The Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant
EMPOWERING UNDERREPRESENTED TALENT PROFESSIONALS
The Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant was created to attract, train, certify and meaningfully support underrepresented talent to enter and excel within the technical recruiting industry.
At Recruiting Innovation, we believe it is our responsibility as recruiters to be the drivers of change and creators of opportunities for the organizations and candidates we serve. Recruiters are in a unique position to impact team composition through consistently, intentionally, sourcing and recruiting underrepresented talent for their teams.
The Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant provides the Tech Recruiter Certification and professional coaching to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled talent and any underrepresented talent who seek to enter the recruiting field or experienced recruiters who want to level up their technical recruiting skills.
The Talent Grant program runs quarterly cohorts of 25 grant recipients, bringing 100 Certified Tech Recruiters to the market every year. Recruiting Innovation is committing $80,000 in training, certification and professional support to achieve this goal.
At Recruiting Innovation we fundamentally believe the more diverse the recruiting industry becomes, the more diverse the companies will become. Named after the legendary Ernestine McClendon, the first black talent agent and the first agent to represent black talent, Recruiting Innovation seeks to continue her mission through this grant program to support and elevate underrepresented talent, specifically within the recruiting industry.
Learn more about the legacy of Ernestine McClendon and Recruiting Innovation’s dedication to driving diversity in recruiting, in our blog article.
“We want to provide meaningful support to a new generation of recruiters and to help drive diversity in tech through helping to build diverse recruiting teams.”
- Alison Daley, founder and CEO of Recruiting Innovation
We know recruiting alone is not going to solve the institutional challenges to diversifying teams, but it is an important pillar to that mission. Inaction in this pivotal moment is complicity with maintaining the power structures that have kept opportunity, access and empowerment out of reach for communities of color for centuries.
How You Can Get Involved
The Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant is exclusively offered to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and any underrepresented talent who seek to enter the recruiting field or who are currently recruiters wanting to upskill into technical recruiting.
APPLY
EMPOWER YOURSELF
Are you a member of a traditionally underrepresented community?
Do you want to have a positive impact through helping people connect with their dream jobs while helping companies to expand their teams?
Please complete an application form to be considered for this grant.
NOMINATE
ELEVATE YOUR PEERS
Do you know a high-potential person from an underrepresented community who would make a great recruiter?
Or an experienced recruiter who has been wanting to get into technical recruiting?
Please help us expand our reach and nominate a high-potential talent for this grant below.
MENTOR
PAY IT FORWARD
Do you have 3+ years experience recruiting for any industry?
Do you remember what it was like to start getting your bearings in the recruiting industry?
Would you like to help a new recruiter orient to their new career?
Please sign up to be a mentor!
Why We Are Offering This Grant
“As a society and as organizations we are at a crossroads. We all must decide how we are going to leverage our resources in this moment. Are we going to maintain the status quo or are we going to drive change through meaningful action and allocation of resources?”
— Alison Daley, founder and CEO of Recruiting Innovation
The Ernestine McClendon Talent Grant was created to attract, train, certify and meaningfully support underrepresented talent to enter and excel within the technical recruiting industry.
The goal is to help over 100 underrepresented recruiters and talent professionals to become Certified Technical Recruiters. Recruiting Innovation is committing $80,000 in training, certification and professional support to achieve this goal.
Learn more in our blog article and hear directly from our founder why she wanted to start this grant in our Facebook Live video.
If you are an advocate for diversity in recruiting sign up
to stay in the loop on the developments of this grant:
TESTIMONIALS
Become a
Certified Technical Recruiter
"The Tech Recruiter Certification program has given me deeper insight into the engineer's technical world and provided a foundation that's enhanced my skills in sourcing, screening and selecting the best candidates for my clients. Any recruiter with 0-15 years experience will gain value from this program."
Sherry Platt, MA
Chief Talent Strategist
TESTIMONIALS
Become a
Certified Technical Recruiter
"The Recruiting innovation course was super informational and was a perfect crash course to someone new into the Tech recruiting or Tech world, like myself."
Paul Montague
Technical Recruiter
TESTIMONIALS
Become a
Certified Technical Recruiter
"This course armed me with a tangible, fool-proof method on how to conduct interviews with technical candidates in a meaningful way. Prior to this course, I had severe ‘imposter syndrome’ when conducting phone screens with technical candidates – I would ask questions unrelated to one another and was unable to connect the dots. This was both frustrating to me and the candidates. Now, I have tailored my conversations with technical candidates to mirror their wants by putting myself in their shoes."
Veronica Fritsch, CSM, CSPO
Candidate Insights
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