Pride Series: 5 Ways To Authentically Demonstrate Inclusivity During Job Interviews
Happy Pride month friends! If you’ve been following along in our Pride Series, welcome back. And if you are finding this series for the first time through this article, welcome!
This is article three of our Pride Series with article one focusing on Using LinkedIn To Find Inclusive Employers and article two exploring How To Show Your Diversity and Inclusion When Applying To Jobs.
If you’ve noticed a journey to my articles, you wouldn’t be wrong! I wanted to share tips, tools and techniques to engage in a fully inclusive job search. From finding organizations, applying and interviewing, there are opportunities to assess an employer’s inclusivity AND show your own diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
In this article, I share 5 ways to authentically demonstrate inclusivity during job interviews that feels genuine and real.
1. New Technology Features In Virtual Interviews
As more of our modern, post-pandemic workforce becomes hybrid or completely virtual/remote, virtual interviewing is rising in popularity and the technology we use to conduct virtual interviews is becoming more inclusive.
Here are three easy ways to leverage technology to show inclusion:
The ability to edit your name to include phonetic spelling
The ability to edit your name to include pronouns
The ability to add live auto captions or transcript
In virtual interviews, consider how you can show your inclusion by leveraging some of the above new technology features to communicate your own diversity. Additionally, when you start your interviews, be sure to ask your interviewers for their name pronunciation and pronouns too.
2. Backgrounds In Virtual Interviews
Base level, your background in virtual interviews should be clean and professional. If you question if something in your background is professional or not, listen to your gut, there is something pulling at you to question it, so be safe and just put it out of camera view for the interview.
Your background is a chance to communicate more about who you are. For example, in my old office at work, I had my inclusive teaching endorsement from the State of Ohio hanging up along with my mini Pride flag and a Safe Zone training sticker communicating to folks who came into my office, or virtually in my background, that I am inclusive and welcoming to diversity in my space.
Consider what elements you’d want to include in your background to show your diversity, inclusion, personality and/or professionalism. You could also create your own virtual background on Canva as well. You’ve got options, don’t let this opportunity to put yourself out there go by!
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3. In-Person Interviews
A majority of inclusion work is centered around asking and understanding how people identify, feel and navigate the world to show respect and appreciation for folks’ individuality and uniqueness. Many employees are back to in-person work and are conducting in-person interviews, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to hug you when you come into the office.
When approaching in-person interviews, beyond asking interview questions, you should also ask about people’s comfort level with touch and distance. For example, I worked in a college of business for years, and we are a hand-shaking, lean-in-close kinda crowd. Social distancing and working from home complicated that and now many business folks are asking themselves- why are we shaking hands? Why are we sitting 6 inches apart in crowded boardrooms? Weird! I don’t wanna do that anymore!
When entering an in-person interview, ask what the social norms are. Are we wearing masks, are we shaking hands, are we sitting socially distanced? Etc. This shows your inclusion towards folks that are uncomfortable or have certain physical, mental or medical needs that need addressing. Leading this conversation shows you’re thinking about others, their comfort and that you want others to feel safe and open around you.
Remember, inclusion means a lot of different things so consider all aspects of the self and identity when you navigate new folks in interviews. Not all diversity can be seen. Be mindful of that.
4. Asking and Answering Questions
Whether in-person or virtual, you are interviewing so asking and answering questions is a bulk of the experience. As a job seeker, infusing inclusivity into how you answer questions is a very genuine and authentic way of showing your own inclusion but also advocacy and allyship for all inclusivity.
Below are some basic questions an employer might ask you about inclusion:
What does inclusion mean to you?
Can you name a time you worked in a diverse team?
How have you contributed or will contribute to an inclusive workplace culture?
How do you successfully work with people that are different from you?
But don’t forget, interviews are a two way process, this is your chance to ask questions too! Before the interview, consider what type of inclusion questions you might pose to your interviewer(s).
Below are some basic questions you might ask an employer about inclusion:
How does your organization recognize diversity and inclusion?
In what ways are you giving people the opportunity to create inclusive practices and culture on your team?
What are your inclusion goals for the year and how will you know you’ve reached them/
What are some of your cultural challenges and how do you envision me being influential in that space?
PRO TIP: Every organization has SOME level of challenge or struggle as it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and culture. No one is perfect. If an employer tells you otherwise, that “everyone” “loves” this place, we are like a “family”- be concerned.
If an employer doesn’t know how they recognize inclusion, how they get different stakeholders involved in decision making to create inclusive goals around their culture and workforce, that is concerning. For some job seekers, it’s a deal breaker, so be intentional and mindful about what questions you ask an employer in interviews.
5. Be Direct
Listen, I am a Myers-Briggs Type ESTJ and a Taurus and, sis, I resonate, with those identities FULLY. So for me, I am completely comfortable being honest, direct and specific in my communication with the full force of the bull I am. But this isn’t the case for everyone.
I have been in interviews as a job seeker myself where employers have skirted around diversity and inclusion questions and I’ve straight up had to ask, “when you say diversity, do you mean me? Like would I be the diversity hire of the team?”
As a job seeker, sometimes you just need to be 100% honest and direct to clearly get the answers you need to make a decision on whether you want to move forward with the hiring process. Being direct in your inclusion statements can be very empowering.
For example, I always incorporate some aspect of my LGBTQ+ identity into my introduction or tell me about yourself/elevator pitch because that is important to me. I’m not going to wait to be asked about diversity- I’m going to lead the conversation and be direct in communicating how inclusivity is important to me.
Remember…
Interviews are just as much about employers assessing you as you assessing employers. Make sure you communicate and demonstrate values that genuinely matter to you. Be your authentic self and know not every interview will end in you choosing to move forward and that’s ok.
Interviews are simply a change to explore a match between you, the job and the employer. If it doesn’t feel right, move onto the next one!
Related:
Purchasing Products With Pride: All You Need To Know About Rainbow Capitalism
5 Ways To Be Gender-Inclusive In The Workplace (With Examples)
Meet The Writer!
Hi! My name is Nadia Ibrahim-Taney and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or at Nadia@beyonddiscoverycoaching.com
