Think about the things that instantly have an impact on your opinion of a person you meet – not only potential employees.
Think of a scenario where I interview someone, and he reminds me of somebody I do not like, maybe my unfair primary school teacher. I find a reason why I cannot appoint him, even if he is the most experienced and best-qualified person for the position.
Those are called biases, are mostly subconscious, and influence how we see and evaluate people.
One textbook definition of interviewer bias is: “A distortion of response related to the person questioning informants in research. The interviewer’s expectations or opinions may interfere with their objectivity or interviewees may react differently to their personality or social background. Both mistrust and over-rapport can affect outcomes.”
This can also play a role in recruitment. There are many scenarios where an outstanding candidate might be unsuccessful due to something that would not determine their success in the actual position you’re hiring for.
A moment of introspection and awareness of our own bias will help us to make more objective choices. Structured interview questions and ensuring that we ask every candidate the same questions also assist with keeping those biases in check.
RecruitX provides interviewer training and preparation and will assist with the formulation of interview questions.