No time for a cute intro. We all know what's happening to DEI with the current administration. So cut to the chase: here's how you can position your DEI accomplishments on your resume, in your storytelling and on your LinkedIn Profile.
DEI experience often involves many transferable skills: engaging key stakeholders, policy development, training, and conflict resolution—all valuable skills in a variety of work environments. Framing these experiences in terms of measurable outcomes (e.g., reduced employee turnover, positive ROI on manager development and training, improved workplace satisfaction) can help make the case to companies and hiring managers in the future.
The key is to talk about how you can take DEI accomplishments and discuss them as part of broader, universally appreciated business objectives. Here's how:
- Frame DEI Work to Specific Business Outcomes: Highlight achievements by emphasizing measurable improvements such as increased employee retention, enhanced team productivity, improved customer satisfaction, or reduced workplace conflicts. Rather than referring to DEI programs explicitly, focus on how your efforts strengthened team collaboration, drove innovation through diverse perspectives, or improved organizational performance metrics. The language of business never went anywhere. Your story still must speak to wins, accomplishments, improvements and metrics.
- DEI Efforts Are Really About Talent Management and Culture Building: Recasting DEI initiatives as “inclusive talent management” or “organizational culture enhancement” can shift the focus to creating a supportive and high-performing environment for all employees. Words like “equity” might be replaced with “fairness,” and “inclusion” can be reframed as “team cohesion” or “belonging.” Again, we're not dismissing the work. We're reframing so we're not penalized or written off immediately due to bias.
- Connect DEI to Leadership Development and Workforce Planning: Leadership development often encompasses fostering the ability to lead diverse teams effectively. By describing DEI work as part of broader leadership training and workforce planning strategies, you position it as a critical element of developing well-rounded managers and future leaders.
- Focus on Employee Engagement and Retention Strategies: Discuss DEI initiatives as part of a broader effort to engage employees and reduce turnover. Tie reduced turnover to cost savings. This framing underscores your ability to understand and respond to employee needs, enhance job satisfaction, and create career pathways that keep talent within the organization.
- Leverage Established Business Functions:
- Change Management: Highlight experience in managing organizational change, such as creating and implementing new policies, improving communication strategies, or aligning company culture with strategic goals.
- Human Resources: DEI efforts often involve aspects of HR, such as improving hiring processes, ensuring equitable promotion pathways, and refining performance management systems.
- Employee Relations: Initiatives to address bias or improve workplace interactions can be presented as part of employee relations work—helping to mediate conflicts, develop training programs, and foster an improved workplace environment.
- Training and Development: Reframe DEI training as leadership development sessions, inclusive communication workshops, or culture-building seminars.
Subscribe to my newsletter and tune in next week where I'll provide some guidance on transitioning your federal DEI career to the private sector. Until then, check out my interview with Business Insider, where I can some tips for any type of federal worker to transition to the private sector. Also, click here to download my free resource for Career Storytelling!
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International Multilingual Resume Writer, Career Transition Coach | Job Search & Personal Branding Strategist | Speaker. I empower mid-career, senior managers and executives to boldly transition into their dream career.
1 个月Thank you for this valuable post, Ayanna. We're all wondering what to do with this right now.