Viewpoint - Viewpoint

Last night there was a really interesting debate regarding this subject- some friends of mine and I were discussing the benefits of hiring individuals who share common activities, and are very similar background..

How easy it is to feel comfortable with people who are more “like us” – to gravitate to these individuals subconsciously.

Even if we were to do online searches, looking at a picture on the internet, reading blog profiles, or even in the qualifying process of interviewing.

The discussion turned to systemic discrimination – if companies were to continue hiring people who were “more like us” that shared common hobbies and traits where would that leave so many employees? Say for example an individual who came from different countries, cultures, backgrounds? An individual who may have just migrated from say Laos who is qualified, but doesn’t have that same common bond.

Sometimes our clients may make requests of us regarding requirements of candidates based upon a feeling of perception – in our searches perception also takes over as well..

--- May I share a story that was once told to me when I first started recruiting regarding the danger of perception – There was a recruiting company in the East Coast – they were interviewing 2 candidates for a professional VP assistant, both had similar resumes – The White candidate came to the interview on time, dressed professionally. The Black Candidate came late, straight from the Tennis courts and wearing tennis attire. The White candidate was sent to interview with the client, the black female was not. The reasoning behind this when asked by the courts was that they felt that the candidate had not presented a professional demeanor. The candidate came late, dressed unprofessionally and the position was one that demanded professionalism.

The courts unfortunately did not buy that as a subjective or objective reason for not submitting the candidate. The courts decided that the Candidate had proven via her experience that she had the ability to be professional (she had worked as an Assistant to a VP in her previous job) – her experience was very similar to that of the White female who had been submitted, and that the recruiter’s responsibility was to inform the candidate of the Dress Code, advise her to be professional, show up on time.. etc, etc, etc. It was the duty the court said for the Recruiter to submit the BEST qualified candidate in regards to the Minimum Objective Qualifications, and it was up to the Client to decide if the candidate was/is the best fit for the job.

The Judge ruled in favor for the candidate in the tune of 1 million – This was granted due to the Candidates Proven experience and ability, not based upon her lack of professionalism – since we are not the employer of record or the hiring manager - then it is understandable that we obviously do not have the authority to make the decisions of who is being hired, thus Recruiters are obligated to make job referrals
in a nondiscriminatory manner.

All qualified candidates must/should be submitted, in spite of our personal preferences (which includes personal judgment and impressions)

We must remember as Recruiters that -----

“The anti-discrimination statutes not only prohibit an employer from discriminating against its own employees, but also prohibit others from interfering with an individual's employment opportunities with another employer” quoted from the EEOC.

see also Recruiters, H.R, Is MYspace YourSpace? 

http://www.hirecentrix.com/recruiters-hr-is-myspace-yourspace.html

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ABOUT KAREN MATTONEN, CAC, CSP

Karen Mattonen started a career in Human Resources when she served as a Recruiter for Snelling Corporation. Leveraging her tenure with Snelling, Karen founded Advanced Career Solutions in 1997 focusing on the  HVAC and Mechanical Construction industry. Her reputation for excellence is echoed in the satisfaction of clients and candidates she has serviced nationwide. Furthermore, Karen is esteemed for sharing her expertise in Recruitment Education, Ethics and promoting self-regulation for the Recruiting industry.

She has a new and future-oriented vision of what recruiting can and should become: a profession we can be proud of for its ethical standing, professional conduct and ability to build great organizations. Her doing-well-by-doing-right philosophy is shaking up the status quo in an industry that needs to be shaken. She does this with conviction, leadership, and a distinctive voice that cries out for change.

Outside of the HR community, Karen Mattonen has been cited by Microsoft as a resource in how to use Microsoft Outlook as an ATS. She has also served as the Marketing and Public Relations Director for the 3^rd largest city in Utah.

Her passionate and tireless advocacy has led her to create HireCentrix - The Pulse of H.R, Regulation, Retention, Recruiting and Risk Management www.hirecentrix.com.  Hirecentrix is a company dedicated to providing training to the HR, recruiting and staffing industries, which includes a special focus on the ethical and legal dimensions through offering a full service resource for individuals to share and communicate, obtain current and accurate information, acquire and provide education and learning within the quickly expanding, diverse and rapidly changing Recruiting and Human Resource climate.

Karen has achieved accreditation as a California Accredited Consultant (CAC) through California Staffing Professionals. She has also gained her Certified Staffing Professional Certificate (CSP) through American Staffing Professionals. (www.americanstaffing.net)

Click here to reach Karen via email.

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