Your 3-Step Guide to Crafting Inclusive Job Descriptions

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Relating to a candidate’s unique personal experience is a challenge that many employers face.

For candidates of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) descent, the job search can be an especially daunting experience.

Whilst most candidates focus on the role, the individuals who have faced discrimination in their personal lives worry that they’ll face challenges in their professional ones.

They hope their CV’s won’t be tossed aside because of their names.

They wonder if hiring managers will recognise how they can contribute to the organisation, rather than where they come from or how they look.

If your goal is to create a more diverse workforce by reaching out to the BAME community, there’s one piece of the puzzle you may be overlooking: the language in your job descriptions.

That’s right. The language you use subtly sends candidates underlying messages about nigeria phone number resource your corporate culture, employees, and outlook on your workforce. This “between the lines” messaging can undermine months of Diversity Hiring efforts in a matter of seconds.

As a controversy surrounding the BBC earlier this year shows, communicating your message requires some nuance.

To make your job descriptions more inclusive and appealing to BAME candidates, here are 3 key steps to follow.



Step #1: Identify your company values.
What are the values that connect your employees? How would you describe their mindset when faced with difficult or challenging situations?

Without knowing your organisation and employees personally, it can be difficult for BAME candidates to understand how they’ll fit in with the culture. They haven’t met your employees personally, which is why when it comes to culture, the wording you use to describe your workforce is paramount.

Whilst reading your company’s description of the role you have available, words such as “rock star” and “elite” carry a connotation that could come across as intimidating and exclusionary.

If your candidate gets the sense that they will be over-looked as an employee due to the company’s subjective view of a “rock star” candidate, in spite of their talent and contributions, then they will be less likely to apply in the first place.