Episode Summary
When certain companies are hiring new people, usually the first step is to review the CVs of interested candidates. And then, the company eliminates those candidates who don’t have the specific qualifications they’re looking for, whether it’s the experience in that job/industry or education.
But if you just look at the resumes and reject candidates based on them, without talking to them, you can miss out on people who would contribute to your company. By rejecting diversity, that is, by not digging into each candidate before making a final decision, you may not hire the best.
In this episode of Taking the Lead, our host Christina Brady welcomes Kimberly Evans, a global sales enablement director at Logz.io. Kimberly and Christina get into the importance of diversity in the company and providing opportunities for people. They discuss how previous experiences can be used in a completely new environment and how companies can contribute to increasing diversity.
Guest Profile
- Name: Kimberly Evans
- What she does: Kimberly is a global sales enablement director at Logz.io
- Company: Logz.io
- Noteworthy: Kimberly is a global director, motivated executive leader, and speaker who executes with passion, sound judgment, and integrity. She delivers innovative strategies to promote people's development and awareness around diversity and inclusion, and she is committed to driving employee engagement through enablement. In addition, Kimberly is highly skilled at talent recruiting, implementing organizational change, and communicating complex ideas to stakeholder management.
Key Insights
- Using past experiences. Whatever experience you have had, you will bring something from it to the next one, which will help you in your new job. Even if you are moving from one industry to another, the skills you have previously learned or developed can be of great use to you. Kimberly emphasizes that it's all about taking past experiences, bringing them with you, and not being afraid to throw out ideas. "In the group session, you don't wanna have the wrong answer. No one wants to show up with a bad idea, but we have to start the conversation, whatever that looks like. And fortunately for me, I've had a lot of roles just created for me, so I find joy in that because it hasn't been defined. So, it's an opportunity for Kimberly to just put her special thoughts on it, and then we can iterate along the way throughout the years. But I like the fact that there isn't a framework already or a model that's already in place that I have to copy or follow the script, and I'm able to break through ceilings. So that has been inspiring to me just throughout my journey."
- Students should be introduced to the possibilities. Kimberly has worked as a DEI leader with universities to ensure they have the right curriculum that prepares graduates to transition into the workforce. She also believes that it is important for companies to show students, who are job candidates, what they need to work on to become a part of the qualified workforce. As she says, the Art of the Possible is the start. "The starting point is inspiring those students. So hosting tours within the company and understanding that, 'I'm not a techie, that is not my path,' but you can still work in the tech industry and not be a techie. You don't have to code. You don't have to be a developer. You can be a project manager. You can be a director of the enablement if you still choose."
- The importance of diversity. Although we often talk about diversity and the importance of hiring diverse people, companies do try to work on it. Still, sometimes, diverse people are not qualified or do not meet the criteria. As a supporter of increasing diversity, Kimberly notes that it is a challenge but that just interviewing diverse people is a very important step in supporting diversity. "One of the first approaches is to make sure that we have some diverse applicants within the pool. So, let's just make sure we have a diverse group of people before we even start the interviews because, a lot of times, that's not the case. […] But then also there's just some onus to make sure that we have a diverse group of applicants that are at the table before we even start the interviewing process. And yes, hire the best person for the job. I've had to interview applicants, and there have been African Americans that have applied for jobs that I have been the hiring manager for, and they just were not the right candidates for the job. And that's fine. But at least that person was at the table. And then I would say, 'This is what you need to do to enhance your skills.'"
Episode Highlights
Give People an Opportunity
“We have to give people an opportunity. Someone gave me an opportunity, and if we are all being honest, someone gave you an opportunity. So you have to pass it on; you have to look back and pull somebody else up as well. That is how this thing called life is done and done well. And not be afraid; you never know what that opportunity and that experience can do for someone — and not just for them but just for a group of people. You change the trajectory of the lens of somebody’s life. So, give them a shot. What’s the worst that can happen? If they’re not a good fit, then they’re just not a good fit. But it’s so much larger than just that job. Perhaps they’re not a good fit for that job, but there could be a new opportunity in that company that opens up, and that’s a better fit.”
Companies Should Be Open to Change
“Why do I have to make a decision between giving birth and spending time and bonding with my newborn and fear of losing my job? It just doesn’t even make sense when you say it out loud. So I think companies, HR departments, et cetera, have to take the time to sit back and peel back the layers of this onion. Perhaps what worked ten years ago is no longer working, and if you still are waving the banner to say, ‘We want a diverse workplace; we want a healthy workplace; we want a place where people feel comfortable and heard,’ then those things matter. […]
The biggest thing is to ask the people what they want. Pull into your workplace; they will tell you. Create a culture where people can feel empowered to speak their voices. There are your answers. You don’t have to be Einstein. It is not rocket science. Ask the people, pull the community. ‘What do you like at your job? What do you think is missing here?’ If people feel as if you are working to make a change, then they will stay on; they’ll be on for the ride. Because people want to be a part of the change, especially positive change.”
Kimberly as a Speaker and Founder of SaNora Cares
“I speak at my former university where I got my master’s, which is a three-year university, so I speak to a lot of the students that are transitioning into the workforce, whether it be with their bachelor’s or their master’s. So I’m very passionate about giving them the nuggets and the tips that I’ve learned and acquired along the way, of course, especially to minorities, be it women or women of color. I am actually headed to West Africa next week for ten days. I have a platform there where I am speaking to some of the young entrepreneurs that live on the continent about enhancing their technologies to make their businesses more successful. […]
One of my additional passionate spaces that is very near and dear to me is that I am the CEO and founder of a nonprofit entitled SaNora Cares. Our mission is to give support, including housing, academic resources and mental health resources, to young women that were never adopted. So, at the age of 18, they transition out of the US foster care system into independent living, but of course, we know that there is a break in the chain from going from that population to independent living; it is not seamless. And so, SaNora Cares is there to bridge that gap and to offer them support and help them along their way. So I speak to their girls, and I provide housing and the necessary resources to be all that they should and desire to be.”
