In today’s world, more and more business owners are realizing that they need to make their staffs more diverse. Doing so is beneficial for many reasons, one of which is that it empowers companies to attract clients from a wider range of sociopolitical, economic, racial, and geographic backgrounds. Also note that diverse staffs are known to operate at higher levels of creativity and productivity. With these realities in mind, you may be ready to start implementing hiring strategies that will help you cultivate a more diverse staff. To ensure that you can realize this objective, make sure that you ask the following 7 questions during the job interview to gauge diversity views:
1. How Do You Define Diversity?
This question is important for many reasons. First, it helps ensure that you and the job candidate are on the same page regarding what diversity is. “Because diversity can be defined in numerous, disparate ways, you want to ensure that the job candidate is thinking of the term in contexts conducive to the concepts of multiculturalism and inclusion,” said DiversityInc.
2. What Will You Do To Fit Into Our Company Culture, A Large Part Of Which Is About Valuing Diversity?
This is an incredibly straightforward question. Moreover, it is a statement. The statement is that your company places primacy on diversity, and you’re essentially asking the job candidate whether she or he will accept and promote this type of culture. By reviewing the resource “Interview Questions Regarding Diversity,” you can see an elaboration of this question which can help you contextualize how you want to frame it. For example, you can situate diversity as a value among several others, such as celebrating and rewarding success.
3. How Do You Communicate Within Contexts Marked By Varying Beliefs, Behaviors, and Backgrounds?
This is a great question because the way the job candidate answers can provide you with a clear understanding of where she or he stands regarding diversity. For example, a job candidate whose answer incorporates the perception of cross-cultural communication as problematic, difficult, or irritating probably views multiculturalism as an issue rather than an asset. Yet an individual who lights up at this question or states that they find the process of cross-cultural communication exciting and challenging is indicating a positive disposition towards the idea and reality of diversity.
4. What Types Of Experiences Have You Had Collaborating In Diverse, Inclusive Settings?
Like the previous question, this question will help you gauge the job candidate’s disposition towards diversity. If the candidate talks about previous experiences in a positive way by stating things like “Working in a predominantly Spanish-speaking environment helped me improve my language skills and demonstrate respect for Mexican culture,” it’s safe to say that she or he is receptive to people from disparate racial, religious, and/or sociopolitical backgrounds.
5. How Do You Challenge Stereotypes?
This is a wonderful probing question which will help you determine how the job candidate uses her or his emotional intelligence and accumulated life experiences to grapple with stereotypes. An individual who responds by referencing a wide range of skills that she or he uses to address and challenge stereotypes likely has a substantive commitment to promoting diversity.
6. Has There Ever Been A Time When You Had To Deal With An Individual Whose Personality Was Different From Your Own?
This is an important question because diversity is not limited to issues of race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, and geographic location. It also incorporates the concept of people who have disparate personalities. An example would be an introverted vs. extroverted personality. Individuals who value diversity are typically more effective in working with people whose personalities differ from their own.
7. What Type Of Work Environment Makes You The Most Happy And Productive?
As noted in “The Balance,” this question will help you determine whether the job prospect is a good match in light of your company’s culture.
If you’re trying to hire job candidates who value a diverse work culture as much as you, know that you can realize the objective. To ensure that you can, be sure to ask most or all of the questions outlined above when you begin to interview job candidates!
