Imagine your organization is expanding into Texas, where your goods or services are needed but you have no footprint or name recognition.

The population of the region is very diverse but largely Hispanic, specifically Mexican American. You are responsible for hiring the person to lead the expansion — to brand the organization, hire direct reports, find ways to connect with customers, and work with local leaders in the communities and government.

There is no internal candidate for the position and the search has been narrowed down to two equally qualified and likeable candidates: a Mexican American woman who has never lived or worked anywhere but Minnesota her whole life and has no knowledge of the target market and a non-diverse woman who has lived and worked with the target market all her life and is well-established in the business community.

Who would you hire?

Did you say the Mexican American? So did more than 80% of the senior leaders — both in HR and in other departments — I presented this scenario to. The percentage was over 95% among non-diverse leaders, and after they answer, they all look at my face and say, “Uh-oh, I’m wrong, aren’t I?”

Yes, they are, and so are you if you chose the Mexican American. Here’s why: you were thinking about optics and workforce representation — not increasing influence. You were thinking about diversity — not inclusion — which is why workforce representation, as it is usually defined, solves for quotas and not growth. It solves for diversity but rarely solves for inclusion.

Of course we need more diverse leaders in positions of influence to serve diverse marketplaces. But you think that influence is achieved by hiring a single Mexican American who looks like the market but has no idea how the people in that market live? She’s from Minnesota — a state that looks and acts nothing like Texas — but company leaders want to hire her simply because she is Mexican American. The result is that a company hires for representation rather than the best talent for what it is solving for. Representation is about quotas — not moving all people to the center of our growth strategies. It’s about compliance — not influence.

I get that organizations across industries from education to healthcare to engineering to retail are facing demands to increase the workforce representation of diverse populations. But those organizations also know the talent pipeline of qualified diverse workers available to fill roles of influence is limited. Those that are available need to be placed on high potential tracks that allow them to earn influence in the organization based on performance capabilities. In other words, organizations need to understand and celebrate how their backgrounds introduce new ways of thinking that promote diversity of thought throughout the organization.

To do that, we need inclusive leadership that prepares diverse populations to be successful by embracing authenticity rather than forcing assimilation. Only then can they challenge the status quo and create inclusive foundations for identifying and hiring the most qualified diverse and non-diverse leaders long term. Otherwise, we get diversity without inclusion, and all that solves for is quotas rather than growth.

Simply put, a leader does not have to be a diverse candidate to best serve diverse populations or their communities. In this particular example, the non-diverse candidate was this organization’s path to long-term growth and sustainable inclusive leadership. The usual mindset of quota and workforce representation made this hire a short-term compliance play.

This is why human resources (HR) should not and cannot be responsible for managing all of these change management requirements. Ask yourself how many decisions you have made through the HR, I-have-to-choose-the-diverse-candidate lens? How much has that cost you in engagement and retention, workplace culture, and close-minded decisions, along with all the money associated with those things? Probably a lot.

Both candidates may know they need talent to help sell and sustain the company in that market and need to hire talent that understands that market to solve for the opportunity gaps that lead to a long-term growth strategy. But only one candidate has the relationships and understanding in the market and the wisdom to best serve the unique needs of the community to do this, and what she lacks in diversity, she makes up for in diversity of thought.

It is time to disrupt the status quo and reinvent the ways we work and lead. The marketplace has changed, yet our thinking has not evolved. It’s time to embrace a new mindset that moves diversity and inclusion to the center of an organization’s growth strategy and gives diverse talent influence to start growing from the center out, so everyone has the opportunity to be inclusive and influence the future.

A recruiter’s day is spent on applicants, candidates, hiring, e-mails, phone screens, intake meetings, queries and reports making effective time management a critical skill to stay above water.

“Talent acquisition is an onslaught of a thousand seemingly important things competing for your attention,” said Christian De Pape, head of brand and operations at Recruiting Social, a recruiting services firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and in Los Angeles. “Many of the recruiters I know love it for this very reason—they love the rush of juggling so many moving parts, the multiple ongoing projects, the surprises that pop up and the tactical maneuvering needed just to keep pace.”

But that rush can make it hard to keep track of the process, which could doom a recruiter to being perpetually in catch-up mode, missing deadlines and failing to complete tasks.

“Practicing time management will determine whether someone is an effective recruiter or not,” said Lindsay Mustain, SHRM-SCP, a talent acquisition leader at Amazon and founder of recruiting consultancy Talent Paradigm in Seattle. “You have to move fast, and I tend to find that recruiters are naturally more in line with their people-person, extroverted side and not so much with tracking and being organized. That’s why I try to build a lot of automated steps into the process.”

Time management doesn’t need to be complex or high maintenance, De Pape said. Instead, practices should be simple and “complement how your mind operates.” Many of the talent acquisition professionals interviewed for this article described themselves as “old school” when discussing what works best for them.

In a response typical of those interviewed, Wal-Mart Senior Corporate Recruiter Catherine Pylant said that she has “dabbled with a lot of different organizational platforms, apps and methods,” but ultimately she goes back to “tried-and-true handwritten notes and utilizing the Microsoft Office suite.”

Take Notes

Keeping a list of what you want to accomplish is a basic organizational tactic, whether you prefer writing it out by hand or using digital list-making tools.

“The act of writing down my workday’s goals with pencil and paper really helps me stay focused,” said Michelle Cugini, an HR and talent acquisition consultant at HRawesome, based in Oceanside, Calif.

“A notepad next to my keyboard is all I need,” said Nina Rodriguez, an Orlando, Fla.-based recruiter for online travel site Booking.com. “Once I finish the task, I cross it off the list. If it’s something pertinent that I need an alert for, I just plug it into my Google calendar. If I want to keep an electronic note for future reference, I use Notes for Google Drive, which is an extension on my browser and easy to access without having to open a new tab.”

Pylant uses Microsoft OneNote to keep track of tasks. “I keep all of my notes on this platform because it is easily shareable, there is no limit on how much information can be cataloged in it, and it’s easy to access and pull from,” she said.

Task management apps like Asana and Trello are also effective, De Pape said. Whatever you use, “pick a tool you’re already comfortable with and make sure it’s something you can keep at your side at all times,” he said. “Avoid software that lives exclusively on your desktop and doesn’t sync between devices.”

De Pape recommended capturing clear, specific information when jotting down tasks. “Assume you’ll forget the details, because you will,” he said.

Block Time

Assign yourself time to accomplish assignments. Mustain uses Calendly, a scheduler app, to block time in her day. “I go in on Fridays and block off meetings and sourcing power hours for the next week,” she said. She uses a planner to set daily goals like “source 20 candidates, do three interviews and submit five people,” she said.

Pylant segments her day using her Outlook calendar. She blocks time, titles each block, and adds details such as bullet points or a plan of action. “Some tasks I do pretty repetitively, such as extending offers and processing them, so I know that if I have a call to extend an offer I also need to block off 15 minutes after that in order to process and complete the administrative piece. This helps me ensure nothing slips through the cracks and I get my tasks done in a timely manner.”

Pylant cautioned recruiters to be realistic when blocking time. “If you underestimate a meeting or task, it will throw off the rest of your blocked time for the day—and sometimes week—due to the repercussions.” She also recommended adding a floating 30-minute time block each day, which can be parceled out to make up for unexpected but unavoidable time-wasters—like a meeting that goes too long or being stopped in the hallway by a chatty colleague.

Prioritize Tasks

When it comes to prioritizing tasks, solutions range from the simple—Pylant keeps a written list handy and constantly updates and reprioritizes it—to more-complex organizational methods.

“Whether you’re using Google or Microsoft for e-mail, it’s easy to color-code your inbox and calendar,” Cugini said. “I use red for urgent items that have deadlines associated with them and green for items that are important and need my attention but might not have a firm deadline. I find this really useful because it’s so easy to continuously put off important things.”

For each task, Mustain considers where in the process the related requisition lies, the urgency of the task and the stakeholders involved. “If your boss is coming to you with something urgent, that ranks higher than a candidate who needs something on the side that can wait.”

She spends the first hour and the last part of each day reading e-mails and schedules her sourcing time early in the morning. “I can get people responding that same day and that drives my results,” she said. “What I’m really doing is focusing on the 20 percent that will net 80 percent of my goals. I’ll target what is the most value-add for my time. Two hours of sourcing each day gives me the candidate generation I need to fill the [requisitions] I’m working on.”

Mustain also believes in getting the most challenging tasks done early in the workday. “Try to do the things you are most reluctant to do in the morning,” she said. “If you hate calling to decline people, do it in the morning and get it over with or it will hang on you all day.”

It gets tougher to solve problems and complete challenging work later in the day, De Pape agreed. He schedules calls and meetings and does administrative tasks during the “downtime” periods of the day, such as right before breaking for lunch or midafternoon.

Take Breaks

Everyone knows that taking breaks during the workday is important for recharging, but many recruiters find this hard to do. “In my time in recruitment as well as working remotely, I have found myself many times logging in at 8 a.m. and then the next thing I know it is 6 p.m., and I never took a break and sometimes forgot to eat,” Pylant said.

“I schedule a lunch hour on my calendar every day,” Mustain said, even though she admitted that she usually works through it, eating at her desk. “When you are doing anything for over 90 minutes, you need to step away and take some time to clear your mind. Take a walk, grab a cup of coffee or chat with colleagues.”

Take breaks away from your desk or work area when possible. “I like to take a walk at lunch and maybe even a quick walk around the building for a shorter break during the day,” Cugini said. “Hopefully others are breaking at the same time, and we can walk and talk about life outside of work. Workplace friendships have such a big impact on employee engagement, and these walks and talks have proven that to me over and over again.”

I work in recruitment and on an average day I review anywhere between 40-70 CV’s. Each corporate job opening will receive on average of 200-250 applications. To progress your application and to receive the invite to interview you need to stand out.

Unfortunately, I have not (yet) discovered a ‘one size fits all’ solution that will land you an interview with every job application you make but I am aware of what should be included on your CV to catch my attention and hopefully, other hiring managers too. 24% of hiring managers spend less than 30 seconds looking at CV’s, so you need to make every second count.

Contact information

Start with your contact details: at least one telephone number & email address. Home Address is also helpful, especially if you are applying for positions locally as clients recognise that you will be able to get to work with little or no problems – a big positive! Any job-seeker considering relocation, please include this information on your CV so that you are not disregarded.

The opening statement

Proceed with an opening paragraph/objective/personal summary. This needs to be personal and it needs to be accurate. Some of the most common words included in a CV are ‘motivated’, ‘driven’, ‘responsible’ etc. therefore try to think outside of the box and limit any use of these! The statement itself need be no longer than two or three sentences and should make an impact. It should also be tailored to every job application you make. I cannot begin to explain the despair I feel when reviewing a CV in application for a Property Management position and in the very first paragraph I discover they want to become a teacher.

Education / Qualifications

Dependent on the level of position you are applying to, decipher how relevant your education/qualifications are. If you are a graduate with very little or no work experience, this part of the CV should follow the opening statement – particularly if you studied the same area of interest to the role you are applying to.

If, however, you have some experience under your belt in line with the role you are applying to, there is no need for this information to be included so early in the CV. Your studies (GCSE’s/A ‘Levels/Degree) may not be relevant to the role you are applying to and can be included at the bottom of your CV. 72% of employees explained that having a specific skill set was more valued by the employer, than their education.

Experience

Start with the most recent experience at the top. Who wants to scroll endlessly through pages and pages of work history to find out what you are doing now! Tailor your experience to demonstrate relevance of responsibilities and utilise bullet points to concisely deliver your message.

If you are seeking your first role, think about your ‘secret skills’ that you may have acquired doing voluntary work experience or as your hobby. Did you lead on a project whilst at school? Did you accomplish your DofE? Demonstrate your soft skills with these types of examples. It truly does speak volumes of your character but do not misconstrue the information!

If you are looking to enter a new industry, include your transferable skillset. These include interpersonal, communication, organisational and leadership skills. 61% of employers believe that soft skills are just as important as hard skills.

If you are an experienced professional looking for a similar position, your job title is not the be all and end all of what you do. Company X will do things very differently to company Z so be sure to follow each position with a list of responsibilities. Summarise your achievements at the end of each job role and use industry jargon that your employers will understand, so long as it adds value to your CV.

Interests

If they are not interesting don’t include them! Remember you are applying to a job role and every bit of information on your CV will be considered in line with your application.

Remember

1. Proof-read before applying! Spelling and grammatical errors are one of the biggest factors for CV’s being disregarded, even if you are ‘qualified’. ‘Attention to detail’ is also one of the most sought after soft skill so don’t set yourself up for a fall!
2. There is no point having good content if it isn’t visually appealing. You don’t need fancy colours or graphs (unless you are some sort of designer/presenter etc.) but you do need to ensure each section is clearly distinguishable. CV’s are generally scanned for information hence the 30 second window.
3. If it’s relevant, it shouldn’t be any longer than one-two pages long. There are exceptions of course, particularly if you have over 20 years’ experience. However, in most cases, length is a result of repetition of responsibilities and irrelevant industry experience so take these off!