There are many benefits to hiring justice-impacted individuals that not many employers think of such as gaining employees who are loyal, having phenomenal leader skills, and even improving long-term retention. We are finding that a lot of employers don’t have justice-impacted friendly hiring practices and are actually hindering those individuals from succeeding in the job market. But don’t worry, your company can become allies of justice-impacted individuals with a few tweaks of your hiring process.
Recruitment
The first step to accessing this untapped pool of talent is rethinking your recruiting strategies. We are finding that these individuals most of the time don’t come from traditional channels such as LinkedIn, Indeed, or job fairs. These traditional channels can cause barriers due to the resources that individuals need to access them or even the type of questions that are asked through these channels. Instead of relying on these types of channels, being intentional and meaningful with the relationships that you build in the community can break down this barrier. One of the best ways to reach these folks and build relationships is by partnering with reentry programs and community-based organizations. While these individuals are trying to rebuild a life for themselves; many of them turn to organizations such as these for resources and assistance. Building a partnership with these local organizations helps you build a reputation with local businesses while also meeting the job seekers where they are at. Actions like these show that you are committed to seeing their potential and paying attention to your community’s needs. This also gives you extra security as a business owner since these local organizations are vouching for the individuals and their skill sets.
Job Postings and Applications
One thing to remember throughout the whole process of hiring a justice-impacted individual is to be clear about the job and what it entails. Whether it is when you are talking to local centers, mentors, or even writing your job posting; you want to be as clear as possible on what you need in this position.
Job postings are the first (or even last) impression that someone gets about your company. In that time, you need to sell yourself and the job enough for individuals to feel comfortable, confident, and ready to apply.
The language that is used in job postings can cause an individual to continue their application. Revisiting the language that you use, looking at it from a different perspective, or getting feedback on it from different backgrounds can give you the data you need to make your job positing as justice-impacted friendly as possible. Ask yourself the following questions to start:
- Is it clear and indicates exactly what the job entails?
- Does it state that it needs a clean record?
- Does this job post focus on skills and character traits?
- Is it siloed to company terminologies that may not be understood by someone outside of the company?
- Is it inclusive?
There are a lot of things that companies can get wrapped up in and not think of how job posting comes off to an individual who is not already within the company and may accidentally create barriers without knowing it.
When writing an inclusive job posting, you want to keep in mind the viewer you are targeting. If you are looking to be a second-chance employer, these questions can make or break the deal. If you have items such as arbitrary credentials, company jargon, or even the statement of needing a clean record; this can alienate those individuals who may be a great fit but being held back by having a record. Changing your language to have items such as skills and character traits as the focus can open the door for these individuals without a degree to apply. Including a statement that says “We welcome applicants who may be justice-impacted. If you select that you are justice-impacted in the application, it is not an automatic no. We will discuss opportunities in the interview” or cutting out the fluff wording to make it more direct and show growth opportunities can open be a game changer to the applicant.
Finally, investigate the option to submit a resume that does not go through a scanning system. Some individuals may be limited to the resources they have available or even the opportunity to access local resources. This means that they may not have the means to make a resume scan friendly and may get missed in the search due to that barrier. Making your process more job seeker friendly allows you to not miss out on an ideal candidate due to lack of resources provided to them. This all goes back to networking and thinking about what channels your viewers may be exploring to apply.
Interview
Now that we reviewed the recruitment process and the application process, let’s discuss interviewing. Did you know that some of the standard interview questions such as “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or “Tell me about your last job” can be a barrier to those who are justice-impacted? Not because of lack of ability to answer, but mainly because many justice-impacted people don’t go through the traditional routes of life. These questions can lead to answers that fall short and do not showcase the skillset that they may need.
Instead, what you can do is ask questions that can help highlight a situation they have been in or showcase some of their soft skills such as:
- Can you describe a difficult situation you have been in and how you handled it?
- How have you handled a tense situation in the past?
- What makes you a good leader?
- Describe a time when you motivated others. How did it go?
These types of questions allow the answer to be more open-ended and give them a chance to share some experiences that may not be on the traditional workforce path. When listening to these answers, listen for the soft skills they may be demonstrating such as resilience, resourcefulness, and emotional intelligence. Now of course, use your best judgement if history does come up, and it may not be a good fit (i.e. Someone with a background of theft may not be good at a bank).
Bias Unconscious or Not
Bias… It is hard to be aware of it sometimes, especially in the hiring process. However, when it comes to hiring, you want to try to keep your biases away. These unconscious or conscious biases can be harmful, especially for those who are justice-impacted.
Some ways that you can keep the unconscious bias away are by:
- Avoiding asking about their record or if you do, lead with curiosity, not judgement.
- Don’t make assumptions on any gaps in their work history.
- Focus on the potential of the interviewee over how polished they are.
Doing these items is a great way to weed out the unconscious biases while also letting the interviewee show off their skills confidently and unjudgmentally. Of course, training your team and staying up with training on how to handle unconscious biases is also always a good way to keep your hiring process inclusive. As Armand King and Jonas Royster write in The Cheat Code to Reentry Hiring:
“If you’re only looking for candidates who interview like a polished professional, you’ll miss the one who could become your most loyal, driven, and resilient employee.
The interview isn’t about checking boxes – it’s about opening doors. When you shift your questions and mindset, you’ll be surprised by what you find on the other side.
You’re not just interviewing for a position – you’re interviewing for transformation. And it starts by seeing the value others overlook. “
Take these notes and think about how you may become more inclusive to the untapped workforce market you may be missing. Trust us, they want to work, and they are looking for someone to give them the opportunity to show off the skills they have.