Tarida Anantachai, director of inclusion and talent management for North Carolina State University Libraries, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work rethinking how to approach recruitment and hiring through a more inclusive, diversity-focused approach. LJ recently spoke with Anantachai to learn more about her work in this area.

LJ: What does it look like to make hiring processes more inclusive and equity-focused? How is that different from traditional recruitment and hiring processes?

Tarida Anantachai: A lot of it is that we can make our processes as transparent as possible and embedded with care and kindness throughout. It’s being really candidate-centered. We have a high-touch process here which takes more time and investment on our part, but has been an investment that we think is absolutely worth it. It’s part of why I’m grateful that a role of mine exists to be able to think strategically about what we’re doing, to spend a lot of time with our candidates and our committees through these processes.

Some of it has included things about thinking where we distribute our job advertisements to reach a broader and more diverse audience, including individuals or cohorts of folks we know or have already established trusting relationships [with] to make them aware of the posting, or even to invite folks to apply or seek nominations for those we might want to invite—that kind of proactive rather than passive approach.

Tell me more about the proactive approach.

Recogniz[e] that even a job ad itself can be a barrier for entry, depending on how it’s framed. One of the first things I felt empowered to do when I started here a few years ago was to update the language that we use in all of our job announcements. We reduced the number of required and preferred qualifications to what’s truly core to a position, removing some legacy language that was unintentionally opening the doors to bias or [was] even ableist in nature, then incorporating more welcoming language throughout. For example, we explicitly asked our candidates to think broadly and feel free to communicate how their skills and experiences could transfer to the qualifications in ways that might not necessarily be obvious, or are outside of libraries. Then we strongly encouraged folks from a variety of backgrounds, life experiences, etc. to consider our positions, including those new to the profession.

For those positions that are more entry level, saying that explicitly can sometimes be helpful. Sometimes people think preferred qualifications are an unofficial requirement, but we’ve emphasized that they’re not requirements. And some preferred qualifications are areas that candidates could potentially grow into and focus on depending on their experience and interest.

It seems that’s a move away from the so-called “unicorn” approach of trying to find candidates with every possible qualification.

Yes, I think so. There’s a lot of research around this that finds women and BIPOC individuals in particular don’t tend to apply for something if they don’t feel they meet at least 80 percent of the requirements. We want to do what we can to remove that. So if I see something that’s 20 bullet points, I say, “We need to whittle this down.”

We’ve had a number of candidates who communicated to us that they found it compelling as a result. Some folks who have said they weren’t actively looking for a job, but when they saw both how [we] framed this, as well as the rest of the work that the library is doing [with equity and inclusion], they were enticed to apply and explore things. That’s really encouraging.

Like a number of institutions and states, we’ve had to adjust some of our language due to various policy requirements. But we feel we’ve taken the time to think about that intentionally and still get across our values of belonging and inclusion, providing a student-centered experience embedded throughout our vacancy announcement, not just one little bullet point that says we appreciate DEI.

Candidates are responding positively to the changes in recruitment wording and approach?

Yes, exactly. Having it more incorporated within inclusive pedagogy or within making data services more accessible, these are things folks notice in terms of how we value that and want to see that reflected in the folks we bring along.

I do want to say that I’m building a lot of the work I’m doing off a great foundation that was laid even before I got here. Also, the fact that so many folks here, both within my department and across the libraries, are very much interested in iterating and making our processes better and seeing our values of belonging and inclusion actualized. I feel so encouraged that everyone around is supportive of that too, because I can’t change all things on my own.

For example, building off the work of my dear colleague Jennifer Garrett—who’s our associate director for organizational design, culture, and talent—something I do that she kicked off when she was in my role is I will always send information well in advance, or schedule a pre-interview phone call with our librarian candidates. Since academic library interviews can be really stressful, and for some folks, a new process, I try to provide as much information as I can before the interview day, such as what they can expect, context behind the different people they’ll meet, answering any initial questions they might have before they arrive, and even reiterating what might seem like simple things. They’re still important to say. Like it’s important to know that you’re going to repeat yourself multiple times throughout the day because you’ll hear the same questions—don’t feel that you have to apologize. I enjoy it, and our candidates do too, getting a chance to personally connect so they can feel more prepared and empowered before they get to meet folks. Our candidates always appreciate it and express how they did feel more prepared and just a bit more at ease before coming into a full day with us.

Even if it doesn’t lead to an offer in your organization, it probably prepares them for other opportunities they may apply to.

One hundred percent. Sometimes our candidates will reapply for other positions, and sometimes they’ll get another opportunity here. I’ll have conversations with them and talk to them more generally about the job search and other things to keep in mind. I always appreciate being able to be part of someone’s career journey, whether that’s here or elsewhere.

What advice would you have for library workers who want to create a more inclusive recruiting and hiring process in their institution?

Look at where you have the opportunity to make an impact. It might be a small thing to start, then you build off that. I’m glad it’s now a practice to provide questions for candidates in advance, but in the past, people were nervous about that. I’d say, “Let’s just try it and see how it works.” It can provide a more accessible experience for everyone involved, and it changes the dynamic and allows them to reflect and bring more robust examples than something they think about on the fly.

Look at what’s been a standard practice and could be an unintentional barrier that [you’ve] not ignored, but may not have been aware of. For example, something we’ve done more recently is that for all-day interviews, we provide a meal. But we recognize that a meal doesn’t necessarily feel like a break for some folks. There’s a lot of potential bias and evaluation people might encounter there. So now we give candidates a couple of options. We let them know we can give them an informal lunch with a small group of folks across the libraries to be a welcoming presence and provide a relaxed conversation. We’re not gathering feedback from them. Or we’re happy to provide a meal on their own in a quiet space for them to make sure they’re recharged and ready for the rest of the afternoon. We’ve had candidates choose both, and really appreciated the agency and choice they’re given. It’s about recognizing people have different needs. We also make sure they know whatever option they choose isn’t going to affect their candidacy.

We’re constantly iterating and rethinking even about the new things we’re doing. That’s what I appreciate about my colleagues, that we never feel the work is done.