5 Tips for Hiring Father-Friendly Staff

If you want to ensure your organization is more father-inclusive, then hiring father-friendly staff is paramount.

What better time to ensure someone is father-friendly than before you offer them employment?

Here are 5 tips to ensure job candidates are father-friendly:

• Ensure your organization is father-friendly. If a potential candidate does research on your organization and sees it’s father-friendly, then you’ll have a greater chance of getting that person to apply. Does your website, for example, mention father-specific resources, events, or services? That could help attract a father-friendly candidate. National Fatherhood Initiative®'s Father Friendly Check-Up™ is a great way to assess your organization’s father-friendliness in four categories: Leadership Development, Organizational Development, Program Development, and Community Engagement. Use the results to create a more father-friendly organization.
• Reference fathers in job descriptions. This can be a statement on the important role fathers play in children’s well-being, a task or duty requiring the employee to engage fathers in your organization’s programs and services, or experience from previous work that includes fathers.
• Look for indicators of father-friendliness on resumes and in cover letters. Indicators can include previous job titles (e.g., fatherhood advocate, case manager, or male involvement specialist) or references to father-related community involvement (e.g., male involvement coalitions or fatherhood event planning committees).
• Ask open-ended questions about fathers and father-friendliness during interviews. Ask questions like, “Tell me how you feel about the father’s role in the family?”, “How would you ensure father-friendliness in your role with our organization?”, or “Why do you think it’s important for our organization to intentionally and proactively engage fathers?”
• Check references to ensure you get others’ input who know the candidate. Ask references questions that reveal how father-friendly the candidate is. Ask questions like, “How has the candidate worked with fathers in the past?”, or “Tell me what you know of the candidate’s desire to serve fathers.”

If you can’t find the right candidate, consider contracting with a fatherhood consultant or specialist. If you need to deliver a fatherhood program, for example, find someone in your community who is already facilitating men’s groups. See whether they’re willing to enter into an agreement to facilitate your program on an as-needed basis.

When your next job opening comes around, I hope you’ll take these tips to heart. Doing so will build a more father-inclusive team that will ensure better outcomes for the families you serve.

If you’re hiring, complete the Father Friendly Check-Up™. Use the results to improve your chances of attracting job candidates who are father-friendly.

What are some other things you can do to ensure your job candidates are father-friendly?