On Speaking Up, Calling Out, Careers in Peril, and the HR "Professional"

As an HR “professional,” I’m more than willing to hold my ground, speak up, speak out, call in, call out, and demand accountability from organizations for their workplace culture and the harm it is doing. I speak up and call out folx around abuse, overt and covert racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia, anti-Blackness, antisemitism, and hate and oppression and expect action. I speak out against my abuse, and the abuses levied against others in the organization. I call out and speak out regardless of the oppressor's power, positionality, or pallor. And I do this knowing that my job, career, and livelihood are in peril. I will lose my job if I have to in order to be a voice for others. Real talk? I already have on multiple occasions. And the likelihood of it happening again in my career is high. Understand that this isn’t martyrdom. This is me standing up for decency. It’s what a person in my position should be doing.

To summarize: as a Black person in “professional” settings, I refuse to toe the line and contribute to the status quo of white supremacist workplace culture “norms,” regardless of the salary and the “perks,” even if it means I’ll lose my job.

If you’re a white HR “professional” and aren’t willing to go there and fight for others when the likelihood of you being laid off or being pushed to resign is super-low due to your race, power, and positionality? Then you’re not here for the employees. You’re here for the status quo. And you’re likely okay with the harm happening all around you. Hell, you’re probably participating in or supporting the damage done to people in your workplace.

You might need to rethink your cute rebranded “People and Culture” title.

On Interview Questions, Nicholas Sparks, and Unrealistic Love

Image description: A scene from the film adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel "The Notebook." Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the film's two white co-stars, are kissing in the rain, both of them heavily drenched. Ryan Gosling is lifting Rachel McAdams up. Rachel's legs are wrapped around Ryan Gosling's waist.

I think it's time for us to collectively agree to stop asking candidates interviewing for positions the question, "Why do you want to work here?" (especially if you're asking that question because you seek candidates ready to enter into a "love affair" with your employer). Why should we all agree to stop asking this question?

1. You're looking for someone who's in love with your company. You're looking for someone to gush over how awesome your company is, not a candidate that could do a great job. Real talk? It's weird to expect someone to love your workplace without working for you for at least six months, which is usually when people know if they even like working for you (note: for marginalized folx, that timeframe is generally shorter). Just because a candidate loves the PR work your company did to put a positive image out on the internet and the DEIA blurbs and proclamations on your company website don't mean the reality of working for your company won't leave them wanting more.

2. You realize that many candidates who apply for positions with your company are applying because they have the skills and experience you claim you're seeking and are just looking for steady employment, right? Sometimes a job is just an end to a means. Sometimes it's doing what you need to do to survive and live a life with less stress and anxiety around job security and financial security. And that's OK. We need to normalize this. You and the candidate both have needs that you want to be met, and it's OK to hire folx who will do great work for your company but aren't in love with your company or go to your company game nights every week. You're hiring to fill a role, not to find a new buddy or "family member." By default, the "right fit" mentality is filled with bias and questions like this. By asking this question, you're making filling a position a popularity contest or an episode of The Bachelor.

You want a better question to ask candidates than "Why do you want to work here?" How about "When you saw this job posting, what was it about this position that made you want to apply?" This question de-centers your needs and hopefully allows the space for a candidate to share why the job interests them.

Stop looking for "love affairs." Your workplace is most definitely not a Nicholas Sparks novel.

Image description: A scene from the film adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel "The Notebook." Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the film's two white co-stars, are kissing in the rain, both of them heavily drenched. Ryan Gosling is lifting Rachel McAdams up. Rachel's legs are wrapped around Ryan Gosling's waist.

On Acronyms, Action, and Schoolhouse Rock

(Not so) hot take: legitimate equity and inclusion an acronym or committee does not make.

All of the BJEDI, JEDI, IDEA, DEI, EDI, and other assorted acronyms you can come up with will not replace action and initiatives that gradually build stronger and more sustainable workplace cultures. Acronyms don't matter if you aren't putting in the work. Acronyms are just words. Those words are nouns until you make them verbs and just verbs until you decide to put in the hard work that makes them action verbs.

Schoolhouse Rock taught a whole generation that but you wouldn’t know it by lookin’ at that generation running victory laps with their acronyms and committees.