Is Your Hiring Process Designed to Include or Exclude Candidates?

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

In my new role, I am responsible for filling a couple of staff positions that have been vacant for some months. I am approaching this responsibility from a different mindset than I have before.

I’ve hired staff before and have been a candidate more times than I can count. So I have some opinions about the hiring process but haven’t taken much time to think about it from a radical point of view.

Today I listened to a podcast from Student Affairs NOW about new hiring practices in student affairs. While the content was specific to my education field, the ideas can extend to similar nonprofit work experiences.

To say the least, some of the ideas have shifted my opinions and will definitely shape my work from now on.

Some Context for Non-Higher Ed Folks

Traditionally, search committees made up of 4–5 colleagues within a division will make up the team conducting the recruitment, interviewing, and evaluation of the candidates. The hiring manager, while…