BIPoC Students

The example on this page is a fictionalized combinations of many students’ experiences.

Balbir, a Political Studies major, is going to graduate soon. He commenced his job search with an appointment at Career Services. The counsellor encourages him to reflect on how he wants to balance his values, skills, and goals throughout his upcoming professional career. He makes the following observations in a journal.

He notes that along with his professional aspirations and considerations, living close to his family is very important. Since his family lives in London, Ontario, he focuses on nearby areas and cities such as Waterloo, Woodstock, and Cambridge in his job search perimeters. He is also thinking about working hours, as he considers his potential role as a caregiver for his parents in the future. At the same time, he would like a stable job with a lower turnover rate, salary stability and potential pension. As a man who wears a turban, it is also important to Balbir to work in a profession and organization that respects his cultural and religious identity.

Balbir reconnects with a former mentor who recommends that Balbir emphasize the client relations management skills from his summer job at a doctor’s office on his resume, as well as his language skills in Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi on his resume.

When talking to friends about the challenges in describing his relevant experiences and skills in his job applications, one friend mentions the Queen’s Skills Cards. The Skills Cards help him to realize how his volunteer experiences have developed a multitude of unique skills, such as “Understanding Leadership Styles” and “Intercultural Skills”. He better understands the skills he already has, and other skills he may still want or need to develop, and feel he is able to describe his skills and experiences more clearly for interviews. The Queen’s Skill Cards Sorter also helped him to figure out which skills were ones he preferred to use and other skills which would demand more effort.

With these considerations, Balbir makes another appointment to chat with a career counsellor. Through this discussion, Balbir realizes that his research experience in global climate governance politics is something he would like to pursue further.  With further self-reflection and other tools Balbir narrowed his focus to roles in research and policy within governmental ministries related to justice or the environment.

Reflection Questions

• How has your organization made long-term investments in equity, diversity & inclusion?
• How does your organization provide mentorship for growth in the company?
• Does your organization have equity-seeking groups or groups affiliated to such missions that facilitate the working of equity, diversity, and inclusion here?
• How does this organization provide benefits and accommodations that reflect the needs of a diverse workforce (e.g. paid sick leave, parental/caregiver leave, cultural leave, flexible scheduling, transition support, prayer room)?

The Queen’s Best magazine, interview workshops, and our Interviews tipsheet (PDF, 279 KB) are helpful resources that prepare you to confidently answer interview questions, including ones through which you can demonstrate your knowledge of and interest in the organization.

The examples on this page are fictionalized combinations of many students’ experiences.

Safiya initially wonders about generalizing her active involvement in equity-deserving student clubs on campus. However, after reflecting on the implications of removing it, she realizes that generalizing the culturally affiliated experiences on her resume and cover letter would omit mention of unique experiences they have been part of. Additionally, she decides she would like to find an organization that values different identities and intersecting experiences, so she decides to keep the original details in her resume and cover letter.

Alternatively, Madan decides to modify how he describes his experiences, in an interview, after observing the hiring patterns for profession X. He considers the implications of doing so and concludes that his main priority at the moment is gaining enough experience to move forward in his career. He makes this personal choice by weighing different factors such as his financial reality, familial obligations, and career expectations. 

You can review ideas and tips from the “Understand Yourself” section to weigh your values and beliefs, as well as perform a thorough assessment of employers and their organizational values. It may be important to assess the employers and their organizational values as well to make an informed decision in how you wish to share and express your identities.

Reflection Questions:

Do I feel that the organization(s) I am interested in show demonstrated commitment towards fostering equity and diversity?

If I had a chance to interact with employees of this organization, how did I feel about them and did these interactions align with my understanding of their organization’s values and priorities?

The examples on this page are fictionalized combinations of many students’ experiences.

What name should I be using for the application process?

It is quite common and acceptable to list your preferred name on your resume, but we recommend that you be consistent in usage throughout your application process. Consider which name you wish to use professionally and feel most comfortable being called. You will have to provide legal documentation which includes your legal name should you be the successful candidate and accept the position.

What are illegal questions in an interview?

Discriminatory questions are questions that single out candidates based on their race, gender, age, religion, ethnic origin, and other factors. These questions may be asked by interviewers out of curiosity or when making small talk in some cases, but appropriate interview questions should relate to the job and evaluate  an applicant’s qualifications, skills, and overall competence for the role. Examples of illegal questions include, “Where are you from?”, “What nationality is your name?”, “Where are your parents from?” and others. When some requirements such as language skills or knowledge of a particular country are bona fide occupational requirements, then the questions must be closely and directly related to the qualification. A bona fide job requirement is a task/qualification that is considered to be required in the context of a specific job. For more information about your protections and these requirements, please consult the Ontario Human Rights Commission page.

Human Rights at Work specifies some questions that interviewers should be avoiding, such as

• “presence or absence of Canadian experience
• landed immigrant status, permanent residency, naturalization or refugee status
• place of birth
• affiliation with a particular “community” or where the applicant “comes from”
• membership in organizations such as cultural or ethnic associations
• name and/or the applicant’s appearance
• name and location of schools attended.”

NOTE: These interviews practices may differ between different countries and jurisdictions based on their different laws and societal norms.

This Glassdoor article is helpful for understanding the nuances of questions relating to race, socioeconomic status, age, and other factors that may be encountered in interviews. You can use this information to come up with strategies to managing the answers for such as “Where are you from?” and “What do you think about our diversity policies?”. This advice page by Monster.ca also provides some guidance on handling illegal or appropriate questions asked by employers during the job seeking process.

How do I manage microaggressions in the form of a question such as “Where are you really from”?

Nami just completed an interview with ABC Inc. After the interview concluded, Nami was engaged in friendly conversation with one of the interviewers as they walked down the hallway. In the midst of the conversation, the interviewers asks, “I’m curious, where are you from?”. Nami feels uncomfortable answering this question.

Nami had encountered a similar question before and had brainstormed various strategies for how she would answer such a question if asked again. Nami also recalls that ethnicity and cultural identity may be inquired only when there is a bona fide occupational requirement.

Strategy 1: Clarify and inquire about relevance of question, then decline to answer

She decides to respond in a clear professional manner in order to clarify the intent and purpose of the question the interviewer just asked of her. Doing so refocuses the responsibility on the interviewer to justify the question.

Nami responds, “Could you help me to understand how this relates to the requirements for the position so that I can better respond to what you are looking for?”

Strategy 2: Redirect focus to relevant experiences

Nami discloses her ethnic background. However, she uses this opportunity to supplement her skills and capabilities. She takes the focus away from the initial question and makes it about her potential as a successful candidate.

“I am Somali-Kenyan. In fact, I am fluent in Arabic and Swahili in addition to English. My diverse background has taught me to quickly notice and adapt to verbal and non-verbal cues in my environment. In my role as Event Coordinator for Queen’s Cultural Exchange Club, my background was helpful in making connections with others from different cultures and ethnicities.”

Strategy 3: Revert question back at the interviewer

In this scenario, Nami decides to take control of the definition of “Where are you from” and places responsibility on the interviewer to answer the same question.

“I grew up in a few different places but spent my formative years in Kitchener. Where are you from?”

In addition to the scenario above, you can use these articles as resources understand this question further. This Forbes article and CBC article cover the nuances of this “other-ing” question and may have to be tackled during the job seeking process. This Refinery29 article provides you with the strategies to handle such a query.

NOTE: If you do encounter such situations and would like further support, you can book an appointment with a career counsellor to debrief the situation.