Avoid Bias When Selecting Job Candidates

Research has shown that hiring managers are 50% more likely to advance a candidate in the process who has a stereotypically white-sounding name than a candidate who has a stereotypical Black name—even if the candidate’s qualifications and educational backgrounds are the same.  In addition, in-group preferences for candidates who, for example, went to the same school as the manager can also positively bias a manager toward a candidate, even if their other qualifications are sub-par. 

If an organization has the capacity to designate a staff member who is not involved in the hiring process to remove names and schools from the materials before they are reviewed by the hiring manager, this can minimize bias in the process. Another option is to invest in software that reviews cover letters and resumes automatically, which can mitigate some human biases.

If neither of these is possible, hiring managers should be made aware of this research and their supervisors should ask questions about how they plan on addressing these tendencies during the hiring process. Regardless of whether the hiring manager reviews applications with or without software, and with or without obscuring names and schools, hiring managers should assess each resume/cover letter according to a standard rubric that lays out what qualities of an application packet qualify a candidate for the next step in the process. 

Learn more in our resource, A Guide to Recruiting and Hiring