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   Advice and How-To's 

The Challenges of Cultural Difference: 5Tips on Cross-Cultural Recruiting 

 by  Kevin Wheeler 

Sep 11, 2008, 6:35 am ET

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“Sumak was a dream candidate. He graduated  from MIT with a Masters degree in electrical engineering. He had 3 years of experience working for a large defense and commercial electronics firm, and he waswilling to relocate. But he insisted on sending me resumes filled with photographs of his family. He even sent me some currency from his home country because I had mentioned that I thought it colorful. He told me and the potential hiring manager all about his family connections back home and how those might be useful to us, and when

he learned that I was single, he insisted that I at some point meet his sister! I wasactually afraid to recommend him for fear I would be in trouble.”   – Senior Recruiter,large defense contractor 

“Rapinee was sure she would be offered the position we had open because she had thehighest GPA possible from her home university, which was rated the best in hercountry. She also came from a titled family and her father was a very important businessman with government connections. She was reluctant to interview at all and answered my questions in a superficial manner. She thought she should just be offered the position! I was so angry (although I did not show it) that I immediately decided not to pass her excellent resume on.”   – Director of Technical Recruiting, Semiconductor firm 

These two vignettes illustrate issues that can arise when recruiting someone fromanother culture. While most North American recruiters have a basic understandingthat people are different, most assume that the person being interviewed has been“westernized” and knows our operating principles. 

It is usually a shock when either overt or subtle behaviors begin to show how different our cultures can be. Even recruiters who have lived abroad and have

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experienced other cultures are often caught off guard by the actions of candidates who seem very much like us and have excellent academic and experientialcredentials.

I teach courses in cultural competency and have lived and traveled extensively in

other countries for half of my life. I speak other languages and I am married tosomeone from another culture. Still, it is often surprising how often I react innegative or positive ways to the cultural differences that are increasingly part of ourlife.

Those of us who are in urban, coastal areas work with people from other cultures ona daily basis and are often deluded into thinking we are cultural experts. Yet, we getsurprised as much as anyone else. As organizations expand their recruiting to othercountries and as different cultures mix, being culturally competent is critical torecruiters’ success. 

North American recruiters tend to operate under a number of assumptions andunspoken rules. Here is an incomplete sampling of some of them:

  Interviews are more or less formal affairs and exchanging personalinformation or getting “chatty” is frowned upon as unprofessional.

  Degrees are only important for a short time after graduation. By the timesomeone has been out of school for 3 years or so, the kind of work they aredoing and where they are working plays a greater role in deciding who to hire.

   Where someone went to school, where they are from geographically, and whotheir parents are plays little role in selection.

  Family is not discussed during the recruiting process except in a general andsuperficial manner.

  The fact that a candidate has been a favorite of the boss or that s/he hasreceived special praise or recognition internally is either frowned upon or of minor importance.

However, each of these may be deemed very important to those from other cultures.Many cultures place great importance on family connections, titles, and schools.Bringing these up in the interview is expected and necessary in order to gain thefavor of the recruiter.

 Anthropologists divide cultures broadly into those that are collectivist and those thatindividualistic.

Collectivist cultures are family- and group-oriented. We in North America are brought up in a very individualist culture where accomplishing things independently of others is considered a virtue.

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However, in collectivist cultures, such as those in most of Asia, the opposite is true.So showing your commitment to the family and the group is important to them.

 Another way cultures are divided is by body language and the way people addressothers. We are all sensitive to this and we know that people from some cultures

 won’t make direct eye contact. 

Others show bodily deference by bowing or keeping their bodies lower than those of people considered superior. Some call everyone “sir” or “madam” or use titles andformal names when addressing anyone deemed more important than they are.

Most North American recruiters are turned off by this kind of behavior. We likepeople who “look us in the eye” and respond to our questions firmly, quickly, and with confidence. Any different behavior often influences their judgment as to whether a candidate is suitable.

Everything, from how close someone stands to you to their hand gestures, is theresult of cultural training and upbringing. These behaviors are hard to change and yet should not influence a decision about a candidate’s skills and abilities.

Here are 5 tips on how to become a more culturally sensitive, and therefore moreskilled, recruiter. Multicultural recruiting will be more and more important over thenext decades as organizations become more global in their recruiting practices.

  Tip #1: Take a course in cultural competency. Build up yourunderstanding of different cultural norms and gain skill in dealing with peoplefrom a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds. Most universities and many other organizations offer courses in cultural competency and a quick Googlesearch reveals many books on the topic. Cultural competency is not aboutlearning what to do and not do in a particular country. Rather, these coursesprovide you a framework of cultural knowledge that makes it easier tounderstand and respond to specific behaviors.

  Tip #2: Expect to be surprised. When interviewing candidates from othercultures, be prepared for different behaviors and try not to judge based onthose behaviors or actions. Probe for competence and skill. Perhaps give ashort skills test and make certain the candidate understands that you arefocused on skills and competence, not on family or degrees or titles. Beprepared to spend some time in what you feel is meaningless chitchat or in

conversations about family or other things that seems outside the expected. You may learn a great deal about the candidate and you will put them at ease.Schedule a little more time for the interview when the person is not a native of  your culture and try to learn a bit about what the norms are of that cultureprior to the interview.

  Tip #3: Let people have a preview. Email interview questions tocandidates before the interview and even ask them to respond in writing. This

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 will give you a sense of their thought process and may open areas for you toprobe when you actually meet them. It helps them understand what you areasking for and gives them a chance to think through their answers in theirown language.

  Tip #4: Use a set of criteria that you apply to all candidates.Makesure that the criteria you use are as free as possible of cultural bias. Forexample, a criterion that says the candidate must answer quickly andconcisely may disqualify good candidates who prefer to talk and elaborate ontheir answers. Your criteria should be directly related to performance on the job and not on subjective and unproven traits.

  Tip #5: Separate culture from skill. The two stories at the beginning of this article exemplify highly educated and capable candidates who should not be excluded because of their culture. North American cultural traits may bethe norm for most of us, but those traits are significantly different from thoseof people who have an Asian, Indian, or Middle Eastern background. Beingable to separate culture from skill, and knowing how to steer a conversation orinterview to the areas important to you, are important parts of being a goodrecruiter.

It is often said, I think erroneously, that as the world shrinks we all become morealike. What I see is that as we experience more cultures, we become more aware of the many small but enriching differences we bring to our work.