As a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant and trainer, I am grateful to Jill Smith for providing this guest blog. In terms of looking for employment or for those hiring professionals, diversity and inclusion commitment is becoming increasingly important.

The year 2020 has seen huge cultural changes sweep over the country. Some of these changes have made their effects felt in the workplace – there has been a powerful push for diversity and inclusion. The world is made up of many different kinds of people, with each kind bringing their own aptitudes and talents to the table. Every person is able to contribute.

As employers undertake to diversify their workforce and bring in greater inclusion than ever before, it’s important for those applying to jobs to make clear that they share an enthusiasm for these initiatives, as well. It’s a good idea to begin by calling attention, on your resume. If you know how to write your own professional resume, you can integrate your own successes with diversity and inclusion.

1) Talk about how you’ve done work with diverse teams.   If you’ve had the opportunity at any point in your career to be a part of teams that were made up of people of different ethnicities, you can make a mention in your resume of how you’ve done well in these situations. You may have worked with clients in different countries, managed remote employees in other parts of the world, or been part of geographically dispersed teams. You can think about what you’ve achieved or learned through these experiences, and mention it in your resume.

2) Talk about how you welcome diverse viewpoints and opinions. An ability to accept and respect the opinions of others is fundamental to diversity and inclusion. If you can talk about specific instances when you asked others around you at work for their feedback and opinions, and took the ideas you received into account to arrive at decisions, it can make for an impressive resume. It’s an important skill when it comes to helping with diversity in the workplace, to be able to take in the opinions of others who have backgrounds and experiences that are different from yours. If you can remember times in the past when different opinions informed your decisions, you should highlight an example or two in your resume.

3) If you’re multilingual, bring it up.  If you are good at another language, it’s a positive that should go on your resume. You should also include it in your resume if you were ever in charge of a project at work to make a product or service more accessible to a wider audience by making it available in multiple languages. You may have had to work with teams in other countries to negotiate a contract or start a new office. Putting in your experience working with people who come from different language backgrounds helps show how you are good with language diversity.  (Note from Stan – I have a client who recently was looking to hire an HR professional who was fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese.)

4) Bring up any volunteering experience.  If you’ve ever contributed time volunteering at a local shelter or anywhere else, if you’ve done fundraising work for advocacy groups, if you’ve been part of a group that works to promote cultural diversity, it should go on your resume. It gives employers a look into what matters to you and who you are as a person. The information that you offer employers about your volunteer work may help them see how you care about diversity enough to make it part of your life outside of the office.

5) Include experience being on company committees and community outreach programs. Many companies organize internal communities to serve the purposes of diversity and inclusion. If you’ve ever been a member of such a committee and done work in these areas, it would be a good idea to highlight how you were involved in these teams, and what you achieved. If you’ve never been involved in such a company committee, it would be a good idea to start now, and then put it on your resume.

The idea is to show potential employers reading your resume that you are part of the solution, and you work, in many ways, to help promote diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and outside. Making such information available on your resume can help set you apart as a candidate.

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This guest blog was authored by Jill Smith, solely written for totalengagementconsulting.com 

Stan Kimer is a diversity consultant and trainer who handles all areas of workplace diversity and with a deep expertise in LGBT diversity strategy and training, Unconscious Bias and Employee Resource Groups. Please explore the rest of my website and never hesitate to contact me to discuss diversity training for your organization, or pass my name onto your HR department.  [email protected]