How to answer job interview questions about diversity? (job hunting, employees, tips)
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I have a job interview tomorrow, and based on my experience interviewing for this type of job, they are going to ask me a question about diversity (my experience with diversity, how do I like diversity....).
Does anyone have any tips to asnwering questions like this (I don't know exactly how they will ask)? Has anyone else been asked questions like this?
I grew up in an extremely diverse environment, my family is very diverse, and diversity is something I just sort of take for granted, not something I can put into words. Also, I think there are different kinds of diversity, and in that sense if anyone met my family and knew my upbringing, they would not need to ask me about my thoughts on it. My work environments have been diverse as well, but how do I explain it?
Any insights, experiences, tips, etc., would be appreciated, thanks!
Just keep it short and sweet...talk about diversity training you may have took...How you love to meet different people from different backgrounds...maybe thats why you live in said city...that your about building positive healthy work relationships that help the team get projects completed....like I said keep it short and to the point...don't ramble about your family and diversity.....
"Can you cite one speck of hard evidence of the benefits of "diversity" that we have heard gushed about for years? Evidence of its harm can be seen — written in blood — from Iraq to India, from Serbia to Sudan, from Fiji to the Philippines. It is scary how easily so many people can be brainwashed by sheer repetition of a word."
— Thomas Sowell
Reneeme, what you said in your post sounds to me like the basis for a really good response to such questions: you take diversity for granted, you are used to it, etc.
Also, the suggestion other posters made to ask what sort of diversity they have in mind in this case is a good one.
I would guess that what most employers want to know is simply that you are going to be able to get along with people from various backgrounds (or even simply that your behavior won't be the basis for anti-discrimination lawsuits, etc.). A job interview is not generally going to be the time to get into a theoretical discussion of the pros and cons of diversity.
Check to see if they company or organization has published any statements (including statements on their web site, if they have one) of their own on the issue of diversity and shape your answer in response to that.
(Caveat: I have never worked in Human Resources and don't even have that much experience job hunting.)
I agree that I should try to keep it short and sweet (not sure I did that the last time!), great point that I should get them to define what they mean (although I probably won't do that, however, it's exactly my point), they probably do want blabber, and all good tips ApartmentNomad, I'll read their web site and see what language they use, if any, and take it from there.
Also, to clarify, the external customers will be a diverse group, and it's why I am expecting them to ask the question, it's not so much the employees.
Now that I planned on the question, they probably won't ask, lol! Plus, snow is predicted for the morning, so hopefully the interview does not get rescheduled.
I have a job interview tomorrow, and based on my experience interviewing for this type of job, they are going to ask me a question about diversity (my experience with diversity, how do I like diversity....).
Does anyone have any tips to asnwering questions like this
I'd tell them whatever they wanted to hear; Whatever it takes to get the job.
These diversity initiatives are often just a sugarcoating of a corporation's compliance to affirmative action - especially if they have government contracts.
Some people think that diversity initiatives or multiculturalism in the workplace is a little too close to affirmative action which is a little too close to reverse discrimination.
"Diversity" is one of those words that's tossed around but never fully defined in context. First, you should know what kind of business the organization is in. What is their mission and how does it related to diversity? And then see what they are defining as "diversity." For example, a non-profit organization that provides scholarships to youth in inner cities would be different (as far as diversity) than a financial organization who deals with different corporate partners and constituents or an international organization dealing with health issues, craft producation, or natural preservation.
Diversity isn't just ethnicity/race. There's age, gender, occupation, education-levels, cultural bakground, economic, etc. And so there's always diversity within diversity.
Your interviewer probably just wants to know what experiences you have dealing with differnet kinds of people. So just stick to what is applicable/directly related to them and the position you are interviewing for. Good luck in your interview!
I was asked this question when interviewing for my last job. I think it was more practically based, because my office had a lot of people working there who were from outside the US, and I think the interviewer wanted to know if a person would be comfortable in that type of environment.
It's true that there are different types of diversity, though, my last workplace was not very diverse as far as age. I was one of the oldest people in the office at my staff level, and I was in my mid-30s. Found it very hard to fit in or to network, and I think one of the reasons I did not do well there was related to that.
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