The Brokerage The Overlooked Advantage - Flipbook - Page 19
To support the recruitment of underrepresented talent, there are number of changes that can be
implemented ranging from how jobs are presented and advertised - i.e., removing professional
‘jargon’ and non-essential requirements from job descriptions, investing in early outreach to
underrepresented communities, limiting employee referral schemes, and insisting and
incentivising recruiters (if used) to provide diverse shortlists. However, while we would encourage
these practices, many of these interventions focus on the top of the recruitment pipeline,
increasing the chances that underrepresented candidates apply for roles, but these steps alone do
not support their chances of being successfully selected.
Challenging the status quo in recruitment also means having to change organisational reference
points on what ‘good’ looks like. Lack of diversity within the organisation, as well as limited
expertise in hiring candidates from underrepresented backgrounds can result in young people not
being taken seriously or misunderstood during the selection process. Worse, some employers
avoid acknowledging candidates’ life experiences completely, not knowing where to start.
Similarly, young people from underrepresented backgrounds know only too well that references to
their background can unhelpfully highlight the differences between them and hiring managers,
often side-stepping these topics in applications and interviews:
“It’s difficult [talking about the full range of your experiences] because there is an undertone of
favouritism. In job interviews I choose to draw on examples from professional life, which means
I’m “code switching” – I use words I won’t use with my peers, I don’t talk about my
background.” - Current Brokerage Candidate
As a result, the recruitment process is impoverished - both through lack of employers’ knowledge
on how to meet individual applicants’ needs and talk about differences with sensitivity, and through
young people’s lack of confidence to relate their lived experience to the skills and qualities that
employers are looking for.
In contrast, employers who can recognise that the diversity of experience is what makes up an
individual and find ways to embrace differences during recruitment will have a far more nuanced
picture of candidates’ ability to inform their assessment, like in one example shared by an
interviewee:
“At the time I was interviewing for this job, rap culture in the UK was growing. Artists were
coming up from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to mine, telling their story of growing up in
London. During the interview I was able to speak to that from my personal perspective, and
provide examples in the interview that were very specific to the challenge the business was
experiencing. I had a background in mathematics and economics like many other applicants,
but I was also the only person of colour, and was able to pitch an idea for an artist to the
marketing team speaking from a first-hand perspective. Immediately I was in an elevated
position.” - Former Brokerage Candidate
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