obtained years ago really indicative of success? The answer should be obvious.
As a businessperson, consultant, and employment specialist, that example is common to many of the unfair barriers we have consciously or unconsciously put in place that prevent us from often hiring the best person available. There are more.
Does your job advertisement reflect your current needs? While this might seem to be a given, in many cases, job advertisements for many organizations are like a snowball that accumulates more addons with each use. Your job advertisements should be concise, adequately reflect exactly who you are looking forward and should be constantly rewritten with each use. I look at hundreds of job ads every week and the number of spelling, grammar, and even contradictory messages is incredible. Is this the message you want to present to the market?
Does it work? Your job ads, your interview questions, your orientation onboarding; does it accomplish what you want. This question should be asked often and by everyone.
Do your Human Resources people really understand the jobs that need to be done? With the rise of more and more human resource people, my experience has been the gap between operational human resources and human resource people is widening. In my experience, particularly with larger organizations, the people interviewing and making recommendations often do not appreciate the nuances of the role they seek. They work from a set criteria, lack a bachelor’s degree, and eliminate anyone who doesn’t have one, regardless of their ability to perform the functions required.
Is a 2D resume an accurate representation of a 3D person? The current trend is for everyone to use a one- or two-page resume. How can you truly describe a person, what they can offer, their experiences, attitudes, and future behaviors that briefly; however, those resumes are the tool virtually all organizations use to screen applicants – is that fair? One of my best salespeople ever, walked into my store one day to apply and said, “I don’t have a resume, but I can sell.” I hired him because of a feeling and he was one of my top performers until he retired more than a dozen years later. Today, in most organizations he wouldn’t have even got an interview.
Does AI influence recruitment? Is it fair or not? People are using AI to write their cover letters and resumes; employers are using AI to screen applicants for keywords. How is that fair to people who don’t? More importantly, with AI, how is that even a representation of either the person or the employer’s ability to make a decision? Does AI find you the best candidate or simply the best resume writer?
Is someone really great at interviewing the best person for the job? Imagine, two people applying for an accounting position, one who studied accounting twenty years ago but who is really good at interviewing, the second someone working as a bookkeeper but has social anxiety about interviewing; who do you think will get the job? Typically the person who does better in the interview.
Do you ask for and check references or are you using references the wrong way? As an employer in a smaller community, I used references to reduce the risk of hiring an unknown quantity, especially if either I or my staff knew their references. I believe far too many HR people wait to ask for references until the interview which again potentially eliminates more candidates.
Do you hire people just like you? Do you have confirmation biases, or any other potential biases based on your past hiring practices? Most employers and HR people do, often subconsciously. Diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) are not only a legal requirement in forward-thinking societies; they are also vital components for growing your organization, innovation, and markets. DEI is not a procedure you follow; it is an operational mindset that is how you think.
Are you and your organization anti-racist? Most individuals and organizations believe that they are not racist. Not being a racist yourself is not enough anymore; to truly take a leadership position for diversity, equity, and inclusiveness you and your team need to actively identify and eliminate any racist behavior, overt and subconscious.
Do you really appreciate how stacked privilege is in your community and organization towards immigrants who have been here for generations? Everyone on the planet is descended from immigrants, it is just a question of time. That being said, the discrimination based on colonial mindsets and the inertia of established institutions, particularly in Western countries is an almost insurmountable barrier for Black, Indigenous, People of color, and people who live with disabilities. We have biases, stigma, and blind spots we don’t even know we have. Becoming aware, educating ourselves, and looking beyond the standard tools and processes we use will open our minds not only to eliminating this privilege and leveling the opportunities but for organizations it will foster growth and new ideas.
Are you an ally? Do you actively build allyships? For people who experience discrimination or are the victims of colonial privilege what are you doing to dismantle those barriers? Many of us do not even see them and a few even defend them without realizing how fundamentally wrong they are. A person who is an ally, never calls themselves an ally, it’s not about the word, it’s about our actions. When screening applicants, do we look beyond the bachelor’s degree to appreciate the skills someone has that might be equivalent to or even better than a bachelor’s degree? Do you look at the difficulties of the path an applicant has had to overcome and the strengths and skills they have over someone who has had the privilege of a regular education and work experience?
Have you considered hiring people with barriers to employment? Too many organizations don’t unfortunately. Barriers can include cultural, educational, physical, mental, language-based, bias-based, and many others besides. Organizational strength is based on people, every person has skills experiences, and attitudes that can help your team grow; we need to ensure our mindset is not limited to things we have always done. We need to appreciate the qualities of foreign education, how people experiencing disabilities have skills, and how a person’s journey should be considered and hired.
Would you give someone your interview questions in advance? Would you say this isn’t fair because all applicants should be treated equally? Let’s use my bookkeeper example. The person who is good at interviews despite a 20-year gap in experience would likely be hired over the bookkeeper who fails at interviews because of their social anxiety; however, if providing that person with the interview questions in advance allows them to be relaxed and prepared; that accommodation negates their social anxiety and allows them to demonstrate their superior bookkeeping skills. It might not be equal treatment but it is equitable treatment and to do otherwise would be unfair to that person.
Do you overlook qualified candidates based on inappropriate measures of success? In the world of Information Technology, for example, the speed of change is only accelerating, would someone with foreign education and/or someone self-taught be a better candidate than someone educated in our country? Conventional thinking and practice would likely indicate not; however, if a hiring process was based simply on a demonstration of who can actually do the work; do you believe the equitable solution would be different, I do.
Are our methods of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring biased? I believe so. As a person who hired people for more than a quarter of a century, I know now I was. I thought I was doing a good job and so did everyone around me. As I learn more about systemic racism, colonialism, and privilege; I am realizing the opportunities I missed and am working hard to be an advocate for anyone who is struggling against these barriers.
For my friend who has been passed over three times, the barrier of having a bachelor’s degree is only valid if it is germane to the job. In her case, having done the job successfully, the bachelor’s degree is an arbitrary barrier designed to perpetuate discriminatory practices that limit the field of possible candidates; some like her, who might be just as able to do the job but who just have taken a different path.
Think about it,
Paul