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<\/p>\n
Choosing the wrong title<\/h3>\n
This is a simple point but an important one. To ensure jobseekers can easily search for your ad, use a standard industry job title that simply states the role, e.g. UX Designer or Marketing Executive. Avoid the temptation to spice up your job ad with titles like \u2018ninja\u2019 or \u2018rock star\u2019. As well as being largely meaningless, words like these are implicitly male-biased and run the risk of putting off great female candidates. Similarly, ditch gendered job titles like waitress, doorman or salesman in favour of gender-neutral alternatives.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg famously cited that women only apply to positions if they meet 100% of the requirements, whereas men will apply even if they only meet 60% of them. Further research by LinkedIn found this extra \u2018self-screening\u2019 by women means they end up applying for 20% fewer roles than men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The learning here is that honing down your skill list to the most important traits helps encourage more applications and a better gender balance of applicants.<\/span><\/p>\n Separate the \u2018must have\u2019 skills from the \u2018nice to haves\u2019 to create a focused job ad with broader appeal. Consider if certain skills can be acquired through on-the-job training – and if so, say so. Make clear what the primary skills needed are – the ones that will be used every day – versus the occasional skills needed just once in a while.<\/span><\/p>\n You should also pare down other requirements so jobseekers aren\u2019t having to jump through unnecessary – and often exclusive – hoops. For example, question if a candidate really needs a \u2018top 5 university\u2019 background to be successful within a role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paying close attention to the words and phrases within a job ad can help minimise many types of bias, from racial bias, to gender bias, to disability bias, cultural bias and more.<\/span><\/p>\n Avoid phrases like \u2018talk the talk\u2019 or \u2018walk the walk\u2019 which can alienate disabled candidates. Be explicit about if it\u2019s possible to work flexible hours, or work-from-home, as these options may be necessary for disabled applicants. Include a statement asking if a candidate needs any additional support during the hiring process with clear guidelines on how to request any necessary accommodations.<\/span><\/p>\n A job advert should never mention race or nationality – even within the context of skills. For example, stating a requirement for \u2018native English speaker\u2019 can put off applicants from other nationalities. Instead, try \u2018fluent in English\u2019. Similarly, purge phrases that imply a jobseeker should be a certain age, like \u2018young and energetic\u2019, \u2018millennial\u2019 or \u2018digital native\u2019 so applicants at all life stages feel welcome. Avoid comments on appearance such as \u2018clean shaven\u2019 which can alienate female or religious candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n Equally, watch out for gendered language creeping in. Descriptors like \u2018assertive\u2019 and \u2018independent\u2019 have male connotations, while words like \u2018collaborate\u2019 and \u2018nurture\u2019 skew towards females. Use neutral language wherever possible, making use of gender decoder tools to assess if your job ad skews either way. We <\/span>like this free tool from Totaljobs<\/span><\/a>, while Applied offers a similar <\/span>paid tool<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Stick to clear, easy-to-understand descriptions and avoid using acronyms or in-house abbreviations. Recognise that corporate speak is a language grounded in historically white, male spaces and can therefore be alienating to other ethnicities and genders.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aim to anticipate the key questions different jobseekers may have about working at your company and answer them upfront. This helps to demonstrate your commitment to inclusivity and can help encourage diverse candidates to apply.<\/span><\/p>\n Be clear about policies like maternity and paternity pay, adoption leave and carers leave. Mention if flexible working is an option, if your company offers health and wellbeing support, and if so what these options look like.<\/span><\/p>\n Where possible, it\u2019s also best to be transparent about pay and include a salary bracket rather than saying \u2018salary negotiable\u2019. This helps even the playing field between candidates, empowering groups who may feel less confident negotiating, such as women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Including a diversity & inclusion statement can also help demonstrate your commitment to DE&I goals. This is an important consideration for many of today\u2019s jobseekers, with 76% saying they evaluate a company and job offer based on the diversity of a workforce, according to Glassdoor\u2019s latest Diversity & Inclusion Workplace Survey.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, focus on company values over company culture and actively seek those who will bring fresh perspectives and experiences with them. This means leaving behind statements about \u2018Thirsty Thursdays\u2019 or a \u2018party atmosphere\u2019 and re-focusing on the range and inclusivity of activities available, as well as the chance for new employees to have their opinion heard and enrich a company\u2019s culture.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Interested to learn more about the steps we\u2019re taking at Adzuna to create an inclusive working environment? Check out our blog: <\/span>Seven steps for building an inclusive company culture.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Drafting a job ad is a fine art. It sets the tone for your company and demands distilling a lot of information into just a few short paragraphs. Crucially, the care used in crafting a job ad also has a tangible effect on diversity goals. From the words you use and how they are interpreted Continued \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1015,902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diversity-inclusion","category-recruitment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/h3>\n
A never-ending list of skills and requirements<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/pexels-tima-miroshnichenko-5439173-1024x683.jpg\")
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Using alienating language<\/h3>\n
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Skimping on the package details<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/pexels-kampus-production-5935189-1024x683.jpg\")
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Too much weight on workplace culture<\/h3>\n
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