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Use Interview Tactics That Keep Bias at Bay

If you’re a hiring manager, you’re probably happiest getting a sense of a candidate through unstructured interviews, which allows you to explore details you think are interesting and relevant. This method of interviewing makes it easy to tailor the direction of the interview and may help you understand your applicant’s personality, but it’s fraught with unreliability. Individual biases end up creeping in; for example, research shows that hiring managers tend to look for someone like themselves in interviews. To make the best decision — one that’s impartial — standardize your interviewing process and ask the same questions of each applicant. Then score and compare all candidates’ responses horizontally. That is, if you interview five candidates, compare each of their answers on question one, then each answer on question two, and so on. Doing so will help eliminate subjectivity. The flow of conversation during the interview may be slightly more awkward, but the payoff is worth it.

Adapted from “How to Take the Bias Out of Interviews,” by Iris Bohnet