Qualifications

Knowing how to recognize and assess qualifications:

• Be clear on the skills and qualifications needed to do the job (not how one gets them as those with diverse backgrounds may have acquired the skills you need in a different way).
• Compare qualifications as represented in the applications/resumes, if unsure how to rate qualifications gained in a foreign setting, check with someone who is familiar with the particular education system/work environment. If the candidate has a degree from a foreign university, check with IQAS (International QUalifications Assessment Service) for its comparability to a Canadian degree.
• Plan interviews with the job description as a guide, develop questions that all candidates will be asked and decide on the format (one interviewer or a team).
• If using behaviour-based or situational interviewing, ensure those interviewing know how to interpret the behaviour of the cultures of the candidates (you will have difficulty finding the best candidate if you cannot correctly interpret the behaviours described in response to your questions when the candidate’s life experience/culture is different from yours).
• Interviewers be aware of your biases, avoid rushing to judgement, be just as suspicious of quick approval of a candidate as quick rejection.
• Check references for top 2 or 3 candidates.
• Take the time to ensure a new employee gets all the information s/he needs to be successful during the first week on the job.
• An employee from another culture or a non-traditional background (youth, older worker etc.) may need more time to settle-in, assign them a working buddy to share the unwritten rules.
• If the employee population is homogeneous and you are unsure how a new employee from a diverse background will be accepted, prepare the workplace before s/he starts:
  1. Tell employees whom you’ve hired and why,
  2. If they express concerns about how to communicate with or relate to someone like this (e.g. an Aboriginal employee or one with a disability) get an expert in to help,
  3. When employees know and can prepare, they will more easily accept a new, diverse colleague.