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First Impressions? Don't Let Your Candidates Slip Through The Net
The human race is a wonderful thing. We’re all different, and it’s the diversity that makes it so special. On the flip side, we also form our own opinions, often subconsciously. When it comes to recruitment, this could result in losing the perfect candidate for that role you’ve been trying so hard to fill.
We’ve all heard of the phrase “never judge a book by its cover” …..
But can we change our opinions? Can we train our brains to overlook our own unconscious perceptions so that they don’t interfere with our professional persona?
What Is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious bias is a term used to describe the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases are activated involuntarily and can influence our interactions with other people.
The term "unconscious" means that these biases cannot be detected through self-analysis. We are not aware of them at a conscious level. Unconscious bias is often unintentional, and the person may not be aware they have it or how it affects their behaviour.
These biases can result from our upbringing, cultural environment, and personal experiences.
The most common way to fight unconscious biases when recruiting is to make sure that the team hiring is diverse. The next best thing to do is to have a recruitment process that screens for bias and assesses for it. Companies can also implement training programs in order to understand their own biases and how they manifest in their work environment.
Experience vs Education
We see it time and time again when writing job ads for clients – “Must be educated to Degree level” or words along those lines.
Here’s some food for thought: a study conducted by Harvard University found that there was a significant increase in hiring managers prioritising skills over education. Of the 720 hiring managers surveyed, 61% said they would hire someone with 10 years of experience over someone with a degree from an elite university.
Never discard someone’s CV just because they didn’t tick all the educational boxes.
Pre-Interview Tasks
Prior to meeting your candidates, set them a task to do before the interview. This will give you an insight into their abilities, creativity, and focus before you’ve even met them.
We hope that this has made you think about your own unconscious biases and how they may affect your decision making when recruiting.
If you need any help with writing job ads and job specs to attract the cream of the crop, we’re extremely happy to oblige!
