Overcoming Interview Bias

Heads up, hiring managers: It's time to scrub clean those tainted lenses you're looking through when interviewing. Bias - conscious or unconscious, it's the silent assassin in your interview process. And trust me, it's doing you no favors. So, let's talk about wiping that slate clean. First, standardize those interviews. Same questions, same order, every candidate. No making it up as you go along. It's about fairness, not improv. Next, get your hands on some structured scoring rubrics. They're not sexy, but they're the cornerstone of an objective assessment. Make your decisions based on a scorecard, not a gut feeling. Bring diversity to your interview panel. Different backgrounds, different perspectives - it's your best defense against a narrow-minded hiring process. And don't fall for the 'cultural fit' trap. It's a cop-out, a velvet-gloved form of bias. Focus on 'culture add.' What unique values can the candidate bring to the team? That's the real question. Finally, never stop learning, never stop questioning your biases. It's an ongoing battle, not a checkbox exercise. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable - it's the only way we grow. So gear up, hiring managers. It's time to give bias the boot.

Your competence at work is judged in seconds. Even when you over-deliver, you can be underestimated. Every day, false assumptions about you are made: — Polite = Weak — Older = Not agile — A foreign accent = Less capable — Introverted =  Not a strong leader — Woman =  Softer voice, less authority It's not just unfair. It's exhausting. So the question is: How do you beat biases without changing who you are? Here’s what I recommend: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 → Speak about impact, not effort. → Articulate your value proposition. →“Here’s the problems I solve. Here's how. Here’s the result."  If no one knows what you bring to the table, they won’t invite you to it. 𝟮. 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 Silent excellence is wasted potential. → Speak up when it feels risky. → Build real not just strategic relationships. → Share insights where people are paying attention. You don’t need to be loud. You need to be seen. 𝟯. 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 The traits that trigger assumptions? Those are your edge. → Introverted? That’s deep listening. → Accent? That’s global perspective. Don’t flatten yourself to fit. Distinguish yourself to lead. 𝟰. 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 → Say “I recommend” not "I think.” → Hold eye contact. Take up space. → Act like your presence belongs (even when others haven’t caught up.) Confidence isn’t volume. It’s grounding. Bias is everywhere. But perception can be changed. Don't let other people's false assumptions define you. Do you agree? ➕ Follow Deena Priest for strategic career insights. 📌Join my newsletter to build a career grounded in progress, peace and pay.

„Companies spend millions on antibias training each year in hopes of creating more-inclusive—and thereby innovative and effective—workforces. Studies show that well-managed diverse groups perform better and are more committed, have higher collective intelligence, and excel at making decisions and solving problems. But research also shows that bias-prevention programs rarely deliver“, schreiben Joan C. Williams und Sky Mihaylo in der Harvard Business Review. Statt auf ineffiziente Programme fokussieren die Autorinnen auf Möglichkeiten, die einzelne Führungskräfte in der Praxis haben, um Vorurteilen entgegenzuwirken und Diversität zu verwirklichen. Es beginnt für sie damit, zu verstehen, wie sich Voreingenommenheit im Arbeitsalltag auswirkt, wann und wo ihre verschiedenen Formen tagtäglich auftreten. Das Motto: „You can’t be a great manager without becoming a ‚bias interrupter‘.“  Ihre Empfehlungen gliedern Williams und Mihaylo in drei Hauptpunkte. ▶️ Fairness in hiring: 1. Insist on a diverse pool.  2. Establish objective criteria, define “culture fit” (to clarify objective criteria for any open role and to rate all applicants using the same rubric), and demand accountability.  3. Limit referral hiring.  4. Structure interviews with skills-based questions.    ▶️ Managing Day-to-Day:  Day to day, they should ensure that high- and low-value work is assigned evenly and run meetings in a way that guarantees all voices are heard. 1. Set up a rotation for office housework, and don’t ask for volunteers.  2. Mindfully design and assign people to high-value projects.  3. Acknowledge the importance of lower-profile contributions.  4. Respond to double standards, stereotyping, “manterruption,” “bropriating,” and “whipeating (e.g., majority-group members taking or being given credit for ideas that women and people of color originally offered). 5. Ask people to weigh in. 6. Schedule meetings inclusively (they should take place in the office and within working hours). 7. Equalize access proactively (e.g., if bosses meet with employees, this should be driven by business demands or team needs).   ▶️ Developing your team: Your job as a manager is not only to get the best performance out of your team but also to encourage the development of each member. That means giving fair performance reviews, equal access to high-potential assignments, and promotions and pay increases to those who have earned them. 1. Clarify evaluation criteria and focus on performance, not potential.  2. Separate performance from potential and personality from skill sets.  3. Level the playing field with respect to self-promotion (by giving everyone you manage the tools to evaluate their own performance).  4. Explain how training, promotion, and pay decisions will be made, and follow those rules. „Conclusion: Organizational change is crucial, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Fortunately, you can begin with all these recommendations today.“ #genderequality #herCAREER

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: if you're 50+ and interviewing, you're fighting age bias, whether anyone admits it or not. I've seen brilliant, experienced professionals stumble in interviews because they're using strategies designed for 25-year-olds. That approach doesn't work when you have decades of experience. Here's the reality: age bias exists despite legal protections. The key is reframing your experience as a competitive advantage, not a liability. Your strategic preparation framework: 1. Research your interviewers - Look up their backgrounds and company demographics. Find potential advocates and cultural alignment opportunities. 2. Demonstrate technology fluency - Show current technical competencies and familiarity with modern tools. Don't let them assume you're behind the times. 3. Project energy and enthusiasm - Combat assumptions about engagement levels through forward-looking discussions and genuine excitement about the role. 4. Lead with recent wins - Start conversations with current achievements and capabilities, not a chronological career history that spans decades. 5. Show adaptability - Provide specific examples of successfully adapting to new systems, methodologies, or market conditions. Prove you're not stuck in the past. Position your experience strategically: Your decades of experience aren't just nice-to-have - they're business risk mitigation. You bring relationship assets, seasoned judgment, and capabilities that create immediate value. Your industry knowledge and professional networks are competitive advantages that reduce onboarding time and accelerate contribution timelines. Stop competing with younger candidates on identical terms. Emphasize the unique value propositions that justify your investment level. What strategies have you found most effective for positioning senior-level experience during competitive interview processes? Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://vist.ly/3z9fc #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #seniorprofessionals #interviewstrategy #careerstrategist

Too many interviews fail before they even start. Bias doesn’t always come from intent. It often hides in habits: unstructured interviews, one-dimensional panels, and vague definitions of success. I pulled together this guide, 4 Steps to Build a Bias-Free Interview Panel, after seeing these patterns come up again and again while helping teams improve their hiring systems. It’s shaped by what I’ve learned (and unlearned) through real-world hiring challenges. Fairness isn’t just a value—it’s something you can design for. The guide covers five key principles: 🔸 Start with awareness 🔸 Bring diverse perspectives into the room 🔸 Use structured interviews to stay consistent 🔸 Align questions to what success actually looks like 🔸 Improve over time through feedback If you’re scaling a team or just rethinking how interviews are run, I think you’ll find it useful. 👉 Curious to hear how others are approaching this. What’s worked on your end?

Have y’all read this story? Dwight Jackson filed a lawsuit against the Shinola Hotel in Detroit on July 3, alleging he was denied a job when he applied as “Dwight Jackson,” but later offered an interview when he changed his name to “John Jebrowski.” For me, Dwight’s lawsuit is not just a legal challenge but a call to action for all organizations to examine their role in perpetuating systemic discrimination. It’s a reminder that fostering an inclusive workplace requires more than just statements of commitment; it demands tangible, sustained efforts to dismantle the barriers that prevent true equity and inclusion. We should want confront and address implicit biases that disadvantage qualified candidates based on their names or backgrounds. Some simple steps to avoid this happening to your company include: 1. Implementing Blind Recruitment: Remove names and identifying information from resumes during the initial screening to ensure unbiased evaluation. 2. Conduct Unconscious Bias Training: Equip your hiring teams with the knowledge and tools to recognize and mitigate biases. 3. Establish Objective Evaluation Criteria: Develop clear, standardized criteria for assessing candidates to minimize subjective judgments. 4. Perform Regular Audits: Regularly review and analyze your hiring processes and outcomes to identify and address any disparities. Committing to these actions and creating a truly inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed is essential. Let’s lead by example and make meaningful changes that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. We should not have to pretend to be “John Jebrowski” to be seen. https://lnkd.in/eS_jzSFW

Wake up and smell the litigation because your untrained hiring panel is a ticking legal time bomb waiting to decimate your company's reputation and bank account. Each uneducated question and biased assumption is a step closer to a lawsuit that could drag your company through the mud. While recruiters are legal ninjas, dodging discriminatory questions like they’re swatting flies, your hiring panels are the equivalent of bulls in a china shop—blindfolded and spun around three times before being let loose. Recruiters know their stuff. They’re drilled in the laws, versed in best practices and they can smell bias from a mile off. They’re armed to the teeth with standardized scoring systems and interview etiquette that could make even the most hardened jobseekers weep with gratitude. But your hiring panels? They don't live and breathe the recruitment battlefield like recruiters do. They’re unfamiliar with interview hygiene, and they don't know they should be doing their homework on candidates, not making lazy assumptions about someone's ability to adapt based on the size of the companies they've previously worked for. It’s like asking them to perform surgery with a spoon. So, what do you get? A mess. A big, fat, speculative mess. Interviews that leave candidates feeling like they’ve been interrogated by a panel who couldn’t tell their aspirations from their elbow. Feedback that’s as speculative as a horoscope and just as useful. What’s the solution? Train your damn hiring panel. Before anyone gets to ask a candidate where they see themselves in a minute, let alone five years, they need to know the rules of the game. Teach them about unconscious bias, the importance of candidate scorecards, the art of listening and the law. Here's your battle plan: Training boot camp: Every member of a hiring panel must complete rigorous interview training. I'm talking full-on, intensive training sessions that drill into the legalities of hiring practices, understanding and overcoming bias and crafting a candidate experience that won't leave your company trending for all the wrong reasons. Mock interviews: Before anyone is let loose on actual talent, have them conduct mock interviews with feedback sessions. Show them the impact of their words and questions, honing their skills in a controlled environment where mistakes become lessons, not lawsuits. Continuous education: What was acceptable yesterday could be tomorrow's career-ending gaffe. Make ongoing education in DEI and legal compliance part of your company culture. Accountability measures: Implement strict accountability measures. If a panel member steps out of line, there should be consequences. You're only as strong as your weakest link, and in this case, your weakest link could cost you millions and irreparable damage to your reputation. If you don't train your hiring panel, you're actively sabotaging your company's future.  Train your hiring panel. Do it now. #candidateexperience #ThatAshleyAmber

"We only hire the best people.” How many times have you heard this phrase in your organization? Or perhaps it’s a sentiment you yourself have shared during interviews or onboarding. Here's why this common refrain is often a red flag for bias 🚩: 1️⃣ "Best" is rarely clearly defined. Without specific, measurable criteria for what makes someone successful in a role, we default to gut feelings and pattern matching – both breeding grounds for bias. 2️⃣ The definition of "best" often reflects the status quo. When existing employees set unofficial criteria based on who's already succeeded, it creates a self-perpetuating cycle that excludes fresh perspectives. 3️⃣ "Culture fit" becomes code for "people like us." While cultural alignment matters, focusing on "culture add" – how candidates bring unique, new value and perspectives – leads to stronger, more innovative teams. Going forward, aim to replace subjective judgments of "best" with evidence-based approaches, such as: • Define success metrics upfront. • Use structured interviews that focus on job-relevant skills. • Evaluate "culture add" through concrete examples of how different perspectives have strengthened your team. The most exceptional talent often doesn't look like what we expect. Are your hiring practices truly finding the best people, or just the most familiar? #HiringPractices #WorkplaceDiversity #TalentAcquisition #UnconsciousBias #InclusiveRecruitment #OrganizationalCulture #MakeWorkFairBook

Let’s get practical! What can we do to make our workplaces fairer and where people are actually hired and promoted because of their competencies, skills and value that they add? In my co-authored book, ‘Leading through Bias’, we focus on what we can do to block bias in each of the following stages of the employee life cycle: - Attracting - Recruitment & Selection - Onboarding - Retention and development - Separation Based on best practices, here are some steps you can take to ensure that you are blocking bias across some of the key stages of the employee life cycle: In the attracting stage: 🎯Check competencies in job description for similarity to yourself/ your favourite colleagues. 🎯Neutralise the language used in job advertisements. 🎯Ask applicants to not include their picture and personal data in their CV. 🎯Advertise positions externally and widely, and search for talent in new places.   In the recruitment and selection stage: 🎯Mask CVs to remove personal data and picture from the first screening. 🎯Use a diverse and trained hiring committee. 🎯Use structured interview guides.            🎯Rate the candidates.                    🎯Use bias-buddies to test your decision.                       In the retention and development stage:            🎯Check for bias in pay. 🎯Ensure that policies and practices are inclusive.            🎯Use standardised measures when evaluating performance. 🎯Offer continuous training and learning opportunities to all, not just a select few. 🎯Make social activities inclusive. ❓Which of these can you ✅ off as being done in your company? To hold leaders accountable, we provide a list of metrics in the book that can be used to assess their progress in blocking bias to nurture inclusion at each stage of the employee life cycle. The employee life cycle is just one area (albeit an important one) of organisational life that is fraught with bias. If you are looking to expand your efforts, consider reviewing your design processes for product and service development, and your marketing campaigns. There are plenty of opportunities there to block the influence of bias! #WednesdayWisdom

I’ve worked with enough hiring teams to know that many believe they’re evaluating candidates objectively. What I’ve seen repeatedly is that affinity bias often creeps in unnoticed. We tend to gravitate toward candidates who feel familiar—those who share our background, education, or professional experience. It may feel like a gut instinct, but it can unintentionally limit who gets through the door. In my article for The Future of Talent Acquisition and Recruitment, published by the Intelligent Enterprise Leaders Alliance, I talk about how organizations can manage this bias without overhauling their entire hiring strategy. Here are a few things that help: ✅ Use panel interviews to bring in different perspectives ✅ Stick to structured evaluation rubrics ✅ Compare each candidate to the job description, not to each other Bias can’t be eliminated entirely, but it can be interrupted. Small changes like these lead to better hiring outcomes and more inclusive teams. I’m proud to share this piece alongside other contributors in the report. Download the full study for free—link is in the comments. #InclusiveHiring #DEI #TalentAcquisition #BiasInRecruitment