The Ultimate Guide for Applying and Interviewing for a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Job

Photo by Mildly Useful on Unsplash

Before we jump into advice, let me ask you: Are you sure you want a DEI Job? I know this may sound like a ridiculous question, but it’s worth asking. Many of the people I know working in DEI started their professional journey by becoming involved with an ERG in the workplace or through community activist work. That engagement led them to opportunities to work in DEI in a professional capacity. However, the work that happens within ERG or activist spaces tends to be quite different than the painstakingly slow change management and strategic work that happens in an organizational setting. This transition from an activist role to a change management role can be a bit jarring. The difference in expectations leads to a lot of people feeling disappointed in the work. If the main source of your inspiration in ERG work comes from community-building and activism, you may feel restricted or frustrated by a corporate DEI job. This corporate work is often complicated by stifling hierarchies, big egos and too little empowerment to actually facilitate change. To put all of this into context, I want to suggest two pre-reads:

How do I get a DEI Job? and What skills do you need for a DEI Job?

But maybe after all of this, you are still excited to find your perfect DEI job. If that’s the case, let’s get started on discovering that dream job!

Finding the right job for you is all about matchmaking. You need to find a company that is the right fit for you (based on your priorities and goals) and the company needs to figure out whether you have the skills they are looking for. You need to figure out whether you will get along with your manager and colleagues and whether you can stand behind the work you are doing. As you approach this entire process, keep in mind: You are trying to determine if they are a fit for you just as much as they are trying to evaluate you. You have opportunities in this process to gather information, ask questions and negotiate! Don’t take that for granted! Now, on to the practical bits!

Step 1: Figure out what you want

First and foremost, determine your non-negotiables. Ask yourself the following:

• Are there specific companies you’re certain you wouldn’t want to work for?
• Are you hoping to work as part of a team or as an individual?
• Are you looking for a fully remote position? Or maybe you’re seeking a hybrid job that allows you to work remotely for a few weeks or months each year.
• Do you need a dog-friendly or child-friendly office?

Take some time for personal reflection and pinpoint those aspects that are most important in your future employer. Think back on the jobs you had in the past, based on that experience, what would you like to avoid at all costs? Keep these in mind.

Step 2: Find Jobs to Apply For

It’s time to start your job search. Make sure your friends working in DEI are aware you are searching for a new role. If they are aware, they will keep their eyes out for you. If you are part of a community or LinkedIn group for DEI professionals (such as this one), you can post on there that you are in search of a new role!

I have found LinkedIn (with job alerts) to be very helpful. Depending on your geographic location, there may be other job sites that have relevant listings (Stepstone; Indeed; Monster) or websites that specialize in jobs that have a social mission, such as tbd. community/en/jobs or D&I Leaders. Community groups for DEI professionals may also have job boards, such as DEI Club.

Begin by searching for specific keywords. Searching for “diversity and inclusion” together is most likely to turn up roles in DEI. Unfortunately, there are always false positives as MANY job postings include the words “diversity” or “inclusion” somewhere in the description but are not actually DEI roles. On top of that, it seems like every company is using a different acronym for DEI which makes searching difficult. Below I included some words to combine in your search based on real job titles in DEI across the US and Europe.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging or DEI or IDE or DEIB

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Specialist
Manager
Program Manager
Project Manager
Partnerships Manager
Business Partner
Advisor
Coordinator
Associate
Consultant
Partner
Deputy
Leader / Lead
Project Lead

Sometimes roles will include DEI along with another specialty, such as:

Communications
Community
Engagement
Culture
Strategy
Equality Manager
Talent / Recruitment
Social
Governance
Reporting
Policy
Early Careers
Sustainability
Well-being
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
ERG (Employee Resource Groups)
Change Management
Data / Analysis

Some specific titles are more likely to have leadership responsibility or are positioned to be more senior in the organization. These are:

Head
Director or Associate Director or Executive Director
VP, AVP or SVP (Vice President, Assistant Vice President or Senior Vice President)
Chief (as in “Chief DEI Officer”)

I don’t see DEI jobs posted as frequently as other job titles in HR. And whether you are seeing few or many DEI jobs may be dependent on external factors such as the current state of the economy or where we are within the fiscal year (which may determine whether companies are able to actively hire for new roles). You might come across a new listing only once every one or two weeks. DEI roles are much more specialized than most HR roles, and fewer people are applying. I wouldn’t be pessimistic if you don’t see many roles posted, just take time to review and consider each one before applying.

Step 3: Decide to Apply

When you decide whether to apply, you need to use the information you have available to figure out if the role could be a match for you. Look for clues in the job posting and on the company’s website. This will help you answer the following:

1. What are the responsibilities of the role? Make a list of these and give yourself a score on how comfortable you would be with each one.
2. Is a budget mentioned in the job description?
3. Will the role be working independently or as part of an established team?
4. Does the organization already have a DEI strategy or is the role expected to create the organization’s first strategy?
5. Who does the role report to?
6. Has the organization published a DEI report in the past?
7. Has the CEO or other leaders in the organization published LinkedIn or blog posts related to DEI?

To learn more about this step, check out this blogpost which has even more ideas on how to conduct research about an organization during the application process.

If you have a close friend working at the organization, you may want to reach out to them in advance of applying to learn a bit more about the role. They may be able to do a referral for you which will increase the chance your application will be considered. Or you may find out about some workplace drama that you would rather avoid altogether!

Step 4: Prepare your Application

When preparing your application, read the job description closely and highlight key responsibilities and requirements. In your cover letter, explain how you meet these specific requirements, using examples from past employment. ChatGPT can help you craft a cover letter that aligns your CV experience with the job requirements — but make sure the final draft is written authentically, in your own voice. Keep it short and be sure to tailor the cover letter or outreach email to the specific job, showing the hiring manager you’ve taken the time to fully read and understand the role.

You may be asked to share your salary requirements. I generally try to avoid this. Instead, state that your salary requirements are flexible and dependent on the role as well as other factors such as benefits.

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

Step 5: Conduct your Research before the Interview

Once you have been invited for an interview, you want to do some more research on the company. Look on LinkedIn to see who at the company is already working in DEI or DEI-adjacent roles. This will not perfectly explain the hierarchy but will give you some insight into how big the team is and how important the topic is.

Most companies have a “Corporate” page on their website which includes information about their organization, culture, executive board, press, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) commitments and more. Some companies even have a dedicated DEI page on this site. Read everything the company has published on this corporate page. Some companies also include a list of their Employee Resource Groups on this page. Here are a few examples of these pages:

HelloFresh, Springer Nature, Netflix, Nike

After reviewing what is available, you should be able to answer these questions:

1. Based on the publicly available information, has the company set DEI-related targets?
2. Based on the publicly available information, has the company reported data on its DEI progress? (This could include the diversity of their workforce or the inclusion of employees.)
3. Who is on their executive or senior leadership team? Does this team appear diverse?
4. Is the company publicly traded? Is it owned by its founders? Have they taken investment money? (Check crunchbase and Wikipedia for this information).
5. Do you see any red flags on their Glassdoor reviews?

This research will give you a lot of information you can take with you to the interview. It will help you answer their questions with responses tailored to their company. It will also help you ask better questions!

Step 6: Practice these Sample Questions you may get in your interview

The questions you will be asked in an interview really depend on the role and its responsibilities. Based on my own experience conducting interviews for several DEI roles, as well as my understanding of what is needed to succeed in this work, I listed questions that I would ask and what I’d be looking to find out. Take this with a handful of salt, this is my own perspective and every hiring manager will be looking for something a bit different!

1. What approaches do you use to manage difficult stakeholders?
- I’d expect to hear about trying to understand what the unique motivations are for the stakeholders in order to tailor the arguments to get them on board with DEI work.
- It would be helpful to hear about one or two past situations of working with difficult stakeholders and how to arrive at a good outcome for everyone.

2. Give an example of managing a complex project from start to finish.
- I’d look for evidence of breaking down a project into achievable pieces, managing communication as well as aligning and engaging stakeholders for their input. A follow-up question could be: What would you do when you know a project will be delivered late?

3. How do you build your knowledge on a new topic?
- I’d look for evidence about how someone seeks out expert sources and people with lived experience on a new topic in order to gain knowledge. I’d look for answers that acknowledge we as DEI practitioners often don’t have the right answers until we do the research.
- A practical question I may offer as a follow-up: You are tasked with designing a prayer room in the office for Muslim colleagues, how do you figure out what the requirements should be?

4. Have you been in a situation where you have two stakeholder groups with conflicting interests and you need to come to a compromise?
- It would be great to hear some specific, real examples of facing this challenge and how to resolve it.

5. The results of the D&I survey show that a specific community group has lower inclusion than the company overall. How would you take action on this information?
- I’d expect an answer to include some of the following: meeting with the community, talking to them about their specific challenges and putting a new (measurable) initiative in place, in line with the overall strategy.

Here are some additional questions that would depend on the responsibilities of the role:

• What is your experience guiding or coaching senior leaders on D&I topics?
• Have you delivered DEI training and if so on what topics?
• How have you used data to develop a strategy or track your progress?
• If you were kicking off a diversity hiring initiative, who would be your main stakeholders?
• What criteria would make a meaningful partnership with an external organization in support of your DEI work?
• A group of men in the office has asked the DEI team if they can start an Employee Resource Group for Men, how do you respond?
• In the D&I survey, you see there is one Business Unit in particular where managers do not demonstrate inclusive behavior, what initiative would you design to address this?

Regarding interviewing, more generally, check out this thread. It’s incredibly helpful in preparing for interviews including how to present the challenges you previously faced and what you have learned from them.

Step 7: Prepare Questions to ask at your Interview

If a company gives you time to ask questions during your interview, never pass up this opportunity. Even if you don’t think you have any questions, ask something. It shows you are interested and engaged. Keep questions short and clear. It’s great if you can reference something you read on their website too. Here are some questions you can ask:

1. Can you tell me about how the DEI team is structured? Do team members have different focus areas or specialties?
2. I read in your DEI Report that you have set a target to increase the percentage of women in leadership to 45%. What are some of the challenges you have faced in making progress on that target?
3. Do you have a champion or sponsor in leadership that gives visibility to your DEI work?
4. Does this role have a budget to implement the strategy?
5. I saw on your website that you have an Employee Resource Group program. Can you tell me a bit about your ERGs and what kind of projects they work on?

Keep in mind what kind of team you want to be a part of and make sure to ask questions that help you better understand whether this team may be a good fit for you. This blog: The Red Flags of DEI Jobs has many more practical questions to ask in your interview to find out if there are dangers lurking ahead.

Step 8: Negotiate the Offer

Receiving an offer is exciting, but it’s not the final step. Thoroughly review the offer to understand the base salary as well as any equity or bonuses included. If you don’t understand how the equity package works, ask! Remember: there’s often room for negotiation. While salary is important, it isn’t the only consideration. Reflect on your priorities. For instance, you might want to negotiate for a 32-hour workweek (though this is more common in Europe than in the US). Alternatively, you might want to request the flexibility to work remotely for some part of the year. You could inquire about an allowance for professional development, which could enable you to pursue a professional certificate funded by your employer. By identifying your goals and long-term plans, you can center your negotiations around them.

Step 9: Get Ready to Start your Job!

Hopefully, at this point, you have accepted a great offer and are ready to start your job! I can strongly recommend you check out my book: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: How to Succeed at an Impossible Job. It is a detailed look into the step-by-step process of developing a strategy, creating meaningful initiatives, tracking your progress and avoiding burnout! Best wishes on your new, exciting opportunity!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: How to Succeed at an Impossible Job

Check out what some readers have said about DEI: How to Succeed at an Impossible Job…

This book is like the experienced senior DEI colleague you never had. Working in DEI can feel like a lonely place, especially if you’re the first and only DEI professional in your organization. Sarah takes you through a journey: by starting with a very practical and hands-on perspective on how to set up your DEI strategy for success to checking in with yourself and defining your values and personal boundaries in the job. Most organizations aspire for diverse and inclusive workplaces that foster a sense of belonging we as humans need to thrive. This book shows the actual steps to make it happen.

Floria Susan Moghimi, Consultant, Speaker and Managing Director at Floria Moghimi D&I Consulting

Sarah Cordivano’s DEI: How to Succeed at an Impossible Job, is THE book that every DEI practitioner around the world needs to keep on their desk! No matter where you are in your DEI journey this book gives you first-hand insight on how to create an effective DEI strategy that includes extremely useful tips but it also includes an “instead try this” section that is even more helpful to read! From the beginning of the book, Sarah sets the stage by asking the reader to imagine that she is having coffee with them and sharing her expertise with a peer. This book will help you make informed decisions, but more importantly, it will make you feel like you are not alone in this important journey!

Camille Kelly, Chief Diversity Officer of Future Talent Council and CEO & Founder of CKC Solutions LLC