Recruiting is usually defined as the act of attracting and selecting candidates for employment within an organization. Thanks to SmartRecruiters’ Reverse Recruiting initiative, that definition is taking on new dimensions.

On the careers section of our website, we state the following: “At SmartRecruiters, we are on a mission to connect people to jobs at scale.” To do so, we built a cutting-edge recruiting platform and devised an innovative hiring methodology. As a result, we’ve made it easier for candidates to apply for jobs and for companies to hire the talent they need to succeed. 

However, we realized that in order to truly enact our mission statement at scale, we’d have to come up with a more inclusive strategy. One that could help job seekers who have traditionally been successful, as well as those who have encountered setbacks.

The truth is, there are only so many jobs to go around. And for every applicant that’s successfully hired, countless others are turned away; their hopes of finding work thwarted by some variation of the following boilerplate rejection notice:

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with our team about the position. It was a pleasure to learn more about your skills and accomplishments. Unfortunately, our team did not select you for further consideration. We wish you all the best with your professional endeavors.”

For some candidates, these messages are menacing, albeit minor setbacks on the path to employment. For others, they’re representative of the entire job search: an experience marked by endless disappointment. Over time, these candidates are at risk of becoming what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) refers to as discouraged workers. 

Discouraged workers are defined as those who want and are able to work, but have stopped looking because they “believed that no jobs were available for them or there were none for which they would qualify.” As of July 2019, there were an estimated 368,000.

Obviously, having to turn away job applicants is a reality of business. The laws of supply and demand dictate it. That doesn’t mean, however, that companies are incapable of helping candidates that have been overlooked. Point in case: SmartRecruiters.

Reverse Recruiting: Connecting Even More People to Jobs at Scale

In February of 2019, SmartRecruiters’ CEO Jerome Ternynck introduced Reverse Recruiting, the company’s largest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) endeavor to date. The initiative was put into place to offer assistance to candidates, like discouraged workers, who have had difficulty finding work. Among them are immigrants, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, parents and caregivers returning to work and seniors. 

Pilot sessions were held in the spring of 2019 in San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Spokane and Krakow, and the results were overwhelmingly positive. To keep the momentum going, the first ever International Reverse Recruiting day will be held on October 18th, 2019. SmartRecruiters offices across the world, in partnership with local nonprofits and corporate sponsors, will host events to assist job seekers by conducting mock interviews, reviewing resumes, and providing networking opportunities.

For instance, SmartRecruiters headquarters in San Francisco is hosting a Meetup event in tandem with Disability Solutions, “a national, non-profit consulting practice working with corporate leaders to leverage the engagement of talented job seekers with disabilities.”

We would encourage individuals or companies interested in hosting a Reverse Recruiting event of their own to make a pledge.

Why Reverse Recruiting Matters 

The negative consequences of long-term unemployment extend far beyond finances. According to a report from Gallup, depression disproportionately affects those who have been jobless for six or more months. Key findings from the study include: 

• Unemployed Americans are more than twice as likely as those with full-time jobs to say they currently have or are being treated for depression — 12.4% vs. 5.6%, respectively.
• The likelihood of unemployed Americans to agree that they will find a job within the next four weeks falls sharply the longer they are unemployed — from about seven in 10 among those unemployed for five weeks or less to fewer than three in 10 among those who have been jobless for a year or more. 
• A 2011 study by the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University found that half of the participants experienced shame and embarrassment that led them to isolate themselves from friends and associates. Among the long-term unemployed, 31.1% reported spending two hours or less with family or friends the previous day, versus 21.5% among short-term unemployed adults.
• Previous research from Gallup research indicates that  U.S. employees who have been diagnosed with depression miss about 68 million more days per year than those who have not, costing employers an estimated $23 billion annually.

These sobering figures underscore the importance of SmartRecruiters mission to connect people to jobs at scale. Access to employment isn’t a luxury or a reward, but a necessity for the well-being of society as a whole. As the late Senator Paul Wellstone often said, “We all do better when we all do better.”

If you haven’t yet signed up for International Reverse Recruiting Day on October 18th, please do so here. 

Last May, SmartRecruiters organized an event to help San Francisco’s tech sector make progressive strides towards offering fair, second chances to individuals with criminal histories.

We often hear of companies expressing their interest in the benefits of open dialogue between corporations and potential employees who served time. Some of those companies are taking steps towards actively hiring them. As unemployment rates continue to hover at or below historically low percentages, it appears that some companies are finally taking action by providing more equal opportunities to help these individuals return to the workforce.

According to a survey conducted by recruitment and staffing services firm Adecco USA, 49 percent of organizations are “loosening” requirements because they are unable to find enough qualified candidates. While this trend signals a positive change in perception, a growing number of organizations are taking a more proactive approach by elevating this historically underserved minority through professional training.

Last spring, SmartRecruiters hosted the “Bridging Worlds: From Prison to Position” event, inviting formerly incarcerated individuals—also known as “returning citizens”—along with talent acquisition professionals to the company’s downtown San Francisco office. The group shared actionable insights and engaged in discussions on changing attitudes towards hiring second-chance candidates.

Throughout the evening, SmartRecruiters and its partners provided interview coaching, workshopped resumes, offered mentorship advice, and led in-depth conversations on background checks. Over 50 recruiters, human resources professionals, and representatives from local nonprofits interacted with the group of formerly incarcerated individuals, some of whom served upwards of 35-year sentences.

“It’s work like this that keeps me motivated,” said Roy Baladi, Head of Marketplace for SmartRecruiters. Alongside colleagues and SmartRecruiters’ Founder & CEO Jerome Ternynck, Baladi spearheaded discussions, fielded questions, and introduced the participating organizations at the Bridging Worlds event at SmartRecruiters’ headquarters.

The nonprofit organizations in attendance earned notoriety throughout the Bay Area and beyond for their activism in helping returning citizens find gainful employment. The Anti-Recidivism Coalition and the Center for Employment Opportunities assist formerly incarcerated individuals obtain jobs; Code Tenderloin removes barriers to securing long-term employment by providing education, opportunity, and support to participants, including those with criminal records; Defy of Northern California uses an entrepreneurship model to create career opportunities for people with criminal histories; the Southern California firm 70 Million Jobs connects candidates with criminal records to companies that offer second-chance jobs.

“Each (returning citizen) spoke with a certain softness and grace I’d never likened to someone who had spent the better part of their life confined to a jail cell,” wrote Abigail H. Scott, who works as a Customer Success Specialist at Glassdoor. She continued, “There is a strength within them that I had not been in the presence of before.”

The Bridging Worlds event, described as “an inspiring pact between recruiters and formerly incarcerated individuals,” was galvanized by Baladi & Ternynck’s experience visiting a prison in 2018. During their stay, they forged strong bonds with the inmates. “I learned how to get back in touch with my own humanity,” said Baladi. 

This experience soon incited an idea: bridge the gap between intent and action by providing real second chances for returning citizens. At its core, the Bridging Worlds event encouraged more open dialogue between people who served time and companies, especially at the executive level. 

In certain US cities, moving the needle towards greater equality for formerly incarcerated individuals requires legal reinforcement. Known as The Fair Chance Ordinance (FCO), this law grants individuals with criminal histories equal opportunity for employment and imposes certain restrictions on employer inquiries into candidates’ criminal records.

Currently, more than 150 cities and counties and 35 states have adopted some form of fair chance legislation. The success of Fair Chance Ordinances in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York stems from FCO requirements on employers to complete a detailed analysis of why, if a candidate is rejected due to criminal history, their dismissal relates to their specific convictions. For example, a candidate with a DUI on their record wouldn’t necessarily be disqualified from working in a call center, but might be rejected for a position as a truck driver.

Before the FCO was enacted in San Francisco in 2014, “a company wasn’t required to explain its rationale for rejecting someone with a criminal record,” said Ian Harriman, Sales Manager at Checkr, a San Francisco firm that aggressively hires candidates with criminal histories. Now, if a company is suspected of discrimination due to a candidate’s criminal history, the FCO provides legal recourse—for candidates and businesses. 

“A candidate can ask to see documentation of the decision,” said Harriman, “to get a sense if the company was acting in bad faith.” If so, watchdog groups like the Human Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can intervene.

Harriman suspects companies might be wary of hiring persons with criminal histories for fear of negligent hiring lawsuits. Previously, businesses were liable for any damages caused by the actions of an employee where it could be proven a hiring manager knew they were a “risk”. However, companies operating in cities with fair chance or “ban the box” laws can now defend themselves against such allegations by citing legal precedence. In this way, the FCO was designed not only to assist candidates with criminal histories find jobs, but to protect—and encourage—employers to hire them without fear of negligence suits.

However, legislation cannot be the only motivator for companies. Harriman urges employees to engage with their human resources teams to discuss policies and attitudes around hiring returning citizens. “The most impact comes when people get hired,” and continue to seek out this underserved minority.

In short: The more success stories we hear about individuals with criminal histories securing jobs and finding success in their positions, the easier it will be for others to follow.

To conclude SmartRecruiters’ Bridging Worlds event, all returning citizens in attendance were invited to apply for three job openings—Customer Support Representative, Influencer Marketing Manager, and Product Operations Specialist. With the promise of interview opportunities to come, this was a welcome step towards building a bridge that connects individuals with criminal histories to forward-thinking organizations.

“The more people understand the humanity of others,” said Harriman, “the more likely they are to hire them.”