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  • Writer's pictureCornerstone Vancouver

5 Common Yet Unintentional Biases That Recruiters Often Suffer From

Updated: Dec 13, 2020

Business organizations today along with their recruitment partners understand the importance of having a diverse workforce. One of the most effective ways for organizations to ensure the same is by partnering with international executive search firms in Canada. Hiring from amidst a global talent pool maximizes the opportunities of having ethnic, racial and even religious diversity within the workforce. However, many times the hiring decisions of the recruiters might be clouded by their unconscious biases, which might prevent them from enhancing the diversity within their client organizations. Discussed below are the most common of these biases that recruiters might be suffering from. Interim Executive Search Firm In Canada.


Need To Confirm With Their Peers


It is not uncommon for the recruiters to be influenced by the ideas and opinions of their peers with respect to specific candidates. In most such cases, the recruiters are likely to change their views to confirm with that expressed by the majority. Only a handful of recruiters have the confidence to share their actual opinions especially if it is in contrast with what their peers might think and feel. This bias tends to come into greater play when the recruitment panel comprises of top management professionals from the hiring organization.


Favoring Candidates From Specific Backgrounds


Many times the recruiters tend to give preference to candidates belonging to a particular background or employed by a specific organization. In such cases, the recruiters are deeply influenced by one positive aspect of the background or even the organization in question. Thus they provide an undue advantage to the candidates even if they might not be deserving of the same. They actually consider the overall skills and personality of the candidate in perspective of their association with their background or prior employer.

Giving Preference To Beautiful Candidates


It is a common perception that beautiful people are likely to be more happy and successful and even the recruiters are affected by this belief many times. This tendency of associating the competence and ability to succeed of a candidate with their level of physical attractiveness can have a deep impact on the hiring decisions. Such thinking can prove to be significantly disadvantageous for less beautiful candidates even if their skills and competence levels are way better than their more beautiful counterparts. The one important thing to be mentioned here is that the attractiveness level of candidates is often measured against the members of their own sex.


Preferring Candidates That Have Something In Common With Recruiters


Sometimes the recruiters might be inclined to hire candidates simply because they share something in common. The recruiters often feel that giving preference to such candidates would make it easier to establish a good rapport with them. On their part, the candidates are likely to exploit any such affinity with the recruiters in order to increase their chances of employment.


Opting For Candidates With Similar Qualities And Attitude


This is perhaps the most common type of bias that the recruiters often struggle with, given that it is a natural human tendency to want to work with people who have similar attitude and skills. In fact, recruiters are unconsciously attracted to candidates who they consider to be their own image.

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