Portland Hiring Trends 2019: How to Land Meaningful Work in Nonprofits Panel!

Last Thursday night, March 28, I had the pleasure and honor to be a part of the expert panel for the first of three networking and informational events that make up Mac's List's Portland Hiring Trends 2019 networking series. I am proud to have been a part of, and help to coordinate, the How to Land Meaningful Work in Nonprofits event at Reed College. I also feel so privileged to have been on a such a powerhouse panel as the one I was a part of Cinthia Manuel of Portland Leadership Foundation, Crystal Jackson of Meyer Memorial Trust, and Meghan Prichard of Mercy Corps.

I'd like to thank Mac's List for having me and my fellow panelists for offering their insight, experience, and empathy to a packed house of 125 attendees. I'd also like to thank all of you who attended and connected with me after the event. Let's keep the conversation and empathy flowing!

Employers: you really have to stop expecting people to have a Master's degree or 5 years of experience for entry level jobs with low pay. It's unrealistic, makes your company look out of touch, and creates barriers for people who are transitioning into new careers, who just obtained an undergraduate degree and are looking for their first career job, and yes, even people who have darn near all of the tangibles and intangibles you're seeking but aren't sporting all of the "bells and whistles" you're giving too much importance to.

As employers you need to create opportunities, not make experience and exposure to professions and fields of interest harder to obtain. This is how companies miss out on great employees that could've added real value and insight. Stop looking for "unicorns" (people who don't exist that check off all of your bias-driven boxes for what you feel is the greatest employee ever) and start re-evaluating your entry level roles to make sure they aren't unrealistic or unattainable. Because let's be honest: there are VERY few entry level roles that you need a Master's or a decade of experience to do.

It's 2019. If your organization is still putting up job postings or blurbs on their website with lines like "we actively seek diversity in our programs and employment practices” and/or “we welcome and encourage applicants from historically underrepresented minority groups to apply to our jobs" then it's time to re-evaluate how welcoming and open to diversity, equity, and inclusion your organization actually is. Truth be told, this kind of language usually denotes that someone in your department or organization REALLY wants to hire "other” or “different people" but doesn't actually have the capacity or drive to truly build a better culture and environment that supports all people. On top of that it also screams of pandering to the masses and trying to present yourself as something that you're not. A diversity statement, or a section of your website and company social media dedicated to your efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the community and your organization, is one thing. But base statements like the aforementioned sound insincere.

Think about it: if you really were an equitable and inclusive workplace, or had a reputation as one, you wouldn’t have to use all of the jargon and buzzwords to grab “other” and “different” applicants, would you?

So I’m currently reading Robin DiAngelo’s impeccable book White Fragility. I’m 1/4 of the way through and I can’t recommend it enough, not just for White people but for people of color as well. Why, you ask? I view reading material of this nature as another tool, another layer of understanding, for both Whites and POC to take into conversations with White people about race. Race is a social construct; in order to effectively connect with Whites and POC alike concerning race I believe one needs to have as much understanding of the mental and emotional aspects of race as they can acquire.

DiAngelo’s book extends beyond the basics of White fragility that many POC are familiar with and adds psychological context and extra insight...from a White person who admits they will forever be doing their own work to be better. The insights I’ve come across in this book and the candor with which they’re shared has already got me re-evaluating and building upon my approaches to conversations about race.

To make change happen one has to be willing to change themselves. That’s the only way we build a deeper understanding in White America of the way race factors into every part of our lives and how they too have to be active and evolving participants in things being better.