How to avoid interviewer bias
When they go for interviews, job hopefuls want to be chosen. Recruiters and hiring managers want to fill the position with the best candidate as soon as practical. Interviewer bias, however, can occasionally result in the “right person” being overlooked. Both recruiting managers and candidates have issues with it. This post will examine interviewer bias in more detail, including what it is, how it manifests itself, and strategies for minimizing it during the hiring process.
Interview bias is when an interviewer evaluates a candidate based not only on their abilities and proficiencies but also on implicit (and occasionally unconscious) standards. This compromises the objectivity of the interaction.
For example, a candidate may be rejected by an interviewer simply because they failed to create adequate eye contact, had a poor handshake, or crossed their arms throughout the interview.
This type of unintentional prejudice during interviews frequently results in poor hiring judgments and excessive employee turnover. As a result, it undermines the efforts businesses do to broaden their workforce diversity and foster an inclusive culture.
Different forms of interviewer bias
Interviewer bias can manifest itself in a variety of ways and thus impact the hiring procedure. Ten distinct forms of interviewer bias have been recognized by the Society for Human Resources Management.
- Using stereotypes
This is the moment when you evaluate someone more on the basis of their social position than their personal qualities. For example, you decide against hiring a man for a receptionist position since women are often friendlier. Alternatively, you might turn down a woman for a job that requires a lot of travel since you know she probably has children and won’t want to travel. These two sets of actions disregard the sincere applicant who is seated before you.
- Questioning that is inconsistent
You tailor your questions to each applicant in a way that keeps you from obtaining a complete picture, as opposed to asking the same or comparable questions of each. You might question a candidate who graduated from a nearby university in-depth about their coursework and lessons acquired, but you might presume that a candidate from Harvard University gained all the knowledge they required in their studies.
- Initial impression
The applicant that walks in with assurance and shakes hands firmly may be your preference over the one who seems unsure of themselves and has sweaty hands. This kind of first impression bias can disqualify suitable candidates, unless the job necessitates regular meetings with strangers (like a sales role).
- Halo effect
If the candidate delivered an amazing Tedx talk, you may be so preoccupied with that one aspect that you conclude they are superior to everyone else. This evaluation of their background and abilities is unfair. Don’t allow one outstanding CV element to overshadow a candidate’s weaknesses.
- The horn effect
This is the reverse of the halo effect: you presume a candidate does poorly across the board if they receive a low grade in one area. Even if an applicant is a skilled programmer, you might dismiss them if their cover letter contains grammatical problems. Grammar shouldn’t be a major component of the evaluation if it isn’t a requirement of the position.
- Cultural noise
This kind of bias occurs when an applicant is attempting to win your approval rather than expressing their legitimate opinions, and you aren’t aware of it. They might support a particular stance because it’s the mainstream one, but you don’t get to know the individual. It is unlikely that a candidate who states, “I’m happy to work remote or in the office, I don’t really care,” is telling the truth. That’s OK if the role is open to either, but you want to make sure the candidate is comfortable if it’s all on-site.
- Nonverbal prejudice
Are you evaluating applicants more on their nonverbal cues than their abilities? Candidates who are neurodivergent or from cultures with different body language preferences than your own may be rejected as a result of this bias. Recall that individuals with autism may not make eye contact, may stim to maintain their composure, or may exhibit other unusual body language. It does not imply that they are any less capable.
While you speak, someone from a culture where respect for authoritative figures is valued might look down, while someone from another where eye contact is expected might stare right at you. Both are not indicators of job potential; they are simply nonverbal biases.
- Contrast effect
Does the second candidate appear particularly powerful if the first was weak? Candidates are not compared to a standard; rather, they are compared to one another. Those who perform poorly in an interview have an advantage over those who perform well and interview after other highly qualified candidates.
- Similar-to-me
Another name for this kind of bias is affinity bias. You have a deep affinity for a candidate because you share a lot of similarities with them, such as same taste in music, shared education, or shared upbringing in the same community. This has nothing to do with their current skill set.
- Central tendency
This is the prejudice that results from waiting for the ideal applicant. You find flaws in everyone, categorizing them as “middle of the road” and continuing your search for the mythical purple unicorn, or ninjas as we now refer to them.
How to prevent interviewer bias in the hiring process
You can prevent bias in your interviews by being aware of these biases. Since many hiring managers don’t often interview candidates, they particularly need help conducting interviews without bias. Here are nine strategies for preventing prejudice in interviews during the hiring process.
- Consult an interview guide
Organizations can organize their candidate interviews with the use of an interview guide. In terms of lessening bias, it also guarantees that each candidate receives the same experience and contributes to the creation of an impartial evaluation for all.
The interview guide’s content will vary based on your particular organizational requirements, the interview style you choose, and the function you are hiring for, among other factors. However, your interview guide can (should) cover the majority of the techniques described below.
- Ask standard questions
Make a list of questions you want to ask each applicant for a position. In this manner, you avoid becoming inconsistent in your questioning and succumbing to similarity bias. Since X is a crucial talent, you won’t unintentionally forget to ask someone about it and then turn them down.
Starting with a phone assessment and/or interview could be a wise move. This helps to avoid making snap decisions about people based solely on their appearance, facial expressions, or other external appearance-related aspects. Whether it’s a phone interview or not, make sure you ask the same questions to each candidate in the same order because structure matters here too.
- Jot down notes as you proceed
Write down what you think as you go, rather than waiting until the applicant leaves (which can lead to stereotyping, halo/horn bias, and similar-to-me bias). A organized approach can be ensured by creating a uniform sheet that allows for space for answers. This will help to keep things accurate.
- Use a rubric to rate applicants
Decide which skills are necessary before the interview process starts, and consider each skill separately. This will assist you in avoiding, among other things, contrast effect, bias from first impressions, and stereotyping. When creating the job description and vacancy, the hiring manager and recruiter typically already know what abilities are needed for the available position, so using those same ones is logical.
- Make exam assignments anonymous
These should be brief and unrelated to the actual work that the company needs done. All candidates are given the same task, which could involve writing a short description of their proposed solution to a problem, evaluating a data set, or producing a piece of code. Evaluate the work produced without revealing the candidates’ identities. As long as the work is closely tied to the requirements of the job, this helps eliminate nearly all prejudices.
- Have several persons interview potential hires
Every interviewer should prepare a list of questions relevant to the position’s needs and areas of competence. The goal is to obtain a clear image while minimizing bias, even though the applicants may feel like they are answering the same questions to multiple interviewers.
- Cut down on small talk during an interview
It is customary to begin with “How are you?” or “I hope your commute was okay,” but those statements can easily develop into inquiries that strengthen prejudice. A candidate’s neighborhood is disclosed in the drive-in inquiry, which could raise the “like me” factor. (You’re from Sunnytown, I see. I was raised there!) or the stereotype bias (Oh, you’re from Sunnytown. I always assumed the people who lived there all had Ferraris and played golf.)
- Don’t bring up politics
Focus only on skills unless your company deals with political issues and the candidates hold similar views. Give applicants your code of behavior so they understand how your company runs, but avoid asking them what they think about the hot-button issues of the day. Clearly state your prerequisites for a position rather than letting applicants assume what you value.
- Avoid following your “gut”
Sometimes you can simply think a candidate is the best fit or that you just like them. You will be able to determine who the best applicant is in a measurable way if you assess prospects using the techniques mentioned above. Intuition is nothing more than your personal prejudices covered up as gut feelings.
- Hire people from a range of backgrounds
Don’t restrict your hiring based on a candidate’s location if the position is remote or would cover relocation expenses (apart from any legal restrictions or work-related time zone differences). Promote your brand across a multitude of channels. You’ll have access to a wider range of candidates as a result. Next, find the most qualified applicant using the previously mentioned strategies.
- Create a varied shortlist
It makes sense that if the talent sourcer for your organization looks for applicants from a range of sources and channels, you’ll have a more varied pool of prospects to evaluate, interview, and ultimately shortlist as finalists. Building a varied shortlist by organizing candidates according to factors like gender or race, for example, may lessen unconscious prejudice and raise the likelihood that one of them will emerge as the front-runner.
Conclusion
Because people are biased by nature, it is hard to completely eradicate interviewer bias. Still, using clear interview and evaluation processes can have a big influence on your company’s attempts to reduce bias. Prior to conducting interviews, ensure that all managers have received the appropriate training and guidance.
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