Byron Slosar

Better with Helper B, A Reimagined Guide to Careers

With a focus on being people first and not needing to always be in the driver’s seat, Slosar retrospectively connects key components of his career, that while were far from intentional decisions at the time, culminated in being a first-time dad and first-time founder and CEO at the same time much later in life.

In his interactive presentation, he makes the career journey much less intimidating and much more inviting. Through the discussion, he focuses on on helping students and colleges understand what traditional blockers have existed in the career process (like majors, linear career trajectories, and recruitment timelines) and how to break them down by thinking about the What (Job Function), Where (Industry & Location), How (Skills), & Why.

Build, Don’t Buy Talent (Building For Gen Z, Being People First Diverse Talent + Early Engagement)

Meaningful engagement and transparent communication are more important than ever when recruiting Gen Z.

Three simple shifts in your early recruitment perspectives will help your organization create systemic change, which starts with prioritizing the next generation of talent. 

1. If your industry recruits early and you can’t shift the timeline, invest in ways to meet candidates where they are, make it easier for them to engage with you, and, most importantly, make that engagement less intimidating. 
2. When posting a job, make it easy for the candidate to understand exactly what you’re looking for. Lead with the job function, not the industry. Title your position succinctly and make it easy to understand. Use the position description to include short-form content. Within minutes, candidates should know exactly:
   1. What am I going to be doing? (function)
   2. Where am I going to do this? (industry)
   3. Why do I want to do this? (culture and values)
   4. Can I afford to do this? (compensation). 
3. When considering potential candidates for an entry-level role, look way beyond a GPA, for the aforementioned reason and because GPAs and grading processes vary significantly not just between different schools, but between every single professor and class that a student takes. 

Next-Gen Recruitment Strategies: Recruiting for Gen Z

How do you see your identity and how might it contribute to the diversity of our company? This is the core question recruiters need to ask when recruiting for Gen Z. When recruiting diverse communities of talent, it’s about how to look, including an expanded understanding of the factors that diversify a talent pool. As of now, skills and quantifiable successes are valued over elements of a person’s identity in recruiting. But companies should shift from caring only about what candidates have done to caring about who candidates are, too. 

Employers should stop framing race and identity as something employees disclose, and rather encourage workers to view their lived experience as an asset to potential teams beyond the hiring process. Everyone has their own experiences and that’s what diversity in the workforce is supposed to be. This new generation cares about the personal more than the professional, and employers need to speak their language.

DEI for Non-DEI-Experts: How to Promote Diverse Work Environments Without Being a DEI Expert

Main idea: How to build diverse teams by the new definition of diversity & understanding the new definition of diversity

4 key actionable, simple steps recruiters and non-DEI experts can take:

1. Include the diversity of lived experiences, like being a first-generation college student, an immigrant, socioeconomic status, and even a student-athlete, in your representation conversations. 
2. In addition to focusing on the impact of C-Suite representation in your company and boardrooms, allocate equal priority to listening to and building equitable pathways for next-generation talent
3. While campus-based efforts are important, prioritize and incorporate technology and recruitment platforms to extend your reach to students not just to campuses you don’t have a chance to visit, but also to many students at the schools you do visit who don’t consistently engage with their career centers.
4. Consider all experiences, not just internships, when evaluating candidates. Listen to the stories behind their scholarship program requirements, research, and other academic projects that they have completed during the semesters, the time commitment involved with playing a sport or being responsible for taking care of younger siblings. Rather than looking for mistakes in a resume, look for the story.