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One of the “happening things” in the recruitment world in 2022 was the spotlight being shone on diversity.
I've identified 16 different unconscious biases we all have when it comes to interviewing – and how these can play out during the recruitment process and what you can do to mitigate these.
The end result of all of them is the same: you may end up discounting and/or overlooking the best person for your clinic’s vacancy.
Diversity training
Diversity training is one way to help overcome personal biases. Another way is when you’re recruiting.
The more people who can be involved in the recruitment process, the more likely it is – hopefully – that personal biases will be reduced and/or at least challenged.
Blind Hiring
Blind hiring is better done through a neutral third party – like VetStaff. It’s where any and all information that could identify a job applicant is completely stripped from their CV.
UNCONSCIOUS BIASES
1. Confirmation bias
You’ll know your guilty of confirmation bias when you find yourself asking irrelevant questions. This is confirmation bias playing out because you’re trying to elicit answers that support your initial assumption about the vet or nurse you’re interviewing.
You’re doing this because you want to prove to yourself – and then someone else who might be involved in the hiring process at your clinic – that your initial assessment is correct.
It could be that they’re a great fit or they won’t fit.
#2. Affect heuristics
Affect heuristics come into play with personal biases around appearance. An interviewer might see something physical about a candidate and they’ve immediately judged them – consciously or unconsciously – that they’re suitable or unsuitable for the job.
It’s a virtually instantaneous judgement that then clouds and affects every other aspect of the interview process.
3. Expectation anchor or anchoring
Expectation anchor or anchoring bias is when we allow ourselves to anchor – to focus – on one certain piece of information about a job applicant and then use that factor to help us make decisions.
In a vet clinic this could manifest as wanting to replace a departing veterinarian or veterinary nurse with an exact carbon copy of them.
There a couple of hiring biases that support this – not just an
Companion Animal Vacancy at Vet Marlborough - contact Julie South or Isobel Cooper for more info.
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