Overcoming adversity to become a DE&I advocate in recruiting

July 29, 2021

We hope everyone is having a great summer! It’s been almost a year since we last shared a Recruiter Spotlight featuring one of the talented members of the Fetcher family.

We’re excited to bring back the series to share insights and tips from expert recruiters. We are kicking off its return with Sara Conran, Technical Sourcing Recruiter at GoodRx. Welcome, Sara!

What led you to your career in recruiting?

I actually randomly fell into recruitment! Back in 2011, I had a friend reach out to me who hired contractors for a corporate office and she asked if I would be interested in giving it a shot. She felt I had the type of personality to be in recruiting and so I tried it and I fell in love almost instantly. I knew very quickly that recruiting was going to be my career!

Do you have a favorite recruiting success story?

My last hire at Core Digital Media, where I previously worked, since she was a hire through Fetcher! I had an editor role that had been open since fall of 2020. Not a lot of applicants were applying with the specific skill sets needed since it is a small team, and the hiring manager was hoping for another female on her team. When we implemented Fetcher, this was the first role I submitted and within two weeks, I had offered (and was accepted!) a female candidate with almost all of the skills that the hiring manager was looking for!

There have been a lot of changes in the past year, from the pandemic to a new focus on substantive DE&I initiatives. What has been the biggest challenge for you and how have you been managing it?

I think the biggest challenge that I faced in the past was being a person of color while trying to hire a more diverse team. I have heard a lot of unnecessary feedback on candidates, and I do not think teams realize how offensive it is especially when your recruiter is also a POC. Honestly, I struggled very hard with this since I started my career in recruiting. Thankfully, I have learned how to approach biased or assumption-based feedback in a professional manner. Overcoming these challenges was important to me because in the end, it is still my career and I will always be a huge DE&I partner for my company and candidates.

For companies that are working to be successful in recruiting/hiring today, what is your advice? Where should they start?

Start with bias training for the interviewers if you haven’t already. That is a top priority regardless of which company you are with. Without bias training, partnering with teams that do not even think about DE&I becomes much more difficult. In previous roles, I experienced a lot of unnecessary feedback on candidates that was based upon their background, rather than their experience or the role.

Lastly, companies need to understand that after the year we have had, DE&I is going to be a top priority for BIPOC candidates. Just posting about what you are doing and how much money you are donating to fundraisers is not enough anymore. The company needs to showcase their commitment to diversity throughout the whole interview process so that each candidate can feel it is authentic. This is the biggest reason why I decided to join GoodRx!

How did you learn about Fetcher? What’s your favorite feature in Fetcher?

Through a LinkedIn message from Nick, a Fetcher account executive! Originally I turned down the demo since I get so many messages, but I decided to look at the product because I was looking for a new diversity sourcing tool.

Once I learned more about the product, I was very intrigued by the customized search which helps with DE&I recruiting! This has become my favorite part of Fetcher. For instance, if I have an Engineering position open, and I want to hire more females, I can then add in the comment, “female candidates only” and that is all I will receive! I also love detailed algorithms that are constantly updating behind the scenes at Fetcher, so I’m only sent the exact type of candidates I am looking for. It honestly is the best sourcing platform I have ever used!

What are you passionate about outside of your role as a recruiter?

I actually love my alone time since I speak to people all day every day! But besides that, I just love being with my friends. Since I didn’t see a lot of them during the pandemic, honestly doing anything with them is amazing because I missed the time I spent with them!

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Sara, thank you so much for sharing your expertise and passion for diversity hiring with us. We appreciate your insights into the challenges and opportunities of today’s recruiting landscape.

Know a recruiter who we should spotlight? Tell us about them via email at support@fetcher.ai.

Check out our other blog posts for more talent acquisition tips and insights into recruiting trends.

About Fetcher

At Fetcher, our mission is to introduce companies to the people who will help them change the world. Our full-service, recruiting automation platform automates those repetitive, top-of-funnel tasks, so you can focus more on candidate engagement & team collaboration. Simplify Sourcing. Optimize Outreach. Hire Top Talent. Learn more at fetcher.ai.