Mary Wellman
~ 4min read
~ 4min read
Attracting and keeping diverse talent at the beginning of their careers can be challenging. This blog explores how HR professionals are broadening their talent pool and creating an open, inclusive culture. When every candidate gets a fair chance to shine, it benefits both individuals and organisations, making it a true win-win situation.
As mthree’s 2023 Diversity in Tech report revealed, more than half (55 per cent) of organisations struggle to recruit diverse entry-level employees. In a tight labour market when the skills needed in a business evolve, traditional hiring methods can only get employers so far. How can they ensure that exceptional candidates are not being overlooked?
Organisations are adopting new approaches to select the best candidates. Inclusive hiring is key to broadening their search.
Interview transparency is a transformative practice that enables greater diversity and inclusion. It is developed over time as the result of thorough internal reviews about the recruitment process’s efficacy, fairness, and ethical considerations.
Prioritising accessibility in interviews is a way for organisations to elevate their whole recruitment process. The standard job interview format poses several challenges for people who may struggle with understanding social cues and miss nonverbal communication.
Asking every interviewee “Do you need anything?” can be the first step of an accessibility makeover. Also allowing space between interview questions, instead of bombarding a candidate with two or three questions at once is a good tip. Some of us just need five seconds of silence to process our answer.
CEO of Global Disability Inclusion, Meg O'Connell points out that interview process accommodations should be commonplace. Lately, tips for interviewing neurodiverse candidates have been Global Disability Inclusion's most requested training.
Recruiting neurodiverse candidates is an essential step toward building an inclusive and diverse workforce. However, it’s important to remember that everyone is different, and a lot of individuals are undiagnosed or do not declare their neurodiversity.
“To effectively interview and assess candidates with differences, it's important that every interview process is respectful and every stage should be designed to be inclusive without needing reasonable adjustment.” Kat Snodgrass, Global Accounts Director at mthree.
In Neurodiversity 101: How to be intentional in our actions to becoming neuroinclusive, Amanda Kirby, CEO of Do-IT Solution writes : “Awareness is one thing but action and lasting impact is essential… I think we need to be inclusive by default rather than retrofitting the actions. We need to bake inclusion into all our processes”.
Khadijah Pandor, Head of Partnerships for EMEA and NA at mthree says neuroinclusion is a welcome outcome of interview transparency. In ‘More organisations should follow John Lewis’s example and pre-share interview questions’ she says: “Knowing what they’re going to be asked in advance can significantly reduce anxiety for neurodivergent job candidates”.
In his recruiter's guide to interviewing neurodiverse candidates, Scott Coleman-Allan, Director of Global DE&I, Talent & Strategy at mthree lists good practice to help alleviate anxiety and ensure candidates are adequately prepared.
Perry Oostdam, the CEO and co-founder of Recruitee, highlights how collaborative hiring can reduce implicit bias and enhance fairness. He outlines five steps to foster a more inclusive and diverse hiring process, such as asking uniform questions to all candidates.
While many employers recognise the value of diversity, implementing it can be challenging. At mthree we’re committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, free from discrimination. We treat everyone with fairness, regardless of their background or identity, ensuring equal opportunities for all. Our goal is to create an environment where everyone can thrive.
Our workforce solutions help employers tackle workforce challenges and tap into diverse pools of early career talent without compromising quality. Here, we present five best practices for diversity hiring to guide employers through the process and promote inclusivity.
Nearly half of employees surveyed by Greenhouse in 2022 said they rejected a job offer after a bad interview experience. Alarmingly almost one-in -three candidates reported having faced discriminatory questions in a job interview.
Donald Knight, Greenhouse’s chief people officer advises against this kind of illegal yet common practice because it harms both candidates and companies: “Candidates find out the reality of what a company prioritizes and values early in the interviewing process”.
Working out the right questions to ask a potential employee during a job interview is essential. The results of a new survey from Yoh offer organisations a roadmap to revamping their approach to interviews. Candidates tended to favour questions with a positive framing, showcasing their accomplishments and preferred discussing their skills and how they handled difficult situations, rather than hypothetical or non-negotiable questions during interviews.
HR Dive reports the top three favoured questions by candidates are:
The key for hiring managers is to strike the right balance between the candidate’s rehearsed responses on overall experience and potential, and the need to test for spontaneity creativity and problem-solving ability.
During every stage of the recruitment process, amazing diverse talent might be overlooked due to a lack of inclusivity. Looking to bring greater diversity to your workforce? Check out ‘Do’s and Don'ts’ to help employers build a more equitable recruitment process.
Mary Wellman is a Senior Marketing Executive at mthree. She’s a marketing generalist who creates concise and useful content to help solve challenges for our clients. With a STEM degree, an MBA, and 30 years of B2B communication expertise, she is a seasoned business editor.
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