The Language of Job Descriptions: Intent vs. Interpretation
Greater awareness of unconscious bias does not mean it’s been eliminated.
Employers have made good progress in addressing many types of bias in hiring — gender, racial, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation — but there is still work to do. In some cases, unconscious biases are still evident in the language we use.
The language of socioeconomic bias is one that can speak loudly to FGPs.
It can also generate an applicant pool that unintentionally reflects a certain socioeconomic status. Let’s consider some common phrases you might see in a job description through an FGP lens.
Reliable transportation. The intent may simply be for employees to be able to get to and from a specific work location. While others may not give this a second thought, an FGP reading this may immediately second-guess what this means for them. Does this mean not physically being in the office every day isn’t acceptable? I’m not that confident in my ten-year-old used car… maybe I just need to look for something closer to home. I can’t afford to pay for the gas and parking that driving every day would mean. What if I have to use the subway, bus, or train, which aren’t always reliable?
Excellent communicator. This statement can generate immediate doubt for FGP applicants with less exposure and experience in professional business communications, or with bilingual or bicultural backgrounds. Their counterparts may have honed these capabilities through college-educated parents, social networks, or internships, while FGPs without the same opportunities enter the workforce lacking confidence in this area. My accent or dialect is going to work against me. English isn’t my native language, and sometimes I struggle to find the right words. They are going to be judging this during an interview, when it’s even more stressful to communicate well.
Job requirements also need to keep pace with the changing world of work.
Beyond the unconscious bias that may be present, job descriptions also tend to be framed around exclusion rather than inclusion — to eliminate or discourage the “less qualified.”
Which skills and competencies are needed immediately, while others can be learned on the job?
A long initial list of requirements and responsibilities can cause even the most qualified applicants to hesitate. FGPs with less confidence and experience may not recognize that some aspects of this list are aspirational or even outdated, and may prematurely eliminate themselves from the mix.
Also, using subjective adjectives such as “strong, excellent, comfortable, proficient, expert” to describe levels of competency can create problematic parameters. This asks applicants to rate themselves as compared to others and assumes they can do so effectively. FGPs are more apt to rate themselves lower than their counterparts.
Are stringent requirements preventing FGPs from joining your applicant pool?
The inflated degree requirements that occurred during the last two decades are now being relaxed across many organizations1. Research by LinkedIn reports that the percentage of job ads without a qualification requirement grew by 90 percent on the platform between 2021 and 2022. Companies making these changes are reporting broader and more diverse applicant pools2. This increasing shift toward skills-based hiring for more roles (often in combination with education) will enable FGPs who have completed associate degrees or who are close to completing four-year degree requirements to join professional ranks they may have been excluded from in the past.
Are rapidly evolving capabilities needed for the future accurately reflected in hiring practices?
As early as 2016, only 27 percent of college graduates reported working in a field related to their major, and it was predicted that 60 percent of children entering primary school that year would ultimately be working in jobs that didn’t yet exist. This is especially true in areas of technology, digitization, and sustainability. In a WEF 2023 jobs report, employers rated cognitive skills, complex problem-solving, and creative thinking as growing in importance, as well as socioemotional attitudes such as curiosity and lifelong learning; resilience, flexibility, and agility; and motivation and self-awareness 3. FGPs may not as readily create a line of sight from their chosen degree to this wider array of evolving roles, nor appreciate how their diverse perspectives and life experiences have equipped them with many of the skills that are rising in value.
Employers: How will your organization need to adapt to these changes to win the war for talent?
First-Generation Professionals: Have you eliminated yourself from applying for positions based solely on job descriptions?
Resources
1
"What if we Hired for Skills, Not Degrees?" The Heckinger Report. Lawrence Lanahan. May 4, 2019. https://hechingerreport.org/what-if-we-hired-for-skills-not-degrees/2
"Evolving Hiring Trends: Job Listings Without Degree Mandates Increase by 90%." Under 30 CEO. Joe Rothwell. August 16, 2023. https://www.under30ceo.com/evolving-hiring-trends-job-listings-without-degree-mandates-increase-by-90-impacts-new-graduates/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20share%20of%20job%20ads%20without,their%20skills%20rather%20than%20their%20higher%20education%20background3
The Future of Jobs Report 2023. Insight Report. World Economic Forum. April 2023. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/