This is a real phenomenon and you should be aware of it. In honor of Black History Month I’d like to make you aware of the numbers. This article coupled with AON’s human capital insights here should be enough to convince, this just in someone’s mind — it’s all too real and not enough people are aware of it.

This Harvard Business Review article recalls a hiring manager rejecting a candidate because of “annoying questions”. As it turns out, said questions annoyed him because he did not have the answers. As a curious person, I find this troubling. Because I’m sure I’ve had an annoying question or two… or five, or fifty.

Let’s face it, most hiring managers are not trained to identify who is a best fit for creative problem solving and innovation. Studies have shown we tend to favor people like ourselves. It’s called “looking glass merit”. We look for traits in others that make us feel good about ourselves. It’s human nature.