Hire Beyond Bias

Have you ever received a job application from someone who isn’t currently working? Were you quick to move it to the bottom of the pile? Do you equate “unemployed” with “unemployable”? Be honest.

It’s ok to admit that we’re biased. We are biased, it’s human nature. It’s easy to continue doing the things we’re familiar with. It’s easy to stay in the comfort zone.

The best way to change our mindset, and start doing something different, is to realize that’s in our best interests to do so. For example, convincing leaders that diverse companies perform better – they do, by the way – is a very compelling argument to build a diverse company. Much more so that doing it for compliance reasons, which becomes a statistic game.

So, rather than appealing to your sense of duty, I’m going to make a case that hiring someone unemployed can be a good thing for your company. Here are five reasons you should seriously consider an application from someone who isn’t currently employed by another company.

#1 – Hunger

Not having a safety net tends to sharpen our instincts. We become more determined than ever because the alternative is bleak. Determination is a great attribute in a new team member. Give me someone hungry any day.

Think about it. Hungry people are more likely to try harder. They are more likely to make the most of each opportunity. When people try their best almost anything is possible. Harness that hunger and turn it into passion.

#2 – Reflection

When people have a break for the day-to-day grind – whether it’s a forced break or a voluntary one – they have time to reflect. This is often a good thing.

Taking a step back and reflecting on what is important to us is both healthy and productive. We come out the other side with a renewed sense of purpose. We become energized.

When people have a high degree of clarity and purpose they tend to perform. They have a personal mission and, if it aligns with your company’s mission it’s a match made in heaven.

#3 – Parents

Sometimes we take time off work to care for children. Often times it’s women, but increasingly men are acting as primary carers for their newborns.

Aside from being the right thing to do, it’s smart to hire people after they’ve been on parental leave and to be a company that accommodates parents and families.

First, becoming a parent is kind of like doing a degree and serving in the military at the same time. Trust me, I’ve done all three. Parents acquire incredible new skills, and they do it at speed and without a safety net. Parents learn how to figure things out on a dime, how to negotiate, how to make the most of time and, importantly, they develop empathy. These are extremely valuable qualities in any team member.

Second, everyone else in your team will see that you care about something bigger than short term profits. They’ll see that you prioritize what they care about. That is a powerful motivator.

#4 – Resilience

People who have been out of work or changed careers have experienced rejection. It’s not easy, but it’s a necessary part of life. As a founder or CEO, rejection is unavoidable. We hear “no” from customers, investors and the media. If you are leader, you’re used to it. It never feels good but it’s important to learn from each rejection in order to avoid the next one.

Look out for people who have learned from rejection and developed resilience. You’ll know two things about them. First, they won’t crumble at the first sign of trouble. Second, they will have a strong sense of personal awareness, which means they’ll be more likely to improve at a fast rate.

#5 – Work Is Changing

Once upon a time we each worked for one company, full time, in one physical location. It’s not like that anymore. Today we collaborate in so many different ways. We work freelance or part time. We work on projects with multiple companies at the same time. We work remotely.

Just because someone isn’t working “full time,” it doesn’t mean they’re not being hugely productive, albeit in an unconventional way. Don’t judge people by the logos behind them. Look into what they’re doing and what they care about.

The next amazing innovator is just as likely to be found outside a company than inside one. Probably more likely.

Pay It Forward by Hiring Unemployed Workers

I promised this article would focus on reasons hiring someone unemployed will be good for your company, not just your soul. But guess what, it’s both.

When you step outside your comfort zone, or when you give someone a chance, good things happen. People get inspired. You feel alive.

Do it.

Employees are your most valuable asset. If you want your business to thrive, you need to find and hire top talent. Despite the different channels that you can use to find the right people for the job, there are challenges that you’ll have to overcome during the process. Recruiting Millennials, not to mention retaining them, is key to your company’s sustainable competitive advantage.

Millennials are currently the largest generation in the labor force. It only makes sense to adjust your recruitment process to appeal to them. Here are a few strategies that you can incorporate into your current hiring process.

Create a Sense of Purpose

Although this generation has been frequently maligned, the reputation is undeserved. Making a social impact and having a sense of purpose is very important to them. That’s why they’re attracted to companies and brands which promote some kind of social awareness.

A job which puts food on the table is ok, but millennials want more than that. They would like to contribute to your company’s growth with their skills and expertise. It is therefore essential to show them how to do that.

A big, fat paycheck and cool perks won’t be the only reason why a talented and hard-working millennial would find your job offer appealing. So make sure to mention your company’s mission and values in your job description, as millennials want to find meaning in their work.

Personalize the Experience

Personalization is all the rage in every industry, and millennials, who expect their purchasing experience to be highly tailored and personalized, want the same from the recruitment process.

You can see whether they’re the right fit for your company and win them over by conducting the interview at the office where they would work. This will allow them to get a test taste of what it is like to work for you and get a glimpse of the work environment that they will potentially be a part of.

Ask them a lot of questions, and let them do the talking. Active listening is essential for learning as much about them as possible. Plus, being heard is something that they highly value. It would send a positive vibe if you give them the time of day and hear what they have to say.

Include Your Team in Recruiting Millennials

It’s a good idea to include your team in the recruitment process and have them interview your candidates. First of all, they are the ones who will be closely working with the new member of the team. Don’t forget that it’s they who’ll mentor the new hire, show them the ropes, and train them until they’ve gotten the hang of everything. It’s important that they participate in the selection process.

Besides that, this approach will show your current employees that you value their opinion. That’s something that will definitely present your leadership in a positive light.

Needless to say, your Millennial candidates will notice and appreciate the way you treat your employees. That will undoubtedly appeal to them.

Offer them an Opportunity to Build Their Personal Brand

Millennials are keen on personal growth. They want jobs that will help them develop their professional skills and expertise.

According to a Gallup report, 59% of them mention opportunities to learn and grow as extremely important factors when it comes to applying for a new job. They need to know that they won’t be stuck in a dead-end job if they decide to work for you. It’s essential that they understand that they’ll have an opportunity to learn new things and build their personal brand.

Get Creative With Benefits

Essential perks are a must. At a minimum, healthcare, dental, and retirement plans should be a regular part of your employee benefits package.

As you know, tech giants like Google and Apple have earned their reputation as the most desirable employers. They offer generous employee perks such as gyms, free snacks, and spa centers on campus.

Not many companies can afford such luxuries, but luckily, there are other ways to attract millennial employees. For example, the stat saying that 78% of millennials are more likely to spend their money on a desirable experience instead of a desirable thing speaks volumes about their mindset.

In other words, you don’t have to offer expensive material things if you want to appeal to them. Telecommuting and flexible hours, for example, could be just what will make them happy. This flexibility allows them to plan their schedule and spend more quality time with their loved ones. These benefits could mean more to them than other perks.

It’s also a win-win for both parties because studies show that working from home positively affects productivity, which means your company will benefit from this perk too.

Millennial employees might be demanding in terms of what they expect from their job. That’s actually good for your company, because they’re ready to commit to and work towards your shared goals. That’s what your recruitment process should reflect in order to attract and keep them.

It would be best to create an in-house recruitment process that works for you and invest in an in-house piece of software for that process. That way you’ll have your applicants’ resumes and other important information in one place. You can study them and effectively personalize the recruitment experience.

The Bottom Line for Recruiting Millennials

Good News: If you’re good at recruiting Millennials, you’ll be successful in attracting other qualified candidates as well!

In response to a recent Lead at Any Level post regarding job descriptions that attract diverse candidates, Omer Molad at Vervoe offers the following additional advice. (Editor’s note: This content originally appeared on the Vervoe blog and has been republished here at the request of the author.)

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Here’s how to write a job description that will attract the right candidates.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

– Greg Anderson

Why Focus on Activities?

People are hired to perform value-adding activities. While companies have different approaches to how they hire, their goals are usually the same. Every company wants to hire high-performing people, not people who just look good on paper.

Despite this simple and obvious assumption, too many companies ignore activities and focus on things that don’t indicate performance. This happens at every stage of the hiring process. For example:

• Many job descriptions focus on what candidates have done in the past.
• Screening is based on candidates’ backgrounds.
• Assessment methods often don’t simulate the tasks are performed in the role.

Instead, use on-the-job activities as the guide for the entire hiring process. If you follow this principle, you will hire people who perform the value-adding activities you require.

Here’s how it works.

The Job Description

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

– Lewis Carroll

Defining the role is the foundation of hiring. If you do that incorrectly, the entire hiring process will be steered in the wrong direction. The clearer you are, the higher your chances of attracting the person you want.

The problem with so many job descriptions is that they are aren’t linked closely enough to the daily activities of the job. Let’s change that.

A good job description should have three sections:

1. Start with why

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

– Simon Sinek

This approach is entirely applicable to job descriptions. Sell candidates on your company’s vision and story. Sell them on the role and the culture. This will achieve two things. First, it is likely to increase the quality of applicants. Second, candidates will be more likely to invest in the application process and make an effort if they buy into your “why”.

Conversely, candidates who don’t relate to your vision or culture will opt out. Mission accomplished.

2. Describe the role in activities

Outline, point by point, what the successful candidate will do every day. Keep it simple and be very specific. No clichés, no jargon. Candidates need to understand how they will spend each day, what they need to achieve, who they’ll be working with and under what conditions.

This is a great way of managing expectations. By communicating to candidates what they’ll be doing in the role, you are forcing them to ask themselves whether they can do those activities well and how much they enjoy doing them. This presents another opportunity for less suitable candidates to opt out.

3. State your requirements

The previous two sections should make this part easy because you’ve set the scene. Candidates already know what your company stands for and what they’ll be doing in the role. Now you can add some more detail about the type of person you are looking for and how you expect them to approach the role.

Don’t worry about years of experience, grades in college or anything else that’s not activity-based. Bring it back to activities and use plain English.

Describe the kind of person you’re looking for by listing how you want them to approach the role. Put thing in context. Instead of “strong communicator”, write “clearly communicate customer feedback to the product team”. Instead of “flexible”, write “prepared to join calls with developers late at night when necessary”.

You should also use this section to articulate the attitude and behaviors you’d like to see. Candidates already know from the previous section what they’ll be doing on a daily basis. Now explain how.

Here are some examples of good job descriptions and a useful guide on how to write one.

Candidate Screening

“The doors of wisdom are never shut.”

– Benjamin Franklin

With a good job description and scenario-based assessment, candidate screening is simply not required. To learn more about why you don’t need to screen candidates read this.

But in short, screening is not about activities, it’s about a candidate’s background. Ruling people out based on their background is counterproductive. Instead, set candidates up for success with a savvy job description, and then assess the ones that want the job based on that description.

Don’t worry about receiving too many applications from people who aren’t qualified or ignore the job description. That is solved automatically in the assessment stage and you won’t need to lift a finger.

Scenario-based Assessment

“An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.”

– Mae West

Your job description will attract people who want to be part of your journey, and want to do the job you advertised. That’s the theory at least.

Now it’s time to find out how it stacks up.

The assessment stage, which is the most important part of your hiring process, should be entirely based on activities. Go back to the job description and choose the most important on-the-job activities.

Create simulations of those activities so you can see how candidates perform in real-world scenarios. To learn how to write a great interview script read this.

Use automated interviews to deliver the simulations to candidates online.

Some candidates will not make the effort. Others will find the activities too challenging. Others yet will see that the activities are not aligned with their interests or passions. The most motivated and qualified candidates will prevail.

It’s easy to read a job description and apply for a job. However, when candidates are asked to perform challenging tasks, they need to be motivated and confident in their abilities. You’ll only need to view and score completed interviews and you’ll know who measures up within minutes.

Using automated interviews based on activities, you can audition candidates for the role. They will, in turn, get a chance to do the role, albeit in a small way.

The candidates who perform well in the automated interviews will have proven they can do the activities you want them to do in the role. Seeing first hand how well they perform each of those activities will help you confidently make your hiring decision.

By focusing on activities, you can create a hiring process that reflects your role and how you want it to be performed. It’s a simple and effective method to hire people who can, and want to, perform the activities you consider to be value-adding.

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About the Author

Omer Molad is the Co-founder and CEO of Vervoe

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Interested in learning more about overcoming biases during the hiring process? Check out my new book, Hire Beyond Bias: How to Pick the Best Person for the Job.