In 2022, the Georgia Tech Career Center hired eight new staff members across various functional areas within the office in a process that aligned with the institute’s DEI Blueprint.
“With each search, we intentionally coached hiring managers about posting positions, discussed unconscious bias with search committees, and challenged language related to ‘fit’ and ‘professionalism,’” explains Laura
Garcia, director of undergraduate career education.
NACE AWARD WINNER
The Georgia Tech Career Center, large-college winner of the 2024 NACE Career Services Excellence Award, hired eight new staff members across various functional areas within the office in a process that aligned with the institute’s DEI Blueprint to, in part, closely reflect the demographics of Atlanta. For more information about the NACE Awards program, see www.naceweb.org/about-us/nace-awards/.Garcia says these efforts have resulted in high-caliber, diverse finalist pools for the positions. In six of the eight searches, the career center met its organizational goal of having racially diverse candidates make up 50% or more of its finalists.
When the scope is expanded beyond racial diversity to include generational diversity, hidden disabilities, and more, then 100% of the searches contained diverse finalists.
Says Garcia: “Georgia Tech’s DEI Blueprint states that we should develop a community that reflects the demographics of society at large. The career center has succeeded in developing an organization that closely reflects the demographics of
Atlanta.” (See Figure 1.)
In addition to creating a diverse team, the career center’s senior leadership team has worked to create an inclusive and psychologically safe environment.
“We have surveyed staff on retention efforts, psychological safety, and how senior leadership can support their professional growth,” Garcia says.
The results: 100% of career center staff conveyed they felt psychologically safe, and many provided positive statements about the team, including this being best team they have worked on, being appreciative of the culture, feeling supported, feeling heard,
and more.
The institution’s DEI Blueprint asks for increased accountability for departments to promote psychological safety and the ISP supports efforts related to staff well-being. Moreover, Garcia notes, the efforts taken by the career center’s senior leadership team have:
- Helped normalize vulnerability;
- Fostered more open discussions related to well-being; and
- Illustrated how it continues to lead its organization by example.
The hiring initiative is part of the Georgia Tech’s Career Center’s AuthenTECH program, which “leverages staff to provide population-specific resources, expand programming, and cultivate partnerships to advance equitable career outcomes for all students.”
“The Georgia Tech Career Center takes a holistic approach to serving students from a variety of backgrounds who encounter unique circumstances in their career journey,” Garcia says.
“We are proud of the authenTECH relationships and initiatives we have launched that led to the measurable results [we have achieved].”
Figure 1: Race Comparison of City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech Career Center
| Atlanta* | Georgia Tech Career Center | |
|---|---|---|
| Black | 48% | 42% |
| White/Caucasian | 41% | 38% |
| Hispanic/Latinx | 5% | 5% |
| Asian | 5% | 5% |
| Foreign born | 8.3% | 10% |
*U.S. Census July 2021 categories and percentages. Source: Georgia Tech Career Center
Kevin Gray is an associate editor at NACE. He can be reached at