Addressing Diversity and Inclusion in Your Job Search

If you’re a job seeker who values diversity and inclusion (D&I), you’re not alone. According to a recent survey, 70% of job seekers want to work for an employer that is committed to D&I. While it’s a top-of-mind concern for many, knowing how to address diversity and inclusion while job searching and interviewing can be difficult.

Prioritizing diversity and inclusion in your job search may require a time investment on your end, but it is an investment that you can feel good about. Read on to learn how to address diversity and inclusion in your job search.

Research Prospective Employers

Today, employers are increasingly tailoring postings to attract a pool of diverse candidates. While including D&I language and listing any applicable Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) policies and objectives in a job posting are a step in the right direction, it’s not the end of the road.

That’s why job seekers need to do their homework and check to see if the prospective employer practices what they preach. As such, one of the first things you should do when searching for a job is to research each potential employer. You can do this by running a quick Google search of the company and browsing their website.

While you’re researching prospective employers to see how they support diversity and inclusion at their organization, some things to look for include:

• Is their leadership team diverse?
• Do they have organization-wide diversity and inclusion initiatives?
• Do they give back to their community?

In addition, you’ll want to search the company on LinkedIn, as this site allows you to connect with current employees. You’ll be able to see whether their workforce is diverse, and you can connect with employees to ask questions about D&I if you feel comfortable doing so.

By investing the time in this step, you can assess whether a company actually promotes diversity and inclusion, or whether they’re just saying that they do. Also, if the company gives back to the community or has a D&I initiative in place, you can ask about it when you interview.

Diversity and Inclusion Interview Questions to Ask

After you’ve researched the company, it’s time to prepare for your interview. In addition to devoting your time toward general interview preparations, you should also take some time to prepare a list of questions to ask to address diversity and inclusion in your job search. While you’ll want to tweak these questions based on the company, good questions to ask include:

• How important is diversity and inclusion in your organization?

• What are your company’s values?
• How diverse is your senior leadership team? What about your management team?
• How does your leadership team support diversity and inclusion at your organization?
• How does your company promote diversity and inclusion throughout all departments?
• Does your company mandate diversity, inclusion, and harassment training? If so, how frequently?
• What is your company’s process for reviewing claims of discrimination?
• What programs do you have in place to support diversity and inclusion?
• Who holds management and senior leadership accountable for diversity and inclusion?

Remember, this list of questions isn’t a surefire way to find out if a company is supportive of D&I, but it should serve as a great starting point.

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Making an Informed Decision

Prioritizing diversity and inclusion in your job search is a great way to ensure you find a job that aligns with your personal beliefs. By keeping these tips in mind, you can address diversity and inclusion throughout your job search.