An article on Bloomberg.com, “Think Landing a Job Is Hard? Try Having ‘DEI’ on Your Resume,” validates what I have seen with my clients in the job search process: While DEI experience was in high demand a few years ago, lately it can cause employers and recruiters to shy away from people for fear of losing government contracts or associated financial risks. An excerpt from the article:
…Corporate fears around legal risks earlier this year overshadowed everything else, said Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, whose firm CapEQ advises companies on diversity and other social issues. “A lot of people basically looked to their legal counsel and asked: What is the way we can protect ourselves from being sued?’’
Job ads reflect the changed landscape. New postings for diversity roles have approximately halved this year to about 1,500 from 2019 levels, according to Revelio Labs, a firm that analyzes workforces. Postings had almost quadrupled to about 10,000 during the height of the DEI boom in 2022 compared with 2019.
There are simply not as many opportunities available in this field. After building a meaningful career and earning six-figure salaries, many people are needing to figure out where they go from here. A quote from the article summarizes the speed of this change:
“It’s hard to recall any skill set becoming obsolete so quickly and completely,” said Peter Cappelli, a management professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Though the context changes significantly, the career counseling process for a quick transition remains similar. Whether a client chooses or as in this case is forced to change direction, I help them identify what kinds of jobs require a similar knowledge base and skill set, guide them in choosing which job(s) they prefer, then support them to demonstrate in the job search process how their background is transferable and relevant to this new role (or roles). *This is assuming they still have high interest in the type of skills they’ve been using, and do not want to pursue more education.
There are so many people out there having to make similar transitions, that they have formed a LinkedIn group for job search support and guidance called the DEI Professionals in Transition Support Group
Its founder, Michael Streffery, who was let go from his job as director of DEI at Realtor.com earlier this year, says, “…the group’s members have skills that are applicable to many other positions, including chief of staff. They also can work in roles involved in succession planning, compliance or shaping corporate culture. They’re systems thinkers, culture shapers and crisis navigators,” he said.
One of my clients in this situation has landed local government and academic facilitation and curriculum building contracts, as well as started an organizational change consulting business. He’s also happy to be doing “passion” side gigs related to sports and music, which you could say is a silver lining of this transition. The downside is that he had to scale down and live on less income, at least in the near term, as he was in a well-compensated managerial DEI position before being laid off this last year. A challenging and sudden change for him and his family.
We shall see what the future holds, as this trend is clearly connected to the current political climate and culture. Some people are hoping that DEI (or whatever language will be used) will become integral to widespread corporate and organizational culture again. David Daniels IV (man in top picture), who lives in New York and held roles at companies including yoga wear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc., is taking the long view and reflects at the end of the article, “There’s an ebb and flow when it comes to social justice issues. America has always been this way.”