I would like to strengthen the interview process at my current company. My company values diversity and inclusion within the workplace, however, I've found that it's difficult to figure out if interviewee's hold similar beliefs on diversity and inclusion. Do you believe asking candidates their thoughts on diversity and inclusion is worthwhile and should be implemented in the interview process within the tech industry? Why or why not? If so, what sorts of questions should be asked surrounding these topics?
Byron Woodfork
Posted on
Should job interviews include questions of thoughts and opinions on diversity and inclusion?
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Top comments (2)
Yes, asking people about diversity and inclusion in the hiring process is worthwhile.
1) It gives candidates an opportunity to distinguish themselves and show how they would contribute to the culture you want to create at your company.
2) I imagine it would give people you don't want at your company an opportunity to self-select out (or maybe tank the Q&A).
3) It signals to URMs that they are being thought about and that their inclusion is built into the team-building process. Of course this could be dangerous and unhelpful if your workplace needs to work on itself to be more inclusive.
I think the questions should be general and open-ended, and should be prefaced with a values statement about the company like "At [company], we are dedicated to building a diverse workforce and being an inclusive place to work."
If it's important to company culture, then it's worth asking. Even so, if you think that extreme views on this might be a problem it's worth asking. It all depends on how "diversity and inclusion" is done in your company. If it's not something that's going to affect that position at all then you're just opening it up to personal bias.