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The Indiana Daily Student

education

IU career workshop Wednesday to focus on helping diverse candidates

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Students will learn how to navigate the job recruitment process at a workshop Wednesday aimed at answering interview questions while maintaining authenticity.

“Keeping It Real: How to Stay True to Yourself While Talking with Employers” is a free workshop put on by IU’s Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs. It is directed toward diverse students.

Disabled students, for example, will learn how to talk about their disabilities to possible employers.

“We’re just trying to really prepare the students to be mindful of what they’re going to be confronted with when they interview with employers,” said Patrick Smith, executive director of the office’s Mentoring Services and Leadership Development.

Smith said by attending the presentation and learning skills needed to respond to those interview questions, students might have a better idea of how to prepare themselves.

Kirsten Davenport, campus recruiter and diversity lead for Eli Lilly and Company, will facilitate the conversation. She will cover topics related to citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

At IU, the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community advocates for disabled individuals. It works to create more inclusive communities worldwide. Although the institute is not involved with the workshop, Joel Fosha, director of the institute’s Office of Communications, Dissemination and Information Referral, said this workshop is coming at an essential time.

“With lots of the movements that are going on across the country, folks with disabilities are becoming parts of communities across Indiana and nationally, and they’re working in regular jobs,” he said. “These are all critical pieces toward inclusive communities for all. That’s why something like this is really important.”

Although the workshop is focused on helping members of minority groups, Smith said it could be a valuable experience for anyone who wants to attend and learn more about diverse candidates in the job market.

“Students are potentially going to be employers themselves someday,” he said. “By learning this information, regardless of who you are, you’ll have a baseline of information to make better, more informed decisions, and you’ll have awareness of diversity, particularly in candidates.”

Rendy Schrader, director of student and scholar advising for the Office of International Services, said she often tries to help international students learn how to answer interview questions about their citizenship. Although not involved in the workshop, she said she’s glad the university is working on a larger scale to help diverse students answer those questions.

“The job search is never easy,” she said. “The more tips we can give students the better off they’ll be.”

The workshop will be divided into two sessions, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 7:30 p.m in the Indiana Memorial Union State Room West. Monday is the last day to secure a spot.

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