How To Make A Less Racist, More Inclusive Job Listing

ILLUSTRATION: ISABELLA CARAPELLA/HUFFPOST; PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES There are sneaky ways the hiring process discriminates against diverse candidates, and it starts with language in the job listing. “I’ve seen job listings that are like, ‘Do you care about your appearance as much as the work you do?‘” Sanchez said. “Language is all culturally situated, language is political and it comes from our own backgrounds.” - Nicole Sanchez, CEO of Vaya Consulting Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit technology company that provides tools and services for artists, ended education requirements for job applicants a few years ago because the information was not relevant for the hiring process, said COO Tim Cynova. “It tells us that they completed high school or have their bachelor’s degree or master’s degree, but not, ‘Can they do this job in finance at Fractured Atlas?’” Cynova said. “Now you are getting a diversity of how people approach the problem, and that’s great.” Instead of education requirements, Cynova said, companies can take more time up front to interrogate what qualities candidates really need to have to succeed in this role, and then make it so that every question asked in the job posting and hiring process is tied to answering one question: “Does this candidate have the knowledge, skills and abilities that we’ve identified as part of this role to be successful?” Don’t be too narrow with desired past experiences.