Like eating the proverbial elephant, successfully navigating the path to diversity requires a series of small steps rather than a single leap. It is a journey that combines people, processes, and technology across a wide range of topics, each with its own challenges and rewards. During this session, we will explore the rich landscape of hiring and how to blaze a trail to an unbiased, diverse program: from communication and candidate experience, to qualifications, candidate evaluations, assessments, and finally candidate selection. We will define goals, tactics and techniques, along with insights on how to effect change within your organizations. Join us as we map a step-by-step path to a more diverse and inclusive hiring program.

1. 1
Position the interviewee so that their back is NOT to the door
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Avoids accidently startling candidates
• Back to the door raises anxiety and discomfort for
those who:
• Experience anxiety when startled
• Are deaf so cannot hear someone entering
• Have been trained never to have their back to
the door (military, law enforcement, etc.)
Credit: Melissa Dobbins, CEO Career.Place
Most appreciated by:
Veterans Disabilities Abuse / PTSD

2. 2
Remove (or define) business jargon in the hiring process
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Terminology tests knowledge of terminology, which is
usually irrelevant and/or trainable
• Creates disadvantage for those who are:
• Veterans
• Shifting careers
• New into a career
• Struggling to break into an industry/career for
unrelated reasons
Credit: Melissa Dobbins, CEO Career.Place
Most appreciated by:
Veterans Career shifts Disabilities

3. 3
Credit: Samantha McLaren, Author, D&I Advocate
Not sure about a name or gender? Ask, don’t guess
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Asking shows you care, guessing risks putting
candidate in an awkward position to correct you
• Names don’t match between documents –
email, driver's license, etc.
• Ask if name is unfamiliar or you don’t know how
to pronounce it
• If you don’t know, ask what pronoun to use
• consider how a candidate would feel if you
guess and you are wrong
• Don’t ask for “preferred pronoun” – it is not a
preference, it just is
Most appreciated by:
LGBT+ Ethnicities

4. 4
Choose a single, wheelchair-accessible location for the interview
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Don’t force candidates to start the interview asking
for help
• Ensure all candidates are entering the building
through an accessible entrance and accessible route
to the interview location
• Interviewers should meet the candidate at the single
interview location
• Needing reasonable accommodation indicates “not
designed for me”
Credit: Melissa Dobbins, CEO Career.Place
Most appreciated by:
Disabilities Veterans Mobility

5. 5
Credit: Alisha West, Operations Coordinator, Business Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST)
Ask the interviewee if he or she prefers to keep the door open or closed during the
interview
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Not everyone is comfortable being in an enclosed
private environment with someone they don’t know
• Increases discomfort / anxiety for:
• Those with specific religious beliefs and/or
practices that prohibit being alone with
someone of the opposite sex
• Those who have experienced certain dramas,
abuse, or victims of sex trafficking
• Keep the door open or giving the option shows
candidates there is nothing to fear
Most appreciated by:
Victims Religions

6. 6
Avoid assuming genders of significant others in conversation
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Avoid assuming gender when speaking about
significant others / partners / spouses
• If you guess wrong – candidate will be forced
between two potentially uncomfortable options:
• If correcting: candidate is forced to disclose their
sexual preferences
• If not correcting: candidate is forced to ‘hide’
their sexual preference
• Note: NEVER ask about significant others / partners /
spouses – that is illegal
Most appreciated by:
LGBT+
Credit: Melissa Dobbins, CEO Career.Place

7. 7
Credit: Julie Sowash, Sr. Consultant, Disability Solutions
Verify physical “must haves” for a job are REALLY must haves
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Establish a clear reason for the necessity of every
physical requirement
• Regularly review the requirements to ensure they are
still relevant to the position
• Are there other ways to achieve a physical goal such
as
• Assigning to other team members
• Using devices or machinery to help
• Accomplishing tasks another way
Most appreciated by:
Disabilities Genders

8. 8
Credit: Julie Sowash, Sr. Consultant, Disability Solutions
Don’t assume mental or cognitive impairments when someone has a physical disability
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Speak the same way to those with physical
disabilities as those without
• Adjust interaction only if required
• Note: It is common courtesy to ask someone if they
need help such as by removing obstacles
Most appreciated by:
Disabilities

9. 9
Prepare a FAQ to answer all those questions your candidates won’t ask, but really
need to know
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Asking certain questions could put candidates at a
perceived or real disadvantage. For example:
• Maternity or paternity policies
• Availability of nursing rooms or prayer rooms
• Medical leave policies
• Draft an FAQ to answer questions without singling
out any candidates
Most appreciated by:
Parenthood Religions Disabilities
Credit: Melissa Dobbins, CEO Career.Place

10. 10
Don’t limit culture description to happy hours and holiday parties
Tip for Inclusive Hiring
• Using non-work-related activities to describe culture
may be unintentionally alienating individuals
• Consider how ‘happy hours and holiday parties’
sounds to those who don’t drink alcohol or
those with after-hour obligations
• Social rarely are required for success on a job or for
an individual to ‘fit in’ with the culture
• If listing social activities, add terms like ‘optional’
• Add variety to example events, such as pot-lucks,
volunteer days, and family picnics to show inclusion
Most appreciated by:
Parenthood Religions Disabilities
Credit: Melissa Dobbins, CEO Career.Place