Equitable Hiring
Job searching, applying, interviewing...are all words that tend to trigger unpleasant feelings in a lot of people, including myself. As someone who is still early on in my professional career, I am no stranger to the job search. Nor am I unfamiliar with the anxiety, fear, and struggle that often coincides with the process. For example, one interview I was invited to ended up taking place inside a Costco under the guise of a marketing position. While this type of job is not a bad opportunity, it was misleading. The position was framed as a marketing opportunity where I would be relationship building, advertising, and working in communications; instead, it was a sales position. The experience taught me a few things including how to be more discerning about jobs and how not every interview is a valuable use of my time. This also brought up feelings of embarrassment, deep frustration, and confusion about what I was doing. I cannot say I particularly enjoyed my job searching experiences and have gone on to have plenty of other negative and disheartening experiences while seeking a career opportunity.
In recent years, I experienced the job search from the hiring side of the process. Hiring a new co-worker can be an exciting opportunity to introduce someone new to a team or organization while simultaneously being an arduous task. For a lot of teams, the hiring process and all the pieces associated with it (job posting, resume review, communications, scheduling), are piled on top of an already full workload. I have been a part of hiring processes that spanned months and resulted in failed searches which led to starting all over again. The strain on people, resources, and time can be just as daunting and exhausting for those doing the hiring. Both sides of hiring are logistically draining and taxing for everyone involved. Behind the scenes, it can have an even larger emotional toll.
Those entering the job search process are often plagued by debilitating emotions. Anxiety in not knowing where the next job will come from; fear in failing to find a job that provides stability or fulfillment; shame in not having found a job ‘fast enough’. The trepidation and uncertainty continuously places applicants on unstable and unfamiliar footing. The mental toll can be deep and resounding (I still have a fear of interviews…). Knowing the depth of impact that exists in the job search, I question how these interview processes can be improved?
Equity Labs allowed me the perfect opportunity to explore a different way of hiring. We were looking to grow our team and hire a few more diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) facilitators. What I did not expect from this to enjoy the process.
Executive Director Chenthu Jayton, Assistant Director Ashley Hill, and I approached the process with the goal of centering the applicants every step of the way. We considered the vulnerability that comes with applying for a new job. We thought about the impact our communication may have on applicants. We discussed what questions and conversations would be beneficial for both parties. And we acknowledged the power dynamics present between an applicant and interviewers.
There were a few guiding principles to building this process.
We are working with people.
It’s common to have a standard hiring process you plug in, and which is supposed to churn out results (i.e., new hires). Instead of viewing it as a procedure we had to complete, we flipped the mindset on its head. We focused on the individuals we would be meeting, talking to, and learning about and from. We knew that we would be encountering people with immense knowledge, varying backgrounds and experiences, and a mix of emotions attached to the interview process. At each step of our process, we considered how it would impact the applicant. This included the job description, the interview questions we asked, the emails sent, and the actual interviews.
Nothing was done without centering the person who would be going through our application, interview, and hiring process.
How we communicate matters.
Another area we focused on was the way we communicated with applicants. When building our email communications, we talked about how and what we wanted to say. Vulnerability is an intrinsic part of the interviewing and hiring process and should be treated with care. That vulnerability was at the forefront of how we crafted the communications. Each email used clear and concise language. Each communication included an opportunity to communicate with us, the hiring team, at any time.
Every email was reviewed, edited, and finalized with care no matter how short or inconsequential it seemed.
We must be intentional.
Another key aspect was intentionality. Our goal was not to ask questions because we had to but because it was valuable for us as the interviewers and for the interviewees. We encouraged reflection, discussion, and opportunity for connection.
What does this look like?
We crafted all interview questions and sent them to applicants 24 hours in advance.
We encouraged the use of notes when answering questions.
For any prompts sent, we encouraged applicants to respond in any format or medium they preferred to best communicate their answer.
We created space and time to engage in clarification and discussion on the submitted response for prompts.
These four practices were just a few ways applicants had space to review and prepare in advance as well as reflect on their own answers in a thoughtful and deliberative manner. It’s easy for the hiring process to go through the motions because it’s how it is “normally” done. We removed the assumption we should do what’s normal and instead asked the question “are we being intentional about this person's time and knowledge?”.
Accountability as the interviewers.
In acknowledgement of the power dynamics present in the hiring process, we implemented a few ways to give some power back to applicants. Ensuring accountability pushes you as a team and organization to be vulnerable and invest at least a fraction of the amount the applicant is.
We offered reverse references.
What are these? It’s common place to be asked to provide references as an applicant. To encourage transparency and communication, we provided all applicants with communication information for current and previous employees as references of our own. Applicants had the opportunity to connect with our ‘references’ to gain insights into our organization and what our references' experiences had been.
We offered space for applicants to ask about our decisions.
If an applicant was interested in learning why we made a decision, how they could improve or even share how our process could have been better, we always offered options to connect at each point in the process.
In Conclusion
Wrapping up this experience had me walking away with a very clear understanding that hiring can no longer be a process that just goes through the motions. In our current society, hiring and human resources have become impersonal and regulated to the point of dehumanization. It should be telling when the majority consensus of applying for jobs or hiring new people is a generally negative experience. Looking at our processes, imagining how they can improve, and then actively critiquing them is imperative in working towards an inclusive and equitable hiring experience.
We must remember...
Hiring is an opportunity.
Hiring is a new beginning.
Hiring is relational.
Hiring is human.
