DAZN Graduate Opportunities: Everything You Need to Know Before Applying
Careers
myGwork spoke to Emma Rouhani, Talent Acquisition Lead & Samira Wiechmann, Talent Acquisition Lead at DAZN about their graduate opportunities and the recruitment process.
Hi Emma and Samira, thanks for speaking to us! So, when recruiting graduates what do you look for?
For us, the right attitude is the most important thing! Having a creative mindset, trying to solve problems innovatively and thinking outside of the box are all attributes that will help graduates at DAZN to quickly progress their careers. Of course, high motivation to learn from our teams, almost being like a sponge, is also something we want to see when interviewing graduates.
Are there any specific recruitment processes you follow or is it different every time depending on the graduate?
Our recruitment process doesn’t differentiate much from hiring more senior team members – we see interviewing as a two-way street and want to make sure it’s the right opportunity for the applicant as well. If so, I would say this is even more important when graduates apply, as they need to be confident that we are the right employer for them to kickstart their careers.
How important are diversity and inclusion when you're recruiting a new professional?
At DAZN, we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment, that values equality and diversity and where everyone can contribute and have their voices heard. For us, this means hiring and developing talent across all races, ethnicities, religions, age groups, sexual orientations and gender identities.
How do you ensure you receive diverse graduate candidates?
We attend graduate events, share vacancies across newsletters and networks within university communities and partner with companies like MyGwork to share our vacancies across diverse communities
How do you make sure the recruitment process is inclusive?
Our Talent Acquisition team partners with Hiring Managers to incorporate our DEI strategy into all Recruitment processes. This includes inclusive job descriptions, working with partners such as MyGwork to share our vacancies across different communities and groups, making sure candidates meet/talk with a diverse group of interviewers and talking to candidates about our DEI strategy and internal resources. We use a consistent interview process, ensuring that all candidates go through the same process to eliminate bias. Everyone at DAZN also has access to DEI resources via our internal learning portal.
What tools do you use to address unconscious bias and how effective are they?
We have content on our DEI page as part of our internal DAZN anywhere site and have also run recent companywide training and event sessions in partnership with myGwork to address unconscious bias and how to make job specs and recruitment processes more inclusive. We are in the process of developing some more interview training material too.
And do you use any tools to help embed inclusion into the recruitment process?
Yes, we use a combination of internal tools and resources and an online language gender decoder to ensure the language used is neutral and inclusive. Our internal tools include an Inclusive Job Description handbook provided to all Hiring Managers and stored on our internal DAZN Anywhere site, this includes context and references about the importance of inclusive job descriptions, language and structure tips and links to further resources. Our job description template used globally also includes links to the handbook, decoder, language/style tips and information about flexible working and benefits to appeal to a broad range of candidates.
How many LGBTQ+ graduates have you recruited in the past year?
We promote all vacancies on MyGwork and as we introduce more graduate, entry-level and early-stage careers into our Hiring Plans, we would love to see lots of these hires coming from the LGBTQ+ community!
Would you encourage successful applicants to come out during the interview?
If it is important to you to find an employer that shares your values, then be sure to ask them about their DEI strategy and what support/resources are available. Don’t feel pressured to share personal information if you don’t want to, but the company should make you feel comfortable to express yourself and who you are, and if they don’t then they probably are not the company for you.
Does your organization have an LGBTQ+ network and is information about this shared with candidates in interviews?
Our Global ERGs include LGBTQ+ focused workstreams and project groups
As part of our interview process with all candidates, we share information about our DEI strategy and the work taking place. As part of this, we talk about our Global ERGs and the projects that are taking place, as well as how the role they are interviewing for could contribute to the company’s DEI strategy
Have you seen significant changes in the diversity and inclusion policies of your company in the past five years?
Yes, we have recently reviewed several internal policies to ensure employees feel supported to report issues and have revamped the language used to ensure they are more inclusive.
How often do you meet with your LGBTQ+ network? Do they take part in shaping your LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and recruitment process?
Our Talent Acquisition and ERG People workstream meet monthly to discuss project progress, new ideas and to have an open discussion in a safe and friendly space. Many of the ideas shared have been taken on board to help shape our Recruitment processes and Talent Acquisition strategy.
For new LGBTQ+ professionals, is their involvement in the LGBTQ+ network of their university important to you?
When interviewing at DAZN, we ask every candidate how they can contribute to our DEI efforts. If an LGBTQ+ applicant is involved in the LGBTQ+ university network or even other supportive networks, that’s certainly a great sign for us. Equally, if someone from a non-diverse background supports relevant networks. Internally at DAZN, we have ERG groups in every country where new joiners are very welcome to join and help us on our DEI journey.
Do you introduce your new graduates to your HR team and LGBTQ+ employees resource group?
We have an on-boarding process where all of our new employees are given access to our internal resources, we welcome anyone to have the chance to join the global ERG network. We believe it’s important to allow everyone to contribute and be part of the projects or have a safe space to meet new colleagues.
Do you believe that being part of a network will help new professionals integrate within the organization?
Networking is always beneficial – for new starts as well as settled employees. It’s the exchange part, being able to learn from peers who face similar challenges or are in similar situations. At DAZN we have many different networks such as our DEI ERGs, our Parent zone and Women in Subscription – all to connect like-minded people and help them in being a parent, a woman and being from a diverse background at the workplace. For me, the same applies to external networks – much like MyGwork or other initiatives we partner with like Black Young Professionals, Code first Girls or Women in Sports. In any network, it’s about helping yourself in making peace with who you are but also about helping others in their journey to get there.
Lastly, what are some surprising questions a potential candidate might be asked during the interview process?
What would your colleagues/classmates say about you?
What aspects of company culture are important to you?
Can you think of any ways this role could contribute to the company’s DEI strategy?
Do you carry out any courses for self-learning or other ways of developing skills in your chosen field? If so, what are they?
How would you spend time in your first 3 months in the role to familiarise yourself with the company and role?
