Hire Young. Hire Diverse. Hire Unconventionally.
One of the best decisions I’ve made as an agency founder is to hire those that are wildly different than me. I see young millennials and elder Gen Z’s discounted in all sorts of ways. You know the stereotypes that tabloid and click-bait articles try to foist on them, so I won’t bother repeating any of that bunk here.
Instead, I will tell you that these are the groups that constantly surprise me - in all the good ways. They keep me energized, fresh, and willing to see the world through less fatigued eyes. They are the ones that are unafraid to challenge my thinking and offer up new perspectives.
Sure, we might think we can keep up with today’s slang and hip new trends, that we have the pulse on today’s youth– but that’s the same mistake our parents and grandparents made, too. So instead of trying to do it all yourself, why not go directly to the source?
For many many years, I was that young person. Too much energy, not enough discipline, and frankly too wild for everyone’s good.
But, when I had good people invest in me?
It was magic. I could tap into their wisdom and experience while they could tap into my energy and creativity. It was the quintessential symbiotic relationship. (If you’re the one looking to be mentored, seek out those relationships! You have nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain.)
Now that I’m *mumblealmost37mumble* I find myself now in a space where I get to pay it forward.
And yes,
We have an obligation to the people who are different than us
While I’ve already called out young Millennials and Gen Z, I’m actually not just talking about youth.
The idea of being a cross-generational leader also means working with folks that may be older than you. It takes leadership acumen and emotional intelligence to understand the subtle differences in managing a multi-generational team, all the while not succumbing to the pitfalls of ageism–on either side of the spectrum.
As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve been in the space as a mentee where I’ve really thrived with the guidance of someone who had been there and done that. That opportunity to learn and grow doesn’t evaporate just because we spend a few more years rotating around the sun. You can mentor someone and still learn something new from them in return just by the fact that we all have such vastly different experiences and learning styles.
Supporting diversity, in general, is important, but diversity of thought is especially key in business. You usually hear “it takes a village” when referencing child-rearing. I would posit that it applies to businesses, too. If you’re only ever hearing from people that look and think just like you do, chances are you’re not getting the full picture. You need dissenting voices to help you make better decisions and to see things that you might have otherwise missed. Hiring a team that reflects the diversity of your customer base is essential to understanding their needs and how your product or service can best serve them.
Storytime:
I was working with a client whose goal was to expand their offerings, and part of the strategy was to run ads for their health clinic. The staff member that I had assigned to the account is of Latin descent, and it didn’t take him long to ask why there weren’t going to be any advertisements in Spanish. Given that the practice is in South Florida, it was a poignant question and one that I, as a white woman of non-Hispanic descent, hadn’t thought to ask. All leaders need good people at their side to not only compensate for their weaknesses, but also draw attention to their blind spots; that’s what a diverse team does for me.
The question fundamentally boils down to this: why only tap into one specific slice of a market when there’s an entire global community out there that could benefit from what you have to offer? Having a team representing different cultures, accessibility, genders, and orientations will help your business tap into new markets and understand your new customers better. This diversity of thought goes hand-in-hand with innovation, too; having a mix of people from different backgrounds leverages those unique perspectives by stepping out of the patriarchal, white box that has dominated the Western market for so long.
And if you’re worried about meeting a diversity quota, you’re missing the point. (Though, as Janet Stovall points out in her TED talk, studies have shown that a minority group has to compose approximately 25%-30% of a population before their voice start to be heard.) A more diverse workplace is just good business sense. It leads to better problem-solving and products, increased creativity, and a variety of perspectives that can only come from people with different life experiences.
What does “unconventional” mean?
If you can find someone with the perfect skill set, don't hesitate to bring them on board - even if they don't check all of the “must-have” criteria, like specific educational milestones or traditional job experience. While formal education has its place, not everyone does their best learning in that sort of environment (and I say this from personal experience). In today’s world where there are many online resources fostering self-guided courses and making self-taught skills more available than ever before, a bachelor’s degree doesn’t necessarily mean that one applicant is more qualified than another with just a GED.
Then there’s this gem that I know you’ve seen, just like I have: the entry-level position job posting that requires X number of years having done the thing. Should that really be entry-level? (The answer is no, by the way. That to me is a bright red flag indicating a toxic environment, featuring a high level of expected contributions and a low level of compensation.) Setting an unreasonable level of experience-to-salary ratio is an easy enough pitfall to avoid when looking for new talent.
So when you’re looking at the applicants and find that they fit into a category that historically gets passed over (recent graduates, people who are in the process of changing careers, those who have a large gap in their work history, et cetera), I encourage you to take another look. There are plenty of business/tech/creatively-savvy people out there with a lot to offer.
They just might not have been given the opportunity to show it yet.
It isn’t easy, but nothing worth doing is.
The modern workplace is more diverse than ever before, but there’s still a lot of work to be done– especially because diversity doesn’t automatically mean inclusivity. I’ll be the first to admit that the weight of the work can be pretty overwhelming, but that’s no excuse for inaction or complacency. With a wealth of resources available to us, here are just a few that I would encourage you to check out and ruminate on:
Janet Stovall's TED Talk "How to get serious about diversity and inclusion in the workplace"
Stovall’s message about single-minded determination being a driver for change in the face of adversity, and makes the case that business is exactly the place where this anti-racism work needs to happen. And she has the numbers and resources to back this up, too. (There is a transcript of her talk available on the page.)
"Let's Climb Out of The Generation Trap" by Ashton Applewhite
Ageism is a prejudice just like any other, and Applewhite argues that the myth of inter-generational conflict is more harmful to society than we realize.
The entire premise of this site is to support women in excellence within the “traditionally male” workspace of tech. There is a job board both for viewing listed jobs and posting them. If you’re in a position to combat workplace misogyny in historically sex-coded roles, what are you doing to break down those barriers?
has a vast collection of recorded webinars addressing LBTQ+ issues, but also offers training (from one-hour webinars to three-day intensives) aimed at reducing the impact of trauma on trans/non-binary survivors and communities.
"Why We Need Universal Design" by Michael Nesmith
This TEDxBoulder talk from Nesmith discusses Universal Design, which, as defined by Ron Mace, “is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” What are we doing to make sure that our work is accessible to all, regardless of ability?