I surf recruiter job postings all the time. It’s become a habit, not because I’m looking for a job, but because I load them into a LinkedIn group I moderate, and I have been known to tweet a few that catch my eye.
Last week, one with the typical keywords I search for had some interesting physical requirements. Let me share them with you – and keep in mind, before you read below, this was for a Recruiter…
Damn. That’s tough. I have a friend who is color blind. And I suppose it’d be helpful for him to have full vision ability, but I don’t think it deters him from his job, and he use to be a third party recruiter. And don’t get me going on the rest of it, because I could….but it did make me very excited about a new campaign that’s coming out this week from ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com.
Check out the campaign here. It has created a message that is quite snappy and highlights that all workplaces accommodate difference. The point of it all? That hiring for diversity is a benefit to companies of all sizes, and in particular, you should be hiring the disabled. Why? Well, of course, we know everyone has been impacted by the recession. But according to Barbara Otto, the Executive Director of the national organization Health & Disability Advocates, the disabled have been disproportionately impacted by the recession, and their employment numbers are rising faster than those of the general public.
Another item worth viewing on the ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com campaign site are Five Myths and the Real Facts for Employers. It conquers and eliminates myths like “Providing accommodations for people with disabilities is expensive” and “The ADA forces employers to hire unqualified individuals with disabilities”. And if you need stats for building your business case? This site has plenty of them. Explore it to see all the information offered up. And as you’re thinking about branding in 2010, and I know you are, we certainly see all over the place how it’s paramount to have a Social Recruiting strategy in play. It’s becoming more and more important to attract talent to you. Excellent! I want you to do that. But I want you to be able to offer something up when they get there, especially if you want to be known as a diversity employer of choice. Seriously consider your Diversity Branding strategy in 2010 and getting your company affiliated with a campaign like ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com. Be the company that attracts a diverse pool of talent.
Ms. Otto has an amazing thought when you think of hiring the disabled, and I want to leave you with this, especially if you’re pooh-poohing diversity recruitment branding…
If you need workers that think outside the box, hire those that live outside the box every single day.
That’s powerful. And real.
Kelly is the Recruitment Manager for Westat, a leading social science research organization headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.