Behind the Scenes with the Increase Diversity Newsletter
💥This is #IncreaseDiversity, a weekly newsletter + monthly workshop series sharing best practices for employers who want to implement effective diversity recruitment programs. To see previous editions, visit JenniferTardy.com. | IG: @IncreaseDiversity 💥
News From #TeamJTC:
👉🏾 INNER CIRCLE membership invitation for ambitious JOB SEEKERS is right around the corner! Are you on our list? Learn more: INNER CIRCLE
👉🏾 FREE CHECKLIST | 💥 We have a FREE, downloadable CHECKLIST for leaders called The Platinum Checklist for Hiring Professionals: 10 Immediate Actions Leaders Must STOP Doing in Order to Increase Diversity. Click to download your free copy. 💥
Wow! Can you all believe that we are a community of 50,000+ strong today? I know; I am still in shock. Team JTC and I are overwhelmed with gratitude for your support.
We owe a big thanks to you all! Take a moment to congratulate yourself for continuing to show up, growing through learning, and being the best version of yourself—all in an effort to INCREASE DIVERSITY!
To celebrate this grand milestone, we thought it would be fun to do a behind the scenes interview about the #IncreaseDiversity newsletter. Team JTC asked me a series of questions and here are my responses:
Q: What inspired you to begin writing the #IncreaseDiversity newsletter?
A: I wanted to make an impact on the field of diversity recruiting. One of my sincerest hopes in life is that one day we can move away from the phrase, “diversity recruiting” to simply “recruiting.” However, we cannot get there until our workplace’s policies, practices and behaviors are inherently inclusive. We cannot get there until those who are on the front lines of doing this work (i.e., recruiters and hiring managers) are automatically approaching recruiting with a lens on diversity—until it feels natural. So, I wanted to use this platform to make that conversation about increasing diversity feel natural and to stay atop of the minds of professionals in the workplace.
As a side note: When I first decided to commit to a weekly newsletter, I started doing some research on titles. I knew that based on some of the most popular newsletters, the titles all had some sort of call to action. So, I began wondering what a call to action could be for diversity recruiting. I knew that it had to be the ultimate action that I wanted to teach this community exactly how to do. Then “Increase Diversity” came to me—and here we are today, 60+ newsletters deep!
Q: What would you like to accomplish with the #IncreaseDiversity newsletter? In other words, what is your vision for it?
A: In addition to diversity recruiting becoming simply recruiting, the vision is to create a community of professionals who feel qualified, capable, and comfortable using language around diversity, equity and inclusion and ultimately leaning in to do the work to increase diversity.
Q: How do you decide on the topics that need to be unpacked each week?
A: I’m always paying attention to the questions I’m being asked. Whether I’m on prospective client calls, training leaders or recruiters, or even when I’m coaching individuals who are on their job search—I’m always paying attention. When I begin to see patterns in the types of questions I’m being asked by employers and the types of experiences I’m hearing about with job seekers…then, I know that it is time to talk about it—whether it is in this newsletter, a YouTube video or in our training bootcamps.
Q: Do you want to do anything more with the Increase Diversity newsletter in the near future? How do you see it evolving?
A: Yes, certainly. I’m looking forward to publishing more frequently likely with interviews of leaders and recruiters and sharing some of the best practices that have been working within their workplaces as they have been working to find, attract, engage, and hire more women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+. In addition, I want to expand our platform to include introductions to start up companies that are adding major innovation to the world of diversity recruiting or are adding spotlights to marginalized communities to hep each to gain more access to opportunity!
Q: Are you a one-person-show? Or do you have a team of creators supporting the Increase Diversity Newsletter?
A: 100%. There’s a behind-the-scenes team of creators helping to make this newsletter great and ensuring that we get new content (full of value) to you weekly. A very special thanks (and dedication) goes to this team:
Q: Tell us something interesting, fun, or funny about you, Jenn, that we wouldn’t know just by looking at you.
A: I am a HUGE Golden Girls fan! I could watch the first few seconds of a Golden Girls episode and tell you exactly what the show was about. As a side note: I cannot help but to watch this ‘80s show through the lens of my DEI practitioner experience. So, there are many cringe-worthy moments and I especially get locked in to how few Black people I see represented on the show. Can’t help it!
Thank you everyone for being here. Team JTC and I appreciate you!
Join the conversation: What additional questions do you all have about the #IncreaseDiversity Newsletter? What increase diversity topics would you like to read about in the near future?
✅ We will use the weekly #IncreaseDiversity newsletter platform to do five things:
Challenge organizations to dig more deeply when it comes to diversity recruiting and retention programs
Clarify misconceptions or demystify complex topics related to diversity recruiting
Share best practices in diversity recruiting and retention
Answer frequently asked questions related to diversity recruiting and retention
Build a safe learning community for hiring professionals