How to Eliminate an Unintentional Hiring Bias

Hiring bias, even when unintentional, can turn your office into a boring, single-minded place to work. In order to overcome an unintentional hiring bias, the person in charge of bringing on new talent must make it a point to look past their own preferences in order to analyze a candidate fairly. To prevent an unintentional hiring bias from shaping the scope of your company, consider these tips:

Remember that you’re hiring for work, not your social circle

Some hiring managers get tripped up because they focus too much on their own personal feelings about the candidate. You want to be sure that this individual has good morals and will get along with the rest of the staff, but always remember that you’re hiring for your office and not your social circle. Just because you wouldn’t hang out with this person outside of work, doesn’t mean that they’re a bad fit for the available role.

Focus more on skills, less on degrees

Proper training matters, but some people can be perfectly qualified for a job without having a degree from an Ivy League school. Consider a person’s educational background, but in order to eliminate hiring bias, it’s also important to look at what else the candidate brings to the table. Are they willing to learn? Will they be a positive influence in your office? These factors carry a lot of weight too.

Open up the hiring process to a bigger pool of applicants

With technology such as video interviewing, it’s easier than ever before to make your job openings available to people all over. Even if a candidate doesn’t live in your city, you can still talk with them about the role, without having to fly them out to speak with you. Utilize this technology and open yourself up to a broad pool of interested applicants.

Post about the opening in a variety of places

Get creative about how you advertise the job listing. Post on social media and in trade magazines, but you may also consider advertising on community bulletin boards and in other spots where people may notice them. Not all qualified candidates participate in social media or read trade magazines, so cater to a diverse range of people by using a variety of techniques to advertise the job.

How does your company work to overcome an unintentional hiring bias? Share your tips with us in the comments!

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