Building Inclusive Libraries One Step at a Time: Kindness, Equity, and Candidate Experiences in Hiring

Have you ever wondered if the interview process could be a kinder, more accessible experience anchored in equity that is ultimately meant to develop connections? Would you like to critically examine practices in the hiring process to ensure empathy for applicants going through the process? In taking a closer look at our own practices, we made significant improvements to our processes, which have led to a more positive experience for candidates and our organizational outcomes. Each component of the hiring process can be centered in equity and accessibility. It is key to ensure that each stage contends with bias, both positive and negative, through mitigation strategies. Each of the interview components should be relevant and necessary to both the search committee and candidate’s decision making. Additionally, others involved in the process, such as through open presentation, must be prepared to provide feedback that aligns with a commitment to equity. While each member of an organization has a differing level of agency to impact change, we all hold power to shape the process through micro-practices and living the change. Together, the presenters will explore leading hiring practices, the differences and benefits as compared to more traditional approaches to hiring, and the impact of these practices. They will explore implications for different components of the hiring process and how to transform each for a focus on equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Additionally, they will provide a toolkit that you can use or adapt in your context in order to support both the critical examination, such as equity lenses, and practical resources to develop more inclusive approaches from the job posting to making an offer. The presenters include the administrators who developed the new processes as well as someone who went through the reimagined process as a successful candidate. They are coming from a range of institutions, differing vantage points within the organizations in terms of hiring authority, and hold a variety of identities. Together, they will articulate ways to lead from each of their locus of control within an organization to influence, and at times enact change