Potential applicants may not apply if the list of requirements is too long

Are we unconsciously shrinking the talent pool from which to draw new hires or to promote employees by creating job postings and job descriptions that are biased against women and other groups?

In a recent article on the forbes.com website, Lisa Rabasca Roepe suggests that women don’t apply for new positions or promotions because they feel they don’t meet all the qualifications.

“Too often, women fall into the trap of believing they can only apply for a promotion or a new position if the they meet all the requirements in the job descriptions,” she writes.

Based on advice from Kimberly Cassady, the chief talent officer at Cornerstone OnDemand, Rabasca Roepe suggests that the remedy is for would-be applicants to focus on the core competencies of the job.

“To find out more about the skills required to do the job, talk to other people in similar positions,” she writes. “Ask them what they do every day that makes them successful [and] what skills they use every day.”

Based on this research, applicants should identify their competencies in their cover letters. “Make a point to outline your core competencies and how those competencies will help you perform the job duties,” Rabasca Roepe writes.

What she suggests candidates do is what you should do before writing a job posting. What makes your top performers your top performers? The answer should be based on your observations, supplemented by conversations with these individuals.

Once you know what makes your top performers successful you can identify the core competencies necessary for others to succeed in the position, which should then become the focus when screening resumes, interviewing and checking references.

Of course, there may be other requirements, such job-specific educational qualifications. Those are non-negotiable—if applicants lack those qualifications, they will be eliminated when you screen resumes.

List these requirements, along with the core competencies, in the job posting. Certainly, there will be other skills which you would prefer applicants have, but those don’t rise to the level of being core competencies. 

When listed on a job posting, the non-essential requirements can be reasons some people, who would satisfy your core requirements, don’t apply. 

For this reason, use interviews and reference checks to find evidence of whether the candidate has demonstrated the ability to learn new skills quickly. 

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Suggested Action: Before posting a job, consider what top performers do that makes them top performers, based on both your observations and input from the top performers. Use what you learn to identify the core competencies to include in the job posting.

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Participants in Interview Right to Hire Right workshops use what they know about what makes top performers successful to develop questions for interviews and reference checks. Email nmscott@telus.net or phone (780) 232-3828 to learn more or to schedule training for leaders from your organization.