Strategies for Recruiting
Diverse Employees
- Top Down Support. Do not
even begin to recruit minority candidates until your leadership
is committed to the process. If you recruit simply to meet a quota
imposed from the outside, your efforts will fail. Take the time
necessary for your leadership to become enthused about the process
through an understanding of why hiring members of minority communities
will contribute to the success of the business or organization
and ultimately benefit the majority, as well as the minority,
community.
- Diversify Search Committee. Include
diverse staff members on the search committee. If you have limited
diversity on your staff, bring in diverse community members. Diverse
committee members will have good ideas about where to look for
candidates and will be able to help you see your business or organization
from a minority candidate’s point of view. A few adjustments
may make you a much more attractive employer.
- Show Enthusiasm. Make sure
that minority staff members who participate in recruitment efforts
are enthusiastic about Rochester and your business or institution.
A potential minority candidate may be more likely to begin a conversation
with a recruiter similar to him or her but, if the recruiter cannot
be both honest and positive about the job and the city, the conversation
is not likely to result in an interested candidate.
- Reach Minority Students. Focus
your recruitment efforts on universities or community colleges
where a majority of the students are from minority groups. Even
more effective would be to form partnerships with one or more
of these institutions. Find a way to participate in the institution
or donate services or materials in such a way that the students
are consistently reminded of the employment opportunities in your
business or organization.
- Strategic Posting. Broaden
the location of job postings. Seek out publications or local bulletin
boards that are most likely to be read by diverse candidates.
- Emphasize Skills. Pay attention
to the wording of the job advertisement. Emphasize the skills
required for the job over academic degrees that an otherwise-qualified
candidate may not have. Be sure to encourage diverse applicants
to apply and include any details that might be particularly attractive
to diverse applicants.
- Look for Potential. Keep
an open mind when you are evaluating the credentials of minority
candidates. Recognize the value of nonacademic experience. Acknowledge
the value of succeeding against the odds.
- Look at Your Own Ranks. Seek
out potential among the diverse employees in lower levels of your
organization. Your current employees already live in Rochester
and have shown an interest in your industry or profession. Many
factors may have kept them from applying for higher-level positions,
including not knowing about potential jobs, lack of familiarity
with job qualifications or application procedures, deficiency
in career counseling in the employee’s high school, the
belief that they won’t be given a fair chance, and low expectations
for themselves. Educational support and effective mentoring can
maximize the potential of your diverse employees.
- Community Support. Garner
community support for a diverse workforce and involve the community
in your recruitment process. When a candidate comes for a site
visit, create opportunities for him or her to meet people who
understand the value of a diverse workforce and who will make
the candidate feel welcome in Rochester. Real estate agents, lenders,
members of the business community, teachers, and community leaders
can be helpful in this regard. A candidate might also want to
talk about Rochester with community members who belong to his
or her minority group. Special introductions to or even interviews
with potential employers of the candidate’s spouse can be
very helpful also.
- Think Positive. Believe
that you can be successful. Believe that you have a job, an opportunity,
and a future that will be challenging and fulfilling for diverse
employees. If you don’t believe it, your candidates won’t
either.
Developed by George Thompson.
Strategies
for Retaining Diverse Employees |
New Resource:
The Multicultural Diversity Center is producing
a new multicultural recruiting directory, coming out in November
2005. For more information, go to www.mcdc.org.
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