Increasing Diversity in Recruitment

Diversity Recruitment efforts should aim to reflect the makeup of the campus and include recruitment practices that are free from biases for or against any individual or group of candidates. There are many different techniques that you can use to create a diversity recruitment strategy including, getting referrals from staff, providing training, blind CVs and much more.

Below are a few recommendations for developing a diversity recruitment strategy:

  1. Start with a diverse search committee. A diverse search committee can not only implement the diverse recruitment strategy but also add to it.
  2. Create diverse and inclusive job postings. Be more inclusive in job ads and remove language that may cause barriers or deter certain demographics from applying.
  3. Target diverse candidates. Identify relevant sources to reach diverse candidates and direct your outreach towards this type of candidate.
  4. Encourage referrals from existing staff. Candidate referrals are a great way to get new job postings out to the campus community or to a specific demographic.
  5. Promote UIC’s Diversity Efforts. For example, did you know UIC is a founding member of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, which aims to increase opportunities for those historically underserved by higher education.
  6. Include diversity and inclusivity policies in job postings. Advertising our religious holiday policy or encouraging flexible working hours may appeal to a wider group of people.
  7. Avoid unconscious bias. Encourage unconscious bias training (required for Faculty searches) for all involved in the recruitment process and implement strategies to mitigate bias in the candidate evaluation, interview, and selection processes.
  8. Standardized your interview Process. Consistent interview practices help to mitigate the risk of unconscious bias.
  9. Assess current diversity recruitment strategies. As with any strategy for improvement, it’s best to monitor the progress in your efforts to measure and report your progress. When something isn’t working reassess and redefine.