Hiring

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3 hiring practices that disadvantage Black talent

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Tips and trends for modern recruiting

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Studies have long supported the benefits of a diverse workforce. Companies can experience greater innovation, better decision-making, and higher employee satisfaction. Plus, when Gen Z candidates are specifically looking for employers that prioritize diversity and inclusion, a commitment to diversity can help you attract early talent.

The advantages are clear, but executing this vision can be challenging—particularly when hiring bias repeatedly threatens to sabotage your best intentions.

What is hiring bias?

Hiring bias is when personal preferences or stereotypes—instead of objective qualifications— influence your hiring decisions.

These biases can be intentional (conscious bias) or unintentional (unconscious bias). But, regardless, this prejudice can lead to unfair advantages or disadvantages for candidates based on factors that have nothing to do with their skills and fit for the role—such as race, gender, or age.

While you might think your company is above this inclination, you’d be surprised. Consider the following statistics:

41% of women say they’ve experienced gender-based discrimination during a job interview

36% of hiring managers admit to having age bias against Gen Z applicants

34% of candidates say they’ve been on the receiving end of discriminatory interview questions about their age, race, or gender

Hiring bias can creep into every level of your process—from sourcing candidates to interviewing them. But, the good news is that there are ways you can reduce bias and build a more balanced and inclusive hiring process.

Reducing bias in sourcing and top of funnel

To build a diverse workforce, you need a diverse pipeline. Here’s how you can reduce bias when sourcing and recruiting to attract a varied group of candidates to your company and open positions.

1. Refine your job descriptions

It’s tempting to write off a job description as just the nuts-and-bolts of the process—one that you can use the same rinse-and-repeat template for. However, a job posting is often a candidate’s first impression of your company.

Unfortunately, it’s easy for bias to sneak into these listings and make even high-quality candidates feel excluded. You can write inclusive job descriptions that keep bias at bay by:

Using inclusive language: While it might seem subtle, gendered or ableist language can discourage candidates from applying. Carefully review your job descriptions to swap out those terms for more inclusive language. If members of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) want to be involved in the recruiting process, enlist their help to review the descriptions and catch any unintentional discrimination.

Revisit your requirements: Do you really need candidates to have a degree in computer science? Or are you primarily looking for Python skills? Foregoing rigid requirements in favor of skills-based hiring can open opportunities for qualified candidates who would’ve otherwise ruled themselves out. It’s also worth reviewing your job requirements to make them more accurate and suitable for candidates with disabilities. For example, does the person in this role really need to communicate over the phone (which excludes deaf or hard-of-hearing applicants)? Or do they simply need to communicate effectively?

Prioritize salary transparency: Gen Z is behind a growing movement toward salary transparency and sees it as a meaningful lever for equity at work. Plus, pay transparency has been proven to close gender and racial pay gaps. Include salary information (or, at the very least, a range) in your job postings to demonstrate your commitment to transparency and leveling the playing field.

Highlight inclusive benefits: Job descriptions are an opportunity to sell a candidate on the role and your company. Emphasizing meaningful benefits can attract a diverse pool of candidates and encourage them to apply. Wondering what to shine the spotlight on? Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), development opportunities, and flexibility all hold a lot of importance for Gen Z job seekers.

2. Widen your candidate pool

Did you know that about a quarter of all Black graduates with bachelor’s degrees in STEM attend an HBCU? 

It’s tough to attract more diverse candidates if you’re constantly relying on the same sources. You could be sourcing qualified talent from four-year universities, community colleges, and trade schools that you're not currently partnering with. 

Your “core schools” strategy can be limiting qualified talent from discovering your opportunities.

Reducing bias in evaluating and screening

A diverse pipeline is a good thing—but it doesn’t mean anything if diverse candidates never make it past the application stage. Here’s how to recognize and reduce hiring bias when screening candidates.

1. Rely on automated or anonymous resume screening

People have beliefs that shape their perceptions and decisions. So, it stands to reason that eliminating human involvement in screening processes can help reduce bias.

That’s why many companies have turned to automated resume screening to reduce inequality when evaluating candidates. With this approach, an algorithm scans applications for relevant keywords, skills, and qualifications to surface the ones that are the best match for an open role.

It might seem like a surefire way to kick bias to the curb, but even artificial intelligence (AI) has shown bias in certain tests. That means relying on these tools isn’t a foolproof system.

Some companies have instead opted to strip identifying candidate information (like name, gender, age, and even educational details) from applications so it doesn’t influence decision-making. Currently, only an estimated 20% of organizations opt for this anonymous process, but it’s a strategy that will likely continue to gain steam.

2. Provide bias awareness training

Even if you rely on anonymized screening tools, real people will play a role in evaluating candidates at some point. Providing bias training can help them recognize when biases influence their decisions and understand how to change their behaviors.

While this training should offer plenty of information, it should also be an opportunity for decision-makers to participate in simulations, see real-time examples of their own biases, and practice better responses.

3. Use skill assessments

Skills-based hiring continues to gain ground, especially since it provides an objective and standardized way to evaluate each candidate (without personal feelings muddying the waters).

A skills-based approach impacts what you include in your job descriptions (like focusing on necessary competencies rather than specific degrees or years of experience), it also plays a role in how you assess candidates.

Skill tests are one solid example. When these assessments are tailored to match the requirements of the role, they provide meaningful insights about which candidates are the best match—regardless of other factors.

Reducing bias in interviewing

Job interviews are an opportunity to understand candidates on a deeper level, but these conversations can also be ripe with biases. Here’s how to keep personal expectations and opinions from shaping your interviews.

1. Standardize your interviews and questions

There’s a lot of nuance in interviewing, which means you want to feel out the candidate and adjust the interview accordingly. However, research shows that unstructured interviews—where interviewers “go with the flow” and ask questions at their discretion—are the most susceptible to biases.

These biases could cause interviewers to ask discriminatory questions and exhibit microaggressions that make candidates feel defensive or unwelcome. That might look like:

Gender-based microaggression: Asking a female candidate why she chose a specific field (when you wouldn’t ask a male candidate the same question)

Age-based microaggression: Asking a younger candidate if they’re ready to take a career or “real job” seriously 

Race-based microaggression: Telling a candidate of color, “I didn’t expect you to have such an impressive background!”

Take the time to reflect on potential bias when, for example, you’re writing your feedback for a candidate, or while they are answering a question. Structured interviews can help mitigate the potential for prejudice and hidden stereotyping. These interviews often include standardized questions and established scoring rubrics that apply to all candidates for that specific role. Plus, research shows  that companies with structured interviews improve the candidate experience as well as the efficiency and quality of hires.

2. Build diverse interview panels

When you involve only a handful of employees or decision-makers in the interview process, it’s easier for bias to undermine your critical thinking. However, assembling a diverse group of people to contribute to the interview process can help you avoid (or, at the very least, gut-check) your personal judgments.

This doesn’t mean that every candidate needs to face a panel of 10 people in every interview. You can involve a diverse mix of employees in other meaningful and less nerve-wracking ways like office tours or quick, low-pressure conversations between the candidate and members of the team they’d be working on—like a social lunch, or a meet and greet.

By exposing the candidate to more people, you’re able to gather more insights and perspectives about that applicant (rather than relying on one or two opinions). And, as a bonus, Gen Z appreciates this exposure: 75% of Gen Z survey respondents said they value the opportunity to meet directly with employees from the team they’ll work with.

Hiring bias doesn’t just harm candidates

It’s important to recognize that we all carry conscious and unconscious biases which will inevitably show up in the hiring process. But have your processes led to overlooking or disqualifying candidates who could make a meaningful and long lasting contribution your organization? 

Hiring bias can be a silent yet powerful force undermining even the best recruitment strategies. By focusing on how to reduce hiring bias, you’ll attract top talent who will strengthen your workforce and better reflect your community.

Are you using Handshake to widen your candidate pool as one way to reduce bias in sourcing? Talk to us.



How to reduce hiring bias from the recruiting process

Network Trends

Actionable data from our network of students, career centers, and employers.

Data-driven insights from the Handshake network

By 2025, 97 million new tech-related roles are likely to emerge in the US job market. Even in the uncertain post-COVID economy, many industries have increased job postings for early career talent by more than 10% since last year. Some industries have also seen a rise in tech roles specifically—traditional software and computer tech roles in government industries were up 36% between 2021 and 2022.

Plenty of job opportunities exist for early career job seekers—even in a tough market—but traditional recruiting methods create barriers. For example, a college senior with a mathematics major might be immediately overlooked for a software engineer role because they won't be included in searches for CompSci or CompEng majors. But, they may have coding skills, like Python or C++, so when looking at skills, the candidate pool becomes even larger.

Competition is high for businesses that need to fill roles with skilled tech talent. And skills-based hiring is the means to solve this competitive conundrum of matching qualified talent to open roles.

Finding candidates based on skills, not pedigree

In a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, researchers found that racism, sexism, and ageism in the hiring process can unfairly eliminate candidates from the interview process. Even traditional screening processes like GPA requirements can sideline underrepresented groups.

Many companies are moving to skills-based recruiting as a more inclusive strategy by ditching requirements like degrees or GPA. Instead, they’re focusing on finding candidates with the specific skill or competency needed for the job. And it’s paying off.

According to Handshake data, a skills-based approach to recruiting increases the eligible talent pool by 2.3x. Expanding a talent search to include skills or interests yielded an even larger growth in the population of underrepresented candidates: 3x more veterans and 3.5x more women and Black students.

The importance of training, development, and skills

Despite the uncertainty around the economy, graduates are confident they have the training needed to take on these challenges. In fact, 77% of the class of 2022 believe they have the skills to land a full-time job.

Christian, a veteran who served nearly a decade in the United States Army, earned his bachelor's degree and MBA in Management Information Systems. While in school, he used Handshake to secure an internship with Amazon AWS where he used skills from both his studies and the military. After completing the internship, Amazon extended a full-time return offer to Christian. Looking back, he credits his military service with instilling several key lessons that pushed him to success in the tech world.

“Working in tech, everything is extremely systems based. So you have a system and you complete steps A, B, C, D,” says Christian, “and that’s the way the Army taught me to think, too.”

Students aren’t just bringing skills into their job, they’re looking to gain more once at a job. And that’s a benefit for employers. In fact, a survey of more than 1,500 students found they’re willing to stay at a company twice as long if they have growth and advancement opportunities. Skills not only bring candidates in—they can help retain them as well.

Inclusive hiring creating inclusive workplaces

Handshake already partners with more than 90% of colleges and universities as the official system of record to connect their learners with relevant employers and meaningful work. But we’ve learned that degree programs aren't the only way job seekers gain employable skills.

For instance, Coding it Forward (CIF) is a nonprofit that connects early technology professionals with opportunities in the public sector. Through their fellowship programs, CIF places hundreds of students in positions across more than 40 federal, state, and local government agencies—spanning data science, software engineering, design, and product management. Using Handshake’s unique network, CIF achieved a 187% increase in applicants from underrepresented groups.

Data shows skills-based hiring diversifies the workforce

Key takeaways

A majority (78%) of job seekers identified job network sites as their primary method for finding employment. The percentage that credited these sites with having a positive impact on their ability to find a job was significantly higher than any other method.

While White and Asian respondents favored personal and professional networks over institutions, Black or African-American and Hispanic respondents favored formalized resources provided by their academic institutions.

Social media currently has a small role in job hunting behavior, but has shown to be increasing in prevalence between the Class of 2022 and the Class of 2023. Although only 13% of the Class of 2022 relied on social media, the number jumped to 21% for the Class of 2023.

Gen Z is entering the workforce during a time in which they are facing increased competition for fewer job postings in several industries. To better understand how Gen Z conducts a job hunt, we asked 1,343 Handshake users across the classes of 2022 and 2023 which resources they rely on to search for a new role. These responses provide insight into both the complexity of looking for a new role as well as how employers can best target Gen Z talent in the future.

Even though there are myriads of ways that job seekers can search for employment, the most common resource that Gen Z uses are job networks, such as Handshake or LinkedIn. 78% of overall job seekers said that they use or plan to use a job network. Viewing responses across race and ethnicity, job networks are also the most common resource, with at least 71% of each racial/ethnic group stating that they have used or will use a job network in a job hunt.

Perhaps obvious, the reason that so many job seekers use networks is because they find them the most helpful of all options—46% of respondents said that job networks were the most helpful, which was higher than any other job search method they were asked about.

Although job networks are the most commonly used career resource for students of all demographics, our survey highlights other ways that job-seeking behavior differs by racial and ethnic groups.

Our survey results show a clear reliance on informal resources, such as personal and professional networks, by White and Asian respondents. 65% of White job seekers and 54% of Asian job seekers stated that they used or plan to use personal networks for their job hunt. When asked about the use of professional networks, which include previous work colleagues, alumni, etc., these numbers fall slightly to 55% for white job seekers and 50% for Asian job seekers.

In contrast, Black or African-American and Hispanic students and alumni tend to rely more heavily on formal resources provided by their academic institutions. While 40% of Hispanic respondents and 37% of Black or African-American respondents identified the career centers as a resource they would rely on for finding employment, only 27% of White respondents and 34% of Asian respondents agreed.

These differences in job hunting behavior are unsurprising given the research showing that social networks shape racial disparities in employment opportunities. A previous Handshake study indicates that progress is being made to close the gap in access to social capital with students and alumni of color 2.1 times more likely than white respondents to reach out to an alumni they did not previously know.

One unifying trend amongst all racial and ethnic groups is the negligible impact of social media on job seeking behavior right now. Currently, only 17% of overall users surveyed have or will use sites such as Reddit or Tiktok for their job search, with this number staying below 22% across all racial groups.

The prevalence of social media for job hunting has been increasing, however. While only 13% of the Class of 2022 relied on social media, the number jumped to 21% for the Class of 2023. The increase of eight percent more users from 2022 to 2023 suggests social media will become a bigger resource going forward for students to explore their career options. Recruiters have also indicated that they have been using new sources such as TikTok to search for talent, especially in industries that have had a difficult time hiring.

Methodology

Class of 2022 and 2023 data is based upon user-submitted graduation year – students without listed graduation year excluded from graduation year analysis.

Handshake surveyed 1,343 jobseekers from the classes of 2022 and 2023 about their thoughts on the economy, job market, and future of work. This blog summarizes the findings of the survey, with a focus on the responses to specific questions about their higher education experience.

Trends in resources Gen Z uses for job hunting

Over the past few years, early talent interest has shifted away from big tech companies and toward a wider range of opportunities—including roles with small businesses.

Small businesses offer many of the benefits Gen Z is looking for as they start their careers. They play an important role in enriching and empowering local communities, appealing to Gen Z’s desire for work that has a tangible social impact. Well-established small businesses can provide the stability early talent is prioritizing—a recent Pew Research Center report notes that the majority of small businesses have been operational for six or more years, and 15% have been in business for 25 years or more. Working for a small business can also be a valuable career development opportunity, particularly for new grads who want to take on more responsibility and build skills across multiple functions.

On Handshake, we’re seeing several trends that point to a bright future for both small businesses and the early talent they’re hiring:

Job availability: roles with small businesses accounted for more than a third of full-time jobs posted on Handshake in the past year.

Rising interest: the share of applications on Handshake submitted to small businesses has risen steadily over the past three years, and the average number of applications per open role has more than tripled.

Geographic diversity: small businesses are hiring across the country, and account for a significant share of jobs posted in both small towns and large metropolitan centers.

Read on for a deeper dive into each of these findings.

Small businesses account for a significant share of jobs posted on Handshake

Small businesses offer a wealth of post-graduate opportunities for early talent, and are also critical providers of the internships and part-time roles that help students prepare for the workforce. Over the past year, well over a third (37%) of all full-time jobs posted on Handshake have been with organizations that have 250 or fewer employees. That share is even larger for internships (48%) and part-time jobs (54%).

In some industries, small businesses are even more important contributors to early talent employment. More than half of full-time jobs posted by media, marketing, and entertainment employers are with organizations that have 250 or fewer employees. The same is true of more than 40% of roles in technology and professional and financial services.

Early talent is increasingly drawn to roles with small businesses

Applications to small businesses on Handshake have increased significantly over the past three years. Between September 2023 and September 2024, 39% of all applications submitted on the platform went to organizations with 250 employees or fewer—up from 32% for the same period the prior year, and 27% the year before. Even more notably, the average number of applications per small business role nearly quadrupled between 2021 and 2024, while the average number of applications to larger business roles roughly doubled.

The share of applications submitted to small businesses fluctuates seasonally, with a dip in early fall and a peak in late spring. But there’s a clear upward trend even with that variation. The spring peaks in 2023 and 2024 were markedly higher than in 2022, and the 2024 peak lasted longer, with more than 40% of applications submitted to small businesses in every month between February and June.

Interest in small business roles has increased even more among students in certain fields. In particular, the share of Computer Science students’ applications submitted to small businesses has increased by 68% since the 2021-2022 school year, from below average (25%) to well above average (42%).

Small businesses are hiring in a wide variety of locations

Location is a key factor in students’ and new grads’ job decisions. Seventy-five percent of Class of 2024 students say they’d be more likely to apply to a job in a preferred location, and a sizable majority say it’s at least somewhat important that their job allow them to live close to their family and friends.

While opportunities with larger companies are often concentrated in major metro areas, small businesses are hiring in a wide range of cities and towns across the country. Cities with a higher-than-average share of jobs on Handshake posted by small businesses include New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Detroit, as well as much smaller communities such as Grand Rapids, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Missoula, Montana.

Early talent is poised to make a big impact on small businesses

It’s no coincidence that students and new grads are applying to small business roles in ever-greater numbers. This generation is eager to learn, passionate about community impact, and craving a stable, sustainable approach to work. Their skills and interests are a great fit for smaller employers—and as they shape these companies in the years to come, it’s a safe bet that small business roles will only become more desirable.

Methodology

Application and job post trends are based on Handshake platform activity between September 2021 and September 2024.

Industry classifications are based on employer self-identification on the Handshake platform.

Major classifications are based on data provided by students and higher education institutions through the Handshake platform.



Small businesses are hiring—and early talent is on board

According to a report from McKinsey and LeanIn.org, “Between the entry level and the C-suite, the representation of women of color drops off by more than 75%.” With an impactful strategy that puts early talent at the foundation, over time all levels of your organization can become more representative.

To get started, here are 7 strategies to refresh, refine, or add to your approach to building a more representative workforce and double down on your commitment to doing what is right.

7 essential inclusive recruiting strategies 

1. Ensure every brand interaction is inclusive

Gen Z is the most diverse generation yet and the one most likely to have people who identify as non-binary or third gender. Even before you connect with them, job seekers see your brand’s inclusivity—or lack thereof. Candidates are reading reviews and testimonials, doing social listening, and noting the companies that miss the mark with inclusion. And they'll be quick to call these employers out, too. Evaluate your talent brand and make sure it’s speaking to who you want to attract.

2. Be a better ally for underrepresented groups

Do you use your influence to sponsor a promising member of your team—who looks nothing like you? Read the Harvard Business Review’s ABCDs of sponsorship—Amplifying, Boosting, Connecting, and Defending—to check yourself, your team, and your culture against how you show up for underrepresented groups. By encouraging and holding folks from all levels of your organization accountable for lifting up others, you’re demonstrating your investment in inclusion from the grasstops to the grassroots.



3. Remove barriers to entry for underrepresented groups

Historically, most sourcing strategies were built to find more of the same—like recruiting from the same schools or over-relying on referrals and network connections. One cause of systemic barriers to the C-suite for people of color stems from the lack of opportunity to step into managerial roles earlier in their careers.

Build a brand and a business that’s open to all and removes barriers. An easy place to start is to ensure your talent organization recruits from more schools. Expand access by offering virtual interviews and remote work opportunities for underrepresented groups including women, people of color, and people with disabilities.

4. Commit to equity and prove it

According to Bain & Company, “only 35% of young adult workers, most of whom were Black or Latinx, said their employer provides information about career advancement and promotion opportunities.”

For future leaders to look like the rest of us, create opportunities at the internship and entry level, and develop early talent to improve upon that stat. Dedicate standard operating procedures to salary transparency, promotions, and ensuring that underrepresented groups don’t get left behind.

5. Amplify your Employee Resource Groups/Affinity Groups

Employee resource groups (ERGs), or affinity groups, build community in your company. These groups allow space for open discussions about important issues and ensure employees feel valued and heard. So if you want to create a culture of inclusivity, you can’t afford to deprioritize them.

These groups are integral to a successful inclusion strategy because they help candidates see themselves in a workplace, and are forums for employees to share commonality and belonging. They can also surface topics like equal pay, and influence the strategic direction of your company.

6. Support small program pilots

Finding the time, space, and funding to bring these ideas to life without proof they’ll work often leaves them on the drawing board. Encourage your team to start small rather than imagining these ideas as changes to your strategy.

For example, since mental health is central to Gen Zers’ job searches, pilot a new strategic partnership with student psychological services at a partner school. Sponsor activities like journaling and guided meditation.

Establish clear gauges on what success will look like, and articulate the value and suggestions for scaling if successful according to your goals.

7. Determine the right metrics for your organization

You know you need to make data-informed decisions, but taking last year's strategy and making small adjustments won’t move the needle. It starts from the top to create a strategy for the long haul—from deciding which metrics to measure and how often, to where and when you share results, and so on.

Keep in mind that sharing your impact goals and strategy will help you position to candidates that inclusion is essential to your values. Known as a generation driven by their morals, this transparency will resonate with Gen Z.

Getting impact right is all about progress

Most experts agree that being intentional about inclusion is an ongoing process. But you must start somewhere to attract, welcome, and include talent. Take the time to evaluate where you stand currently, what you’re doing well, and where you’re falling short.

A business case is not adequate for why you need to commit to inclusion, and can also repel underrepresented groups by tokenizing them. Inclusion must be woven into the DNA of your people.  Employers that are investing in building a representative workforce now are the ones building a company for tomorrow and beyond.

Get more resources to help you structure your early talent strategy.

7 essential early talent recruiting strategies

Your goal is to add top early talent to your team. It's a tall order amidst ongoing labor shortages and a competitive hiring landscape.

Here's the thing: if you don't recruit candidates with disabilities, you might be excluding highly-qualified candidates. People with disabilities face much higher unemployment rates (8.3% in 2022) than people who don't have disabilities (3.1%). A lot of that discrepancy comes back to biases and even discrimination in the hiring process.

Without paying attention to your word choices, job requirements, and recruitment steps, you could unknowingly discourage disabled job seekers from applying in the first place. So, how can you strengthen your hiring practices to recruit candidates with disabilities?

Learn more about why it’s essential that you update your approach to attract and support early talent candidates with disabilities—and how to do it.

A well-rounded DEI plan factors for disabilities

So much of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) conversation is focused on gender and race. But to build a truly diverse workforce and provide equitable opportunities, your plan must include all types of diversity. And that includes people with disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines “disability” as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities." There's a lot that falls under that broad umbrella, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) breaks down 13 different disability categories:

Specific learning disability

Autism spectrum disorder

Emotional disturbance

Speech or language impairment

Visual impairment

Deafness

Hearing impairment

Deaf-blindness

Orthopedic impairment

Intellectual disability

Traumatic brain injury

Other health impairment (conditions that limit strength, energy, or alertness)

Multiple disabilities

Put simply, disabilities themselves are quite diverse. It's worth noting that not all disabilities are visible or obvious to others. You'll like be able to tell from visual cues if, for instance, a candidate’s primary form of communication is American Sign Language. But other disabilities, like mental health conditions, aren't readily detectable.

Neurodiversity is frequently used to discuss autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and learning disabilities, which are officially classified as disabilities. But there's a lot of conversation and debate about whether or not neurodiversity—a term to describe the variations in people's brain functions and behaviors—should be classified as a disability. It’s important to be aware that some people in the neurodiversity community do not classify their experiences as disabilities.

How to inclusively recruit candidates with disabilities

Recruiting candidates with disabilities requires an inclusive strategy. Here are 6 steps to take to make your recruitment and hiring process more inclusive of people with disabilities.

1. Be mindful of your language

Words matter. Even seemingly innocuous choices can have a big impact on how disabled candidates perceive your company—and whether or not they decide to apply. Here are some language updates to consider:

Use clear language like "disabled" or "people with disabilities;" avoid using differently abled


Avoid terms like "normal" or "standard," which imply that there's a benchmark that candidates might deviate from


Use phrases like "check out" or "learn more" in your calls to action, rather than verbs like "see" or "hear"

2. Refine your job requirements

Disabled candidates review your job descriptions with an even more critical lens. They comb through your requirements with the goal of answering this question: Can I adequately perform these job duties?

For that reason, you need to cut the fluff and extraneous requirements from your job descriptions. Instead, clearly state the essential functions. These are the basic job duties they need to perform, either with or without reasonable accommodations. For instance:

Does someone in the position actually need to use the phone or would other communication methods suffice?

Do they really need to be able to stand for long periods of time?

Is lifting upwards of 25 pounds genuinely a core component of the job?

By narrowing in on what's most important for that role (and cutting out the rest), you'll open the door to recruit candidates with disabilities—and a more diverse early talent pool.

3. Partner with community organizations

Some employers claim that their struggles recruiting candidates with disabilities is because they don't know the best ways to get in front of these applicants.

Partnering with disability-focused organizations and recruiting platforms like Handshake can help you gain exposure with diverse groups of candidates. For example, maybe your local community has an organization for disabled veterans who are actively looking for work.

If you need a starting point, Stanford University's Office of Accessible Education has a comprehensive list of national disability organizations and resources. The Department of Labor's Job Accommodation Network provides free guidance on accommodations and disability employment issues.

If there are certain roles you’re struggling to fill, consider the unique specific skill sets that candidates with disabilities can offer. For instance, there’s evidence suggesting neurodiverse individuals are good candidates for quality control jobs in the manufacturing industry.

4. Provide necessary accommodations

Accommodations are a crucial part of ensuring your recruitment and hiring process is as inclusive as possible. Plus, the ADA actually requires that you provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees.

Only 39% of employees with disabilities have disclosed their disability to their manager, proving that this is a sensitive topic for many disabled people. Regardless of what the modifications are, don't make it hard for candidates to request what they need.

For example, you might provide a captioner or interpreter during an interview for a candidate who is hard of hearing. Or, perhaps a neurodivergent applicant will need a quieter interview space or to be interviewed by only one person at a time—rather than a panel.

Don't make interviews even more daunting with a complex and tedious process—like numerous conversations and lengthy forms. If and when a candidate asks about an accommodation, respond positively by stating that you want them to be as successful as possible through the interview process and are more than happy to collaborate and find a solution that works for both of you.

5. Understand what you can and can't ask

Your hiring and interview process is focused on finding the applicant who's the best fit for your open role—and, to do so, you need to confirm that they can adequately perform the job duties. This can feel even more complex when a candidate has a disability. You want to ask questions to ensure you have the right understanding of any limitations, but you also don't want to be insensitive—or violate any laws.

In general, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that employers are not allowed to ask disability-related questions until after they've given the applicant a conditional job offer. However, there are a few exceptions to what you can ask prior to extending an offer:

You can ask about reasonable accommodations if you believe the applicant may require it because of an obvious or voluntarily disclosed disability, or a voluntarily disclosed need for accommodation


You can ask if the applicant will need an accommodation to perform a specific job duty as well as what the accommodation would be

Those types of questions will help you better understand how to support that applicant in the role. But even so, as the Job Accommodation Network explains, make sure that you don't focus the entire interview on the candidate's disability. Like any other applicant, the bulk of the conversation should be dedicated to their qualifications, skills, and experiences. Still unclear what to do? Reach out to your legal team for advice.

6. Get feedback from existing employees

Not sure if your hiring process to recruit candidates with disabilities—or even your organization as a whole—is inclusive? There's a way you can find out: Ask your employees.

Work with your HR team to create safe spaces for people to share their opinions. For example, focus groups or anonymous surveys enable employees to provide feedback about their own experiences with your recruitment and hiring processes. It's an effective opportunity to hear about any challenges they faced and what they'd change if given the chance.

Additionally, if your company has employee resource groups (ERGs) and has one specifically for disabled employees, that could be a solid resource to turn to for advice, guidance, and feedback about your current hiring practices—and your company culture overall.

Remember that recruitment is only the start

Actively recruiting candidates with disabilities will help you attract a broader pool of early talent and build a more diverse team.

But remember, recruiting is only the first step. The last thing you want is to bring employees in and have them realize that your organization doesn't provide the support and sensitivity that was promised during the hiring process.

While you should invest time, energy, and strategy into ensuring your recruitment and hiring processes welcome people with disabilities, make sure that you also foster an inclusive environment once they actually sign the offer letter.

How to inclusively recruit candidates with disabilities

Today the Hispanic and Latine (a gender neutral word for Latino) communities make up 18.9% of the total population in the US. Yet despite being the nation’s second-largest racial and ethnic group, Hispanic and Latine early talent have been underrepresented in higher education due to systemic social and economic barriers.

Many Hispanic and Latine students who have enrolled in college lack access to the networks that open doors for their peers. And traditional recruiting structures aren’t surfacing more inclusive hiring practices that facilitate these students’ transition from college to career.

Enter Handshake, where access to opportunity is equal—no matter a job seeker’s background—and where you’ve come to recruit qualified, diverse early talent. To attract Latine talent and support their success at your organization, try these 3 strategies.

1. Expand your school partnerships

This demographic is projected to account for 1 of every 5 people in the labor force by 2030. And it’s encouraging that today, Hispanic enrollment in higher education is surpassing the growth rate of any other racial-ethnic group.

Attract more Latine applicants by partnering with a wider number of schools—not just the same schools you’ve always targeted.

Community colleges—which 40% of Latine students attend—serve as a strong entry point for many Latine students, partially because they’re more affordable, more inclusive, and allow for the flexibility often required of part-time work and family life.

An HSI is a school with an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic (for example, California Polytechnic State University-Pomona). Sixty-seven percent of all Latine undergraduates attended an HSI in the academic year 2019-2020.

Looking for candidates from select schools is a common hiring practice. But expanding your school partnerships will help you build the strongest, most diverse candidate pipeline that’s inclusive of Latine early talent.

2. Broaden your search criteria

Have you relied on GPA requirements to vet potential candidates? If so, you could be excluding top Latine talent. Instead, take a skills-based hiring approach and filter for skills and aptitudes, not credentials. For example, say you’re hiring for tech roles: filter for candidates who have experience in agile project management or have used Java.

Use Handshake to filter for students who participate in Latine student organizations like:

Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement

Association of Latino Professionals

Prospanica

Society of Hispanic Engineers

You can host events with these groups or even sponsor their content as a way to build your brand. Consider event ideas like resume workshops that add value to the Latine student experience.

Digital upskilling comes naturally to Gen Zers who are used to learning online (think, for example, YouTube tutorials). Offer upskilling for any job-specific skills that your Latine early talent candidates or employees may not already have.

3. Provide support systems

Most Latine workers in the US don’t feel that they can bring their whole selves to the office. Bain & Company has found that “only 35% of young adult workers, most of whom were Black or Latinx, said their employer provides information about career advancement and promotion opportunities.” Attract Latine early talent starting at the internship and entry level, expose them to various pathways their careers can take, and develop them for long-term growth at your company.

One way to retain and cultivate Latine early talent is with structured mentorship programs. It is especially impactful for early talent from underrepresented groups to build relationships with people who can sponsor them and advocate for their career progression.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are another important avenue for underrepresented groups to find belonging and can be extra welcoming for new hires. Realize and recognize the diversity of Hispanic and Latine backgrounds, traditions, and perspectives. Create inclusive, safe spaces that celebrate and support the Latine community and their allies.

To summarize

How does our country’s diversity mirror the makeup of your talent pool, your workforce, and your customers/constituents? Ensuring an equitable, inclusive workplace starts with your recruiting strategy.

Despite being a well-known international company, the recruiters at Kraft Heinz struggled to diversify their early talent pipeline. By partnering with Handshake, they were able to increase Latine applicants by 1.8x. Find out how →