Summary
Merit America is a nonprofit organization that is closing the opportunity gap at scale by preparing talented workers in low-wage roles for well-paying careers. Further, its mission is to break the cycle of poverty and build a new pathway to the middle class for tens of millions of Americans.
In this episode of The Speed to Hire Show, Katie Rakusin, the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Merit America, sits down with Spark Hire CEO, Josh Tolan, to delve into the challenges and strategies of recruiting for a fully remote, nonprofit organization, including assessing candidates’ ability to thrive in a remote setting and ensuring their genuine interest in the organization’s mission.
Notes
As the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Merit America, Katie Rakusin leads all recruiting strategies and efforts including the development of its competency hiring framework and heavy focus on the candidate experience, highlighting Merit America’s commitment to treating all candidates with respect and providing a fair opportunity.
Katie is dedicated to designing efficient processes to support the organization’s continued growth and ensuring Merit America’s hiring process is equitable, inclusive, and accessible. This includes implementing more intentional job descriptions, accessible information formats, skills-based hiring, anonymized applications, and competency-based assessment.
Key Takeaways:
- [12:39] – Using AI in the Hiring Process: Unspoken Rules and Guidance for Candidates
- [17:10] – Turning Hiring Managers into Active Participants and Partners in the Hiring Process
- [23:42] – Building a More Equitable, Inclusive, and Accessible Candidate Experience
- [28:17] – Understanding and Developing the Framework for Competency-Based Hiring
