When searching for candidates to fill a position, it is important to stay as impartial as possible. You want to bring in the best person for the job without consideration of age, gender, diversability (diverse ability), religion, or race. Unfortunately, many people have unconscious interview bias that can affect the hiring process.

Unconscious biases, or implicit biases, are informed by experiences: where you grew up, the media you consume, the people that you spend time with. They can influence your attitude towards people of certain backgrounds, religions, races, cultures, genders, etc. You may not even be aware of your biases, but they can still inform your hiring decision.

There are a few things you can do to minimize these biases and hire in a way that is both fair and beneficial for your business.

1. Do a Blind Resume Review

A blind resume review helps you to focus on the things that are most important when hiring someone – the candidates’ experience and skillset. Looking at someone’s name or picture can cause you to jump to conclusions or rely on implicit bias.

The best way to begin blind resume reviews is to use software that will obscure candidates’ names and images if they are included.

2. Use Standardized Interview Questions

Asking every candidate the same questions can help employers avoid interview bias. Though organic conversation-type interviews are becoming more common, there is evidence that these types of interviews are poor indicators of potential job performance.

Consider creating a rubric card to score the answers the candidates provide for each question instead of just going on gut feeling or reviewing notes down the line.

3. Create a Sample Test

Sample tests often tell you the most about a potential employee’s abilities. Create a test that the individual should be able to handle without an in-depth knowledge of your specific organization, but instead, more in-depth knowledge of the work they would be required to do on a daily basis.

One thing to keep in mind is that you should never use an individual’s work for free or without their permission. This work should be used solely for judging the employee’s skill set and not to further your business objectives.

4. Include More Than One Person in the Interview Process

Having multiple employees conduct the interview reduces bias, especially if the employees come from different backgrounds themselves. Additionally, adding in a second or even third interview with completely different parties can give you a better overview of the candidate.

5. Increase Your Recruiting Pool

If you are currently only using one recruiting tool or recruiting in a specific area, you could be missing out on great candidates. You may also be excluding people of other social classes, depending on where you are located and how far away from your office you are recruiting.

Now that many positions are remote anyway, it is easier than ever to recruit farther away and include more qualified candidates in your search.

Applied Development Can Help You Avoid Recruiting Bias

If your government agency or private business is in the process of hiring and would like to avoid recruiting bias, Applied Development has the experience and knowledge to help. Our team can work with you on diversity initiatives and give you the tools you need to recruit the best candidates for the job.

Give us a call today at 410.571.4016 or contact us online for more information.

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