RETURN TO EMPLOYER HUB HOME PAGE

7 Examples of What Being an Ally Really Looks Like | Learn about the different types of ally you can be. There are many right and effective ways!

Guide to Allyship | Explains the importance of allies, provides do's and donts, and handling the inevitable mistakes one will make in their efforts to becoming a better ally.

Harvard Business Review: Why Diversity Programs Fail | Many diversity programs aren't increasing diversity. Learn more about the roles of diversity and bias trainings, performance tests, performance ratings, engagement, contact, social accountability, and grievance procedures.

U.S. Department of Justice: Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers | A resources that is particularly focused on non-citizens. The Immigration and Nationality Act lays out important components of insuring employers adopt inclusive hiring procedures.

Diversity Workplace: Inclusive Hiring Practices | A brief but helpful overview of starter tips to use to ensure the onboarding and hiring processes aren’t being exclusive and inequitable.

Handshake: 70 Inclusive Language Principles That Will Make You a More Successful Recruiter | Words matter. Learn what (and what not) to say in job descriptions, interviews, and workplace.

Why We’ve Stopped Saying “Culture Fit” and What We’re Saying Instead | Looking for someone who “fits” your workplace’s culture is flawed, as few companies have a tangible way of actually measuring how someone is a “culture fit.” Additionally, it turns out we are inclined to hire those with whom we have shared lived experiences, leading to a more homogenous workforce.

Better Allies | Includes various blogs and posts all related to being a better ally in the workplace.

Best Recruiting Podcasts | An article that lists the 13 best recruiting podcasts you (whether or not you are a hiring manager!) should listen to.

Social Talent: 8 Podcasts Every Recruiter Should Listen To | Featuring Recruiting Future, TED Radio Hour, Roy Ripper Recruiters Live Lounge, Invisibilia, It’s All Recruiting, The McKinsey Podcast, Freakonomics Radio, and PNR (This Old Marketing)

Recruitment on the Go | Hosts Caitie and Mingus will help you discover the latest recruitment trends, give you actionable tips and tricks, and provide you with tools and resources to help you stay on top of your recruitment game. All in a bite-sized format, perfect for on-the-go.

Diversifying the American Workplace: A Series by NPR | As the US workforce becomes more diverse, NPR looks at how businesses are adapting.

Race Forward—Adding Racial Equity to the Menu: A Toolkit for Restaurant Employers | The purpose of this Racial Equity Toolkit is to provide restaurant management with practical resources for assessing, planning, and implementing steps toward racial equity at your business. Provides examples of businesses across the country that are leading examples of how to do this work, as well as worksheets and self-reflection questions to guide restaurants.

A Progressive’s Style Guide: Toward Harnessing Language in Support of Intersectionality and Cross-Sector Power Building | Word choice and language are huge in moving towards equity and inclusivity. Use this guide to help your organization in becoming more mindful with its language, whether in job postings, company policies, or interviews. The guide is broken down by issue areas, such as gender/sex, immigration/refugees, race/ethnicity, age, and more.

CAPITA—Diversity and Inclusion Best Practice in Recruitment: What You Need to Know | Breaks down the challenges of recruiting diverse talent with 8 key areas where companies struggle and specific examples of where companies tend to fall short.

Diversity Toolkit: A Guide to Discussing Identify, Power, and Privilege | An online resource for facilitators looking to begin the conversation. Includes an icebreaker and 6 activities on talking about race, privilege, systems of power, intersection, and gender and sexuality.

Race Forward—Race Explicit Strategies for Workforce Equity in Healthcare & IT | Discusses information in three parts: how federal public workforce development treats race, barriers to advancing racial equity outcomes in workforce development, and systemic solution for advancing racial equity outcomes in workforce development.

Urban Sustainability Directors Network—Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention | Touches on topics such job descriptions, DEI statements, outreach, resume reviews and interview panels, interview questions, onboarding, and “stay” interviews. Each topic provides an example of or insight from a city in the US.

The Ally Track | A virtual tool that walks through the various capacities through which you can be an ally to others at work.

Racial Equity Tools: “Fundamentals” and “Plan” sections | Racial Equity Tools is once of the resources that served as an inspiration for this hub. “Fundamentals” goes over core concepts, including history and race and data. “Plan” takes this information one step further and focuses on current issues and how to create an action plan in addressing racial inequities.

Conscious Style Guides | A guide to using conscious and intentional language. Breaks down various classes and identities, including age, race & ethnicity, ability, gender, sexuality, & sex, and more.

LinkedIn Talent Solutions: Diversity and Inclusion | Provides videos and blogs on gaining leadership buy-in, finding talent, attracting talent, and retaining talent.

OEO Journey Maps | Do you have foreign trained employees who are looking to improve their English? Find a job in their field? Do you have employees who are struggling to find childcare? Our office has created various “journey maps” to guide individuals through the options on various topics here in Portland. As an employer, it is essential to support your employees in various endeavors, big or small, especially when it affects their work life and your workplace.

Portland Professional Connections Program | Did you know that 85% of jobs are secured through connections? PPC is a program designed to build professional networks here in the Portland area, and is also a great way to meet talent.

What is Unconscious Bias and How Can we Tackle It? | A brief resource that breaks down the specific types of unconscious biases that exist (yes, there are many!) and bullets some helpful beginner tips to address these biases.

13 Common Hiring Biases to Watch Out For | Humans make 1 decision every 2.5 seconds, often influenced by our experiences, perceptions, and biases. Learn about the types of hiring biases and how your “intuition” is actually comprised of unconscious biases.

Minorities Who “Whiten” Job Resumes Get More Interviews | Even those who say they are “pro diversity” and are very open about being intentional of hiring diverse candidates still have a tendency to pick those with white-sounding names.

How Hidden Bias Can Stop You From Getting a Job | Through every step of the hiring process, recruiters can discriminate against job candidates, without meaning to. Here's how to spot these behaviors, and what to do about it.

SHRM Implicit Bias Resources | SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) is one of the leading HR professional trainers. They have provided as list of books, videos, and articles that are helpful in understanding and fighting implicit bias.

Race Forward: “Clocking In” Interactive Tool | Walking through the shoes of a workers who are being mistreated and taken advantage of, this sort of video game and quiz provides options for employees who think their rights are being violated, as well as provides data and other resources and solutions to common scenarios. Take it and see what you learn!

Unconscious Bias in Recruiting | Watch this brief 4 minute video that breaks down unconscious bias and all of the unconscious preferences we can have.

SHRM: Overcoming Workplace Bias | Videos, news, research, and Q&A forums all centered around organizational culture, pay equity, ageism, and harassment and bullying.

Outsmarting Human Minds | Learn about the various biases that exist and how they manifest.

Race Forward: Confronting Racial Bias at Work | This report is broken up into four parts: The Legislative and Judicial Origins of Title VII, Barriers within the Legal/Administrative Anti-Discrimination System, Profiles in Action — Strategies to Combat Discrimination and Promote Racial Equity, and Systemic Solutions and Recommendations for Racial Disparities in Employment Outcomes. There is also an executive summary available for download.

**Note about the separate section for foreign professionals: The intersectionality of race and ethnicity and the barriers that many foreign professionals face is incredibly important to keep in mind. Racism and biases are significant contributing factors to why "non-citizens" have numerous challenges finding jobs in their field upon arriving in the US. However, there are an additional set unique set of challenges faced by those who are foreign-trained, and this is often related to complicated licensing requirements that vary across states, the cultural and systemic undervaluing of foreign degrees, explicit and implicit aversion to non-english/non-American accents & names, cultural differences, rejection of those who are from "away", & more.

Barriers to Work: Improving Access to Licensed Occupations for Immigrants with Work Authorization | Get a comprehensive but brief overview of the different ways can work in the US. In more detail, learn about the effects of occupational licensing, policy barriers, and the potential solutions to these barriers.

5 Barriers Skilled Immigrants Face and How to Overcome Them | A brief yet comprehensive review of some of the most pertinent and common challenges skilled immigrants face.

Local

CEI Report— Building Maine’s Economy: How Maine Can Embrace Immigrants and Strengthen the Workforce | Reviews Maine’s demographic and labor market challenges, the potential of Maine’s growing immigrant population, opportunities and barriers for integrating into the workforce, lessons learned from other cities and states, and what policy changes need to happen to break down these barriers faced by employers and immigrants alike.

Maine’s Labor Shortage: New Mainers & Diversity | Get the background and more specific numbers on why Maine as a whole needs immigration, not only because more inclusive and welcoming communities thrive, but also because the wellbeing of the economy and Maine’s future depend on it.

NAE Report: Contributions of New Americans in Maine | With working-age residents in short supply, many Maine employers—from electronics manufacturers to meat processors—have struggled to find the workers they need in recent years to expand and keep growing in the state. Immigrants therefore play an important role in maintaining a stable and productive population.

NAE Report on Portland Maine | A snapshot of the demographic and economic contributions of immigrants in the Metro Area of Portland. NAE also has data by district that is slightly more recent.

NMRC Foreign Trained Professionals: Maine’s Hidden Talent Pool | Licensing and credential evaluation are some of the most challenging aspects of a foreign trained professional’s entry into the US workforce. This is particularly true for those who have come to Maine as refugees or asylum seekers. This report provides examples of these challenges, recommends policy solutions, and identifies potential solutions to these barriers.

NMRC’s Annual Reports | Each year, the New Mainers Resource Center releases a report on who it has served, including immigrants and employers, impact of their services, individual success stories, and more.

National

Barriers to recruiting and retaining global talent in the U.S. | Despite millions of unfilled jobs in the US economy and hundreds of thousands of temporary workers waiting in line to become permanent residents, only 50,000 green cards are issued to skilled workers each year. This is just one of many barriers that employers face when looking to hire from foreign talent.

Barriers to Work: Improving Access to Licensed Occupations for Immigrants with Work Authorization | Learn briefly about visa types, as well as policy options to overcome the most common barriers. Includes a list of proposed and passed legislation in states across the country.

Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations—Beyond the Boomers: A Guidebook for Building an Immigrant Workforce in the Nonprofit Sector | Breaks down the important pieces required for attracting, recruiting, and retaining immigrant talent.

MPI—Unlocking Skills: Successful Initiatives for Integrating Foreign-Trained Immigrant Professionals | Overview of challenges faced by foreign-trained professionals, solutions to overcome these labor market barriers (i.e. addressing employer bias, licensing guides, building professional & high-level English, and more), federal and state policy developments, and ongoing challenges & recommendations.

TENT—US Employers’ guide to Hiring Refugees | Includes facts about refugees, why to hire refugees, how to find & hire refugees, and address challenges to recruitment & retention.

UNHCR—Engaging with Employers in the Hiring of Refugees | A 10-point multi-stakeholder action plan for employers, refugees, governments and civil society.

Upwardly Global Hiring Guide | A helpful visual on recruiting, screening, hiring, and inclusion tips.

Local

MeBIC “Get the Facts” Page | Maine Business Immigration Coalition monitors Maine's needs and demographic changes to work to best integrate immigrants into the state's workforce and economy. This page proves resources on facts on immigration in the US and provides helpful context.

New Mainers Resource Center (NMRC) | Home to Maine’s Welcome Back Center, NMRC provides credential evaluations and professional licensing guides and also connects employers to local talent.

Nationwide/International

Cities of Migration (Canada) | Since its founding in 2008, the Cities of Migration program has been providing thought leadership and showcasing good ideas in immigrant integration to help practitioners around the world contribute to inclusion and urban prosperity. Includes a great resource where users can take a quiz to find out how inclusive their city is, in addition to webinars, publications, newsletters, and best practices and methods of immigrant integration implemented across the world.

Hire Immigrants (Canada) | Provides webinars, reports, policy updates, news, stories, and more, all centered around connecting the dots between immigrants and employers. A great resource to explore best practices.

Switchboard | Specifically focuses on refugee employment, integration, and inclusion from a receiving end. A great mix of blog posts, articles, reports, and webinars.

WES | World Education Services: information on credential evaluation, research on foreign professionals in the US, free international education resources, and more.

Experiences of Immigrant Workers: Challenges, Opportunities and the Future of our Economy | Learn about the specific barriers foreign-born employees face and how they can be addressed. This is a recorded event that includes panelists as experts in their field on various aspects of the immigrant workforce.

US Department of Justice-Immigrant & Employee Rights | Provides a helpful overview what refugee and asylee statuses are and what their working rights are. Includes information on the documentation they have, how they can file an I-9 form, and using E-Verify (only if needed) with these employees.

A Checklist for an Inclusive Social Media Presence | A brief article that gives readers a few things to stop an think about, including the usage of language and images.

Defining Salesforce’s 6 Principles of Inclusive Marketing | Provides a great description of each principle and proceeds to provide examples of them in practice.

Genuine Social Media Activism: A Guide for Going Beyond the Hashtag | In today’s world, it’s hard not to participate in social media—consumers notice and not coming out with some sort of statement against injustices can be harmful too. However, statements are not enough either—genuine social media activism is supported by concrete actions, donations, and measurable commitments to change. Learn how to meaningfully participate and take a stand while following through with commitments and promises to the public.

How to Do Diverse and Inclusive Content Marketing that Matters | A helpful article that provides examples of what companies should and shouldn’t do, as well as some quick tips on ensuring you your audience and take a real good look at your team. Who is potentially missing?

“Should my business take a stand on social justice issues?” | How do you know when it’s right for your business to publicly make a stand? Businesses must be very cognizant of slacktivistm—or making statements without a well thought out plan for real change. Here are some tips to guide your thinking.

5 Ways to Develop a Long-Term Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Social Media | Reacting to nationwide events, protests, and more can be difficult as an organization. Knowing where your company stands in all of it is essential to its response, and this article provides some insights on how to ensure your organization is responding accordingly and appropriately.

11 Anti-Racist Accounts That Are Worth Following | It’s helpful to have a daily intake of information on how we as individuals and a collective can actively work towards being anti-racist. Review some of these accounts to see what your organization can learn from them.

Race Equity Tools: Using Social Media | Social media has been a transformational factor in social justice movements, as well as in the daily functioning of organizations. Learn about the impact social media plays and find resources that may guide you in your organization’s efforts to address sensitive yet urgent issues.

LinkedIn—Using Marketing & Branding to Promote a Diverse Workplace | In this hour-long webinar recording, Christy Stubbs Korman, Global Talent Acquisition Program Manager at Starbucks, and Melody Cheung, Senior Talent Brand Consultant at LinkedIn, talk about diversity initiatives their companies have undergone, and how they specifically use company branding to promote and encourage diversity in the workplace.