Tips for Attracting a Diverse Candidate Pool

Diversity in the workplace offers many benefits to companies, big and small—after all, different backgrounds breed new ideas and solutions. Check out our tips below if you’re looking to attract a diverse candidate pool to your new job posting.

Branch Out Your Recruiting Methods

If you’ve been using the same recruiting methods and keep getting the same types of candidates, it’s easy to see where you need to make a few changes. To surpass your usual pool of candidates, you’ll have to branch out past your typical recruiting methods.

Instead of posting on job sites, put your posting in other places, like:

• On social media
• Trade groups
• Community organizations
• Trade schools and community colleges

If you want to catch a different fish, you’ll have to cast your line in some new places.

Diversify the Selection Committee

It’s not just the recruitment methods that matter, but it’s also the people who are sifting through applications and candidates. If you want a diverse selection of candidates, it will help to have a diverse body overseeing the recruitment and selection process.

If most of the employees on the selection committee all look the same and have similar backgrounds, odds are they may choose candidates like them. Diversifying the selection committee will give you a better chance of finding a broader scope of candidates.

Promote Inclusive Benefits

If your job posting seems to attract one type of person—whether that’s their age, sex, or background—it could be because of the incentives and perks you’re offering. Your company may offer some convenient and fun perks for young or single-person households, but what about those with families or who are older?

If you’re looking to cast a wider net, consider offering a more diverse range of incentives, like disability insurance, parental care, or retirement benefits. Offering these benefits sets a strong example of the inclusivity that your company strives for.

Use Government Resources

Attracting a diverse candidate pool can be difficult for many companies, which is why many government resources aim to put diverse job seekers in contact with companies that might otherwise not interview them. The VETS program, for example, is a great place to start for hiring and retaining military veterans in your company.

The Workforce Recruitment Program also connects employers with students and recent college graduates with disabilities. In many cases, these programs also come with tax incentives to further benefit your business.

Introduce Anonymous Applications

Sometimes we harbor an inherent bias when we look at basic information about a candidate, like their name or sex, that we don’t realize. Even if we ignore such biases, they can affect our judgment, which is why many companies now use anonymous applications.

An anonymous application removes the name, sex, race, and nation of origin from the candidate’s application. This puts everyone on the same footing and ensures a fair application evaluation process.