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.
But if we also know diversity is good for business and top managers tend toward a certain demographic and as mentioned above people tend to hire people like themselves…Aren’t we perpetuating the problem if we don’t re-examining the way we hire?
If I asked you to imagine a CEO, a pilot or a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary, certain images come to mind. Bias is human. It’s ingrained. But it has no place in hiring decisions. Too often, great candidates are screened out because they do not think or look like the archetypes of someone’s perception.
This article is a good read for anyone involved in hiring decisions.