For the last several Tuesdays (three to be exact) we’ve been taking a closer look at the Job Candidate Bill of Rights that John Younger created. Like many sequels, you can follow what’s going on without having seen the original, but it’s always a good idea to go back and take a look at the installments that came before.

Today we’re focusing on number four on the list, Consideration:

Consideration

All interested candidates, from all available sources, should be considered for an open position based upon their ability and aptitude, and that consideration should be free from racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and intolerance.

It’s great in this day and age that it is indeed a small minority that we have to remind to take consideration into consideration. While a few job boards and people who post openings on them might not purposefully set out to discriminate against particular candidates, there is at times a sense that a job might not be opened to all those who are qualified. The Wall Street Journal put it this way in their Bill of Rights:

“I want to know I’m wanted. Whether I’m a 60-year-old human-resources compensation expert, a 30-year-old single mom with seven years’ experience and a fresh master’s degree, or a 22-year-old marketing graduate. Where is the evidence that I would be welcome? Realistic stories from employees telling me why they chose the organization and why they stay helps. And if these stories and examples are from folks who look like me, talk like me and are in similar situations, it makes me want to apply.”

Moral and legal issues aside, limiting your candidate search and alienating entire groups of potential hires will destroy your competitiveness, and fast. Your posts and other candidate correspondence must be geared towards attracting top talent, regardless of what demographic they might fall into. A recent article from Advertising Industry Newswire summed it up perfectly. In an industry that is often committed to marketing to a very specific group of people at a specific time, some felt as though that mentality was creeping into the workplace. However, the writer of the article was quick to get past that and focus on what was important; finding the right person. That’s it. E company needs the best talent out there, and in the end it’s all about the work:

“Hiring is linked to the recruiting and application process. I’ve held agency Creative Director positions with hiring/firing authority, and when we needed someone, we put out the word and people submitted work. There’s no way to tell race or ethnicity from a portfolio of ads, so you schedule interviews with the people whose work you most admire.”

Join us next Tuesday for our look at Consistency. Who knows, maybe that edition of the sequel will end with a cliffhanger.

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