Recruiting can be very challenging and complicated. It doesn't help things that recruiters have an unconscious bias that is at play in the hiring process.
What's the bias? Well, the bias can be a recruiter unconsciously picking out candidates that are similar to himself in skills and personality or automatically distrusting applicants with Asians or Muslim sounding names.
Mark Newman writes in a Fortune article that there are ways to work around that bias. Here are four steps.
Step 1: Acknowledge that you are biased
They always say that the first step to any recovery is admitting that you have a problem. In this case, one has to be conscious of the fact that he has an unconscious bias, writes Newman.
It is only when that inhibiting trait is acknowledged that you can begin to work around it, eliminate it, and prevent it from affecting your job.
Step 2: Create an advising team
This team will function as your advisers. They are people whom you trust, individuals that are not afraid to challenge you, contradict you, and confront you when they feel you are making a hiring decision that is not to the advantage of the firm.
According to Newman, this team will also be able to look at the potential new hire from various angles. This means that they will put other candidates (candidates that you may have missed in your screening) in your way. Of course, let's not forget that we must listen to our team and their advice.
Step 3: Go beyond the resume.
Resumes can be misleading, says Newman. They encourage the recruiter's bias by limiting the job applicant to their names and education.
Make the hiring process more interesting by asking for a "video introduction." For Newman, the video serves as a way to look at the candidates' personality, demeanor, and weaknesses.
Furthermore, you can send the video to your team and get their input. So, what's in the video? Here's where step 4 comes in.
Step 4: Select interview questions
Candidates answer interview questions in the "video introduction." These questions can help narrow down your list of potential new hires.
Newman suggests having a "knockout question," a question that is designed to determine the ideal hire. Of course, it may not be foolproof, he writes, but the question must be well-thought-of and planned so as to avoid hiring regrets in the future.
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