Opportunity is not equally distributed. It&rsquo;s an undeniable fact that some are fortunate enough to get opportunities that simply never come the way of others. For us, we don&rsquo;t see this opportunity divide as an impasse that we can&rsquo;t push past. We see it as a chance to build bridges that develop stronger workforces and give more chances to underrepresented people.

To really understand the opportunity divide, we have to first understand the people most affected by its presence. This unfortunate truth of the hiring process is most likely to impact workers who have traditionally been held back, unheard, or simply overlooked. They may be someone that lacks conventional skills in the field they&rsquo;re applying for, or one who doesn&rsquo;t meet every criteria on paper, yet when you take a closer look at the full view of their potential, it just may exceed that of a candidate that pops more on paper. These are the people we love to go to work for.

We take a full view of the candidate when we begin the process of advocating for them. What does that mean? It&rsquo;s simple, really. Actually, it&rsquo;s human. We do everything we can to get to know each individual as a person first and foremost to get a true understanding of their skillset, background, capabilities, and their own unique ways that they can be perfect for the job they want. Even if that position may be traditionally outside of their reach.

Once we do this, we work with employers to help educate them on the importance of viewing the process through this filter, to really be mindful of this opportunity divide, and to do everything they can to view this candidate as the total package, not just checkmarks on a resume. We help employers understand that when they approach hiring with this human touch that we bring to our own operations, they&rsquo;ll begin developing a true workforce of capable, hungry, talented people that are ready for anything tomorrow&rsquo;s economy can throw in their way.

Erasing the opportunity divide takes work. It takes effort from all parties to make it click. But above all of these things, it takes heart. It takes a genuine passion for doing better and improving people&rsquo;s lives to get true results. This motivation to help underrepresented people enter the workforce with confidence that lies at the heart of everything we do&hellip;and we love doing it.

Bridge the opportunity divide by advocating for underrepresented talent and building stronger, inclusive workforces.

Advocacy in Action: Erasing the Opportunity Divide in the Workforce

Opportunity is not equally distributed. It’s an undeniable fact that some are fortunate enough to get opportunities that simply never come the way of others. For us, we don’t see this opportunity divide as an impasse that we can’t push past.

When you think about what it means to be &ldquo;qualified,&rdquo; where does your mind go? Do you think about someone who has every required skill for the job? Do you picture a candidate that checks a list of boxes to fit a position and nothing else? We believe that&rsquo;s just the start of it.

The idea of a &ldquo;qualified&rdquo; candidate these days is so much different than it may have been in the past. Now it&rsquo;s important to take in a much larger picture when considering someone for the role they&rsquo;re applying for. While it&rsquo;s important to have the baseline skills that a position needs, it&rsquo;s just as crucial to have something of an &ldquo;x-factor&rdquo; on top of that. Take a look at a stay at home mom, for example. Her list of intangibles is every bit as deep and impressive as any of her traditional professional qualifications. There&rsquo;s no doubt that she&rsquo;s mastered budget management or the ability to handle challenging personalities. At CareerCircle, we believe that these are the kinds of skills that should be highlighted and celebrated when representing the workforce.

In most of us, there&rsquo;s hidden potential. Talents that are arguably more beneficial to the role they&rsquo;re after than the standard ones that the job listing may call for. We acknowledge these hidden traits, and look at the entire candidate to present the best, and truest, version of themselves to potential employers. When we pledge to &ldquo;rethink qualified,&rdquo; we&rsquo;re making a promise to challenge a dated process.&nbsp;

For the workforce, we do what it takes to uncover their hidden soft skills, boost confidence, and utilize our training courses to upskill them so that they can feel truly qualified for any role. When it comes to employers, we inspire them to think differently about hiring, to take the entire person into account when choosing the right person for the role. We do this by showing them that when they, too, &ldquo;rethink qualified,&rdquo; they will no longer simply fill in roles, but instead begin to build a longstanding talent pipeline that will actively grow their workforce from within.

We believe qualified talent is where you&rsquo;d least expect it. Whether it&rsquo;s that stay at home mom from above, or a construction worker that has hidden skills that would make them the ideal software engineer, we know that sometimes all they need is a little extra help. We &ldquo;rethink qualified&rdquo; because we want to help more people find their true calling. By putting a little bit of extra thought and heart into it, we can give the workforce, and employers alike, the confidence to achieve something more.

Discover how CareerCircle redefines ‘qualified’ by highlighting hidden skills and fostering true potential in candidates.

Rethink Qualified: Creating a More Well-Rounded Workforce

When you think about what it means to be “qualified,” where does your mind go? Do you think about someone who has every required skill for the job? We believe that’s just the start of it.

<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Picture a six-foot-tall fence. Got it? Great. Now picture three differently sized people trying to look over this fence. One is three feet tall, one four feet, and the last five. They&rsquo;re each handed a block that&rsquo;s the same size to peer over the fence. See the problem? Only the five-foot person will be able to use the block, their provided resources, to get a look over the fence, while the other two will be left short. While the intention was there to give them help, this approach ended up actually serving just one of them. This is the difference between equality and equity.
<b style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal;">&nbsp;
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All things aren&rsquo;t equal, so this one-size-fits-all approach will always come up short for upskilling people. It&rsquo;s important to make sure that training (our fence block) is available to everyone, but that&rsquo;s not enough these days. We have to go the extra mile to bring equity into the equation. For those that require extra support, CareerCircle is poised to provide exactly that. While one person may hit the ground running without added guidance, the next may be in need of everything from extra study guides to support and technical resources. Even more important to keep in mind is that this by no means signifies that a person lacks ability, but simply that they may need more support. Our process was designed to support people in ways that actually benefit them.
<b style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal;">&nbsp;
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The final piece of the equity puzzle comes through advocacy. After enabling a candidate through greater resources and training that suits their individual needs, it&rsquo;s important to put that same level of effort into representing them as an individual with unique skills. Upskilling can only go so far, and it&rsquo;s really brought to life when a candidate is presented as a whole individual, with unique passions, experiences, and skills that can be applied to their career. Our mission is to treat and represent our candidates as more than their resume when we go to work on finding them the career of their dreams.
<b style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal;">&nbsp;
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our talent pipeline is filled with qualified candidates from all backgrounds. Focusing on the difference between equality and equity allows us to fight for underrepresented talent with purpose, and help create a workforce built for the future that lies ahead.

Focusing on the difference between equality and equity allows us to fight for underrepresented talent with purpose.

Equity vs. Equality: A Slight, But Crucial Difference in the Workforce

Picture a six-foot-tall fence. Got it? Great. Now picture three differently sized people trying to look over this fence.

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Staff Writer

143 Articles

Advocacy in Action: Erasing the Opportunity Divide in the Workforce

Rethink Qualified: Creating a More Well-Rounded Workforce

Equity vs. Equality: A Slight, But Crucial Difference in the Workforce