~ Dr. Liat Basis ~
In recruitment processes, we are required to make decisions – which resumes will we invite for an interview? Who will we send to an assessment center? And who will we hire? To what extent are recruiters aware of the choices they are making? Are accurate and informed decisions truly made based on objective considerations?
One of the strongest feelings that characterizes adults is that of self-awareness. As we grow older, the feeling that we are more aware of our feelings, thoughts, and needs and better understand the choices we have made increases. Self-awareness is indeed acquired and increases over the years, but the sense of security that accompanies it increases more than is required by objective measures. In many cases, awareness of our choices is very small or nonexistent. In a famous experiment from the 1970s, people in a supermarket were given the choice between two identical pairs of socks that were shown to them in a picture. The researchers knew that there is a well-known phenomenon according to which people prefer the right side. After people made their choice (and indeed 4 times more people chose the right pair), the researchers asked them why. Not a single subject indicated that they preferred it because of the right-hand position.
In another experiment, the researchers gave subjects more and less relevant information about a job candidate: grade point average, involvement in a car accident, spilling coffee during an interview, and more. Each group received slightly different information and was asked to evaluate the candidate on various characteristics such as interpersonal skills, intelligence, creativity. At the same time, the subjects were asked to indicate the extent to which each piece of information influenced them in each characteristic they evaluated. The researchers compared the real impact of each piece of information to the perceived impact. The findings showed that the subjects were often unable to assess the extent to which each item influenced them. For example, spilling coffee affected the assessment of interpersonal skills in practice, but the subjects claimed that they were not affected at all.
Lack of awareness of influences during the CV screening stage
People are not always aware of the effects of information they are exposed to. Irrelevant information can have a significant impact, while relevant information can have almost no impact. Signs of this can already be seen in resumes. In a study conducted in Israel in 2010 in a large business organization, the relationship between variables in resumes and the decision to contact a candidate for further screening for research and sales positions was examined. At the same time, a survey was sent to recruitment coordinators (in the same organization) in which they were asked to “mark next to each variable to what extent it affects you in the resume screening process.” Experience and education were the factors most related to the decision on whether a candidate should continue their career and were also assessed as such by the recruitment coordinators. In contrast, the recruitment coordinators ranked job persistence (length of time working in each position) and occupational continuity (absence of gaps between jobs) as having a great influence on their decision regarding resumes, but no relationship was found between these variables and the actual decision. On the other hand, the recruitment coordinators thought that the image and font had no effect on them in the CV screening process, when various studies have shown that the image and font definitely have such an effect (in the current study, there were not enough images and there was not enough difference between the fonts to test this). Those CVs written in an appropriate font (Ariel, David, etc.) will be evaluated more positively than CVs written in an inappropriate font (e.g. GuttmanYad). Marital status and number of children, which were perceived by the coordinators as not influencing the screening, were closely related to the decision to continue with the candidate.
But even before the resume, the hiring manager sees the candidate’s email address and name. These variables have also been found to have an impact in various studies on further decisions and the evaluation of the candidate. Are these variables that we consciously think about that affect us? Probably not.
You are similar to me – you are accepted!
And we haven’t even talked about biases yet… they also tend to be unconscious and thus continue to influence our choices, often in a wrong way. Take, for example, the well-known “similarity to the evaluator” bias. We tend to like people who are similar to us and give them higher ratings in selection processes, even though we are recruiting for a different role than the one we are filling or we forget that there are different ways to optimally perform the same role or that perhaps it is useful to have diverse and different people by our side for fruitful and complementary teamwork. We are very pleased to have people who are similar to us, it gives us a feeling that “we are right” and maintains balance in our lives, but of course this should not influence the ratings or at least be weighed against other, more significant variables.
Raising awareness
Lack of awareness is bad for the screening and diagnostic processes, mainly because many of the unconscious influences are biases that reduce the quality of the decision made. So what do we do?! It is impossible to eliminate these influences, they are here to stay. All that remains for us is to reduce their influence. This is done by being aware, investing time and effort in every diagnostic process we carry out and a decision alongside it. The accuracy and fairness of the decisions we make will increase the more aware we are of the possible effects of various variables (and the canvas is too short to contain them all, it is good that there is quite a bit of material and workshops on the subject) the more aware we are of the feelings that various pieces of information evoke in us, and all this alongside a real desire and effort to put aside the trivial and concentrate mainly on what we defined in advance in the job description we wrote. A clear and defined list of desirable characteristics for an employee will help increase awareness, reduce biases and make accurate choices.
* Dr. Liat Basis, social-occupational psychologist, CEO of Basis for Assessment www.basisle.co.il | http://www.facebook.com/basisle
