Welcome to WeSolv’s monthly newsletter for our employer and university partners! Here, we’ll break down trending DEI x hiring news and equip you with the insights you need to support, attract, and hire talented underrepresented advanced degree candidates. Click here to receive these newsletters directly to your inbox each month.

There’s no sugarcoating it. The news of Donald Trump’s return to office has been gutting for many. If you’re like me, you’ve spent the past week mourning where we could have been, and assessing where we will go from here. If you’re not, I hope you still keep reading. 

Regardless of your political leanings, in an environment of such political and economic uncertainty, company leaders need concrete contingency plans. That includes the realm of DEI x hiring. 

Despite all the “DEI is dead” talk after affirmative action’s fall, we know most companies have stuck with their DEI initiatives, rather than abandon policies that benefit the bottom line. (Consider: Companies with the least diverse executive teams are 66% less likely to financially outperform peers today, vs. 27% less likely four years ago). There is a pattern, though, of organizations getting more creative in how they describe and approach this work, including by exploring new channels.

Real-world assessments are one such channel. They’ve long been proven effective in helping companies make the right hires, with 94% of employers calling skills-based hiring practices, like projects, more predictive of on-the-job success than resumés. 

But they’re also a powerful, secure way to practice DEI and improve hiring in a post-affirmative action environment — and whatever environment we’re heading into next. With a vocally anti-DEI president in office, that makes them a more useful tool than ever. (Related: See our guide to navigating diversity programming risk.)

Employers who implement project-based assessments get deeper insight into the way candidates think, solve problems, and collaborate. Candidates get deeper insight into companies’ hiring processes, too. That’s especially important to underrepresented candidates. 2024 WeSolv research found that 43% of MBA candidates of color want companies to engage them with real project opportunities, vs. 29% of white MBA candidates. That’s undoubtedly tied to two other findings from our report:

• Underrepresented candidates are still struggling to get the first interview. MBA candidates and graduates of color were 21% more likely to tell us they hadn’t gotten a first interview compared to their white peers.

• 60% of PoC job seekers (vs. 50% of white job seekers) want more transparency into companies’ selection criteria and recruitment processes.

   

Using immersive recruiting projects to test how candidates perform in real life — and not just on paper — is clearly valuable to both candidates and companies. But knowing how to implement real-world recruiting projects can be another matter entirely.

As the founder of a company dedicated to helping companies vet qualified, diverse candidates through Case Challenge projects, I’ve learned a thing or two about what helps employers succeed in this arena, and where they get tripped up. Read on for my insights. Then, get caught up on other news impacting the way underrepresented candidates and advanced degree seekers get hired today.

To resilient and effective hiring strategies,

Stella Ashaolu

CEO and Founder, WeSolv

1. Case Competitions

Case competitions — similar to WeSolv’s Case Challenges — utilize actual challenges your company faces to see how a candidate would solve them. You can organize your own challenge, or partner with universities or online platforms to facilitate the competition and expand its reach. 

At WeSolv, that works like this: You choose the challenge that aligns with your organization’s needs from our library of templates. We share your Case Challenge with our network of 30,000+ advanced degree seekers & graduates. We accept candidates according to your criteria, and then we score them using a weighted scorecard. Want to see it all in action? View the live demo.

2. Collaborations with University Programs

Consider partnering with academic institutions to integrate real company projects into course curricula. As students work on these projects, you’ll get a sneak peek at their capabilities and a chance to build relationships with early career talent, and they’ll get relevant work experience and samples in turn. Talk about a win-win! (FYI, WeSolv offers this through our partnership with uConnect.)

To implement this recruiting strategy on your own, you can connect with faculty or career centers at your target universities to design a curriculum component around your company’s needs. Offer course materials, access to mentors, or guest lectures, plus regular evaluations of students’ work.

3. Job Simulations During the Hiring Process

Include simulation exercises in interviews that reflect day-to-day role responsibilities. Use platforms like TestGorilla or Codility for technical positions, or design mock scenarios for customer service roles. Schedule debriefs with hiring managers to assess candidate performance, and provide constructive feedback to all candidates afterward. 

Note: Carefully consider your exercise’s extensiveness. With Case Competitions and class projects, candidates get resumé material and networking opportunities by participating. In interviews, though, only the hired candidate stands to benefit from what’s otherwise free labor. Whenever possible, compensate candidates for interview assignments, particularly if it’s work you plan to use.

4. Personalized Candidate Projects for Executive Roles

For executive or high-level positions, invite candidates to consult on a real, high-impact project with senior leaders. This allows them to experience the strategic challenges they’d tackle if hired while you observe their leadership style, decision-making, and cultural alignment. Offer a stipend or honorarium, and conduct post-project debriefs with both the candidate and involved teams after.

Now that you’ve learned some real project types, what are best practices for implementing them for recruitment? We recently covered that on our blog. Give it a read.

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• The ACLU is ready to fight. The civil rights group has been scenario preparing for a second Trump term, including with legal and political strategies to combat each of the three core ways they say Trump will attack DEI and anti-discrimination law: by censoring academic discussions of race and gender; by abandoning civil rights enforcement; and by marshalling federal power. (More)
• What a Trump victory means for higher ed. Political battles over higher ed have intensified since Trump’s last term, causing it to become a bigger focus of his 2024 campaign. Inside Higher Ed broke down what Trump has said his goals are and what experts think is possible, including when it comes to abolishing the Education Department. (More.)
• A reduced focus on “human skills.” That’s what candidates are worried about at least, per a new Workplace Skills Survey from Deloitte. That survey found that just 52% of workers think their company values human skills more than technical skills. Meanwhile, “technical and human skills are symbiotic,” per Deloitte’s chief learning officer. (More.)
• Paid leave laws in 2025. Do you know where the laws in your state stand? If not, it’s time for a refresher — and for more scenario planning. The need for paid family leave was one of the only areas where the right and left agreed in this election. (More.)
• Business etiquette classes are in session. They’ve boomed with returns to offices; CNN reported earlier this year that over 60% of companies planned to implement them in 2024. And the practice of helping people “relearn how to act at work” isn’t going away. (More.)

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