2. Inclusive Job Ads
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Inclusive Job Ad Guide
Job Title: pick the most common or basic version of the job title you are hiring for. Chief people and culture officer or coding ninja can be fun names that have deep meaning within a company, but they add an extra barrier for candidates who are trying to find your job.
Start with Why: What is the positive difference this role/opportunity/organization makes in the world? Why would I leave my current job to work here? Here’s an example from B Corp, Mamava.
At Mamava we are dedicated to transforming the culture of breastfeeding, making it more optimistic, realistic, accommodating, and inviting to all mamas.
The Position: There’s rarely a need to give a long list of duties. Instead, finish this sentence: your goal in this position is to… Give the top few responsibilities, or anything unusual about the position, and otherwise, skip the tedious (and usually obvious) list of duties.
Here’s an example of how we might summarize a job that had over 20 duties listed in it’s job description:
Your goal in this position is the swift and flawless administration of a busy medical office, so that our six physicians and one nurse can treat thousands of patients en route to happier, healthier lives.
You’ll manage appointment bookings, patient questions, and requests between our office and various healthcare partners. You’ll organize medical information and supplies, keeping the office running smoothly.
The Organization: One sentence, describing in simple terms what you do, with a hyperlink to your website, is all the applicant needs. Other corporate info is gobbledygook.
Practical Stuff: If at all possible, include compensation information (you’ll increase applications 30%). Describe the practical stuff; it really matters and sticks in applicants’ minds. For example, describe your space, location, proximity to transit or amenities, etc.
Working with Us: Ask yourself, what are all the reasons people like working here? You probably have perks you’re not thinking of, ex. your offices are in a gorgeous historical building, filled with light, right beside a subway station. You offer free parking, work from home or other flex arrangements, opportunities for learning and growth. The work is autonomous or the team is super supportive. You use the latest in technology, gadgets, software. There’s travel or there’s no travel (both can be perks). You throw a lot of parties and events, and give days off to volunteer. Mention any programs you have in place to be more inclusive – access to training, mentoring programs, equal opportunity policies for promotions. Whatever it is, say it.
Qualifications: If you want to attract diverse, qualified people, and reduce barriers to employment, stick to the MINIMUM, MEASURABLE knowledge, skills and experiences required to do the job. For example, education and certificates, experience doing certain tasks or using certain software, a track record of success in a certain field. A long list of poorly thought out qualifications can be a serious barrier to employment, particularly for women.
Sample Qualifications –
barrier to employment
- 10+ years in medical administration in a medical specialist’s office
- Experience with Microsoft Office and ability to learn new software quickly
- Experience using ClinicSoft
- Bilingualism (English/Spanish) is an asset
- University degree from an accredited domestic university, with specialization in business administration
- Well-organized, detail oriented and a proven ability to work well in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment
- English native speaker with strong verbal and written communication skills
- Working knowledge of state medical regulations
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are required
- Reliable and dependable
Sample Qualifications –
minimum & measurable
- Experience working as a medical administrator, including experience managing patient appointments and requests, and communication with healthcare partners
- Experience using computers for work, including Microsoft Office and clinic administration software
- Fluent English; Spanish language skills an asset
How to Apply: Many job ads use this section to deter applicants. To warn them that they will not hear back, to discourage unqualified people from applying, and so on. Sadly, that kind of language deters qualified people too, and sends a message that you don’t value applicants’ time and interest. Here’s a sample How to Apply section that does the opposite.
Our online application will give you the option to apply to this role as a complete person – not just a resume. The application will assess your qualifications, personality traits and workplace preferences, and should take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. After submitting, you’ll receive an email inviting you to log in and view your assessment results.
We value diversity and inclusion and encourage all qualified people to apply. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please contact us with the “Help” button in the application.
We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you.
By adding a statement about accommodation, you open the job application process to people with a range of disabilities. People will tell you exactly what they need. We’ve had candidates ask for written materials printed on a larger font, measurements of doorframes to see if their wheelchair could fit, or a glass of water for the interview.
Here’s a different example of a diversity and inclusion statement, from fellow B Corp, See3. We love how explicitly it welcomes job seekers to apply.
See3 is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, and we look for candidates who have a high level of demonstrated comfort with cultural competency.
People of color, people with disabilities, veterans, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are encouraged to apply.
All applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, sex, marital or parental status, disability, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis prohibited by law.
Use some or all of these sections to create a new, exciting job ad for your B Corp. You’ll know it’s working when qualified people walk into your interview and tell you they can’t wait to land the job!
Join the conversation on the B Hive Workplace Diversity & Inclusion group here.
Interview Transcription
James: Luz, give us the big picture. Why shouldn’t I just look up a similar job on Indeed, change the company information and post it. Are there other things I can be doing to make a job ad more likely to attract a more diverse candidate pool?
Luz: Yes, absolutely. If I could tell people to change one thing in their recruiting practice, it would be to change the way they write job ads. A job ad is your first opportunity to show most job seekers that you are a welcoming organization and it’s something that you can change fairly easily, it’s inexpensive and it’s kind of fun to do.
The very first thing I would say to people is to write job ads using clear or plain language. Most of the jobs out there, like the ones you mentioned on the job boards, are really dense and full of jargon – they are hard to read, especially if you haven’t achieved a high level of education or if you don’t speak English as a first language. They can create barriers to your full participation in that recruitment and ultimately in that employment opportunity. Instead, if you write in clear, simple terms you reduce the barriers to both those who do and don’t have a high reading level. You should avoid using jargon, acronyms, and overly formal language like what you find in a lot of job ads online.
Avoid words that are exclusionary. For example, how simple is it to stop saying salesman and say sales person instead. Aim for words, tone, phrase, metaphors and references that are inclusive and that can be understood by the broadest audience.
James: So, that sounds like you’re talking about how I’m writing, but what about specific content? Are there changes you would make there?
Luz: Yeah, for sure. Again, these are not difficult to do.
The first one is that it’s fun to have cool unique job titles internally like coding ninja or chief people and culture officer, but those job titles are less effective on the boards because those aren’t the terms that people are searching for on a job board. Go with the most obvious or basic title for the job you’re looking to fill.
The second is a little more difficult. Put some thought into your qualifications and aim for the minimum qualifications someone would need to be a viable candidate for a job. Start by listing only the skills that you absolutely need to do the job well. For example, do you really need an advanced degree in business to do an entry level sales role or could you be effective in that job if you have a bit of experience selling in a business to business role.
Also, use the broadest version of a skill. A common qualification is to have completed high school, but it’s more inclusive to say, have you achieved high school or its equivalent. Maybe somebody achieved their high school certificate in a different way or in a different jurisdiction. By stating both, you’re increasing the number of people who would be included in that qualification.
The other thing I would absolutely include is a diversity and inclusion statement. But I wouldn’t put one there that sounds like it was added for legal purposes. Studies have shown that can backfire. Applicants from underrepresented groups who can sense or infer that a company is not seeking diversity and inclusion from their values won’t apply.
To give you an example of that, we came across a diversity and inclusion statement that we really love from a Chicago based B Corp, called See 3.
See3 is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, and we look for candidates who have a high level of demonstrated comfort with cultural competency.
People of color, people with disabilities, veterans, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are encouraged to apply.
All applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, sex, marital or parental status, disability, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis prohibited by law.
The reason I love that statement is because it sounds like See 3 wrote it. It doesn’t sound like something they copied and pasted from the internet and that makes it sound authentic. Many different kinds of people are called out and offered welcome to the employment opportunity. To me it reads like a sincere call for diverse people to be included in that company.
James: It’s cool knowing See 3, they spent quite a while going through specific diversity training. This comes out of their culture and it’s really obvious to me when I read that.
I also wanted to do a little more research to see what diversity programs are working. There’s been some great research done on this by the Harvard Business Review. They’ve got a great study I would recommend checking out called, “Why Diversity Programs Fail.” There were some great diversity initiatives that they talked about. A lot of female and minority applicants want to know how your company is different. Some of the specific things you can call out are:
- Do you have any awards you’ve received for diversity? Having a third party to verify that is a way to show you’re serious.
- Mention any programs or policies that have been proven to create inclusive opportunities. Studies show having access to training, mentoring and equal opportunity promotion programs all help create a more diverse company.
- Being a B Corp and your involvement in the Inclusion Challenge.
Before we finish, I’d love to take a quick look at the end of a job ad. Luz, you think this has been a missed opportunity for most people.
Luz: A lot of job ads end with a hostile tone. Only candidates who are invited to an interview will receive a response or please no phone calls. They create distance with the job seeker, instead of saying something that is welcoming and inclusive like, we value your interest in our company and we look forward to receiving your application. That’s a really simple way of flagging that you are welcoming of a wide variety of jobseekers and reducing the intimidation factor.
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