Unconscious bias: Stereotypical hiring practices. | Gail Tolstoi-Miller | TEDxLincolnSquare
Summary
TLDRThis insightful script delves into the world of recruitment and the impact of unconscious bias on hiring decisions. Highlighting that recruiters spend only six seconds on a resume, the speaker, a recruiter and career coach, reveals how minor details can lead to bias, affecting a candidate's chances. From clothing choices to social media presence, even phone interviews can trigger bias based on tone and accent. The speaker shares personal experiences and challenges, urging for self-awareness and the use of 'so what' as a tool to question and overcome these biases, advocating for a more equitable hiring process.
Takeaways
- 🕒 The average time a recruiter spends reviewing a resume is just six seconds.
- 💡 Humans are bombarded with 11 million pieces of information at any time but can only process 40 consciously, leading to shortcuts and unconscious bias.
- 👠 Unconscious bias can be influenced by seemingly trivial factors, like wearing white pumps after Labor Day.
- 🔍 Every detail on a resume, including mailing address and email address, can influence a recruiter's decision.
- 🎓 Perceptions of educational institutions can also impact hiring decisions, even for well-known universities.
- 👀 Social media can be scrutinized by recruiters, and any information found can affect a candidate's chances.
- 🗣️ Unconscious bias can also occur during phone interviews based on tone, pitch, and accent.
- 👀 Appearances, including tattoos and hairstyles, can play a role in in-person interviews and contribute to unconscious bias.
- 🤖 The speaker discovered their own unconscious bias through self-reflection and auditing.
- 🧐 Asking 'so what' can be a powerful tool to challenge and unravel unconscious bias and focus on relevant factors.
- 🌈 Embracing individual differences and similarities is essential for collective strength.
Q & A
What is the average time a recruiter spends reviewing a resume?
-The average time a recruiter spends reviewing a resume is six seconds.
Why do recruiters often make quick decisions on resumes?
-Recruiters make quick decisions on resumes because our brains create shortcuts to handle the overwhelming amount of information we are exposed to, which leads to unconscious bias.
What is unconscious bias and how does it affect the hiring process?
-Unconscious bias refers to the automatic, unintentional judgments we make based on our beliefs and experiences. It affects the hiring process by influencing decisions on who gets selected for interviews or hired, often without the recruiter being aware of it.
Can something as trivial as wearing white pumps after Labor Day impact a candidate's chances of getting a job?
-Yes, as illustrated in the script, a hiring manager's personal beliefs and judgments about wearing white pumps after Labor Day led to a candidate not being hired, despite being qualified.
What are some examples of details on a resume that can lead to unconscious bias?
-Examples include a mailing address that suggests a long commute, an unprofessional email address, attending a college perceived as less prestigious, and social media content that doesn't align with the recruiter's views.
How can a recruiter's unconscious bias affect the phone interview process?
-A recruiter's unconscious bias can affect the phone interview process through judgments based on a candidate's tone, pitch, and accent, which can lead to an unfair evaluation.
What factors can contribute to unconscious bias during an in-person interview?
-Factors contributing to unconscious bias during an in-person interview can include a candidate's appearance, such as tattoos or hairstyle, as well as stereotypes about certain demographics, like the assumption that Asians are better with technology.
What did the speaker do to address their own unconscious bias in the recruiting process?
-The speaker conducted a self-awareness exercise, took Harvard's online implicit association test to measure their level of bias, and challenged their own assumptions and judgments by asking themselves 'so what' to question their decisions.
What is the significance of the phrase 'so what' in addressing unconscious bias?
-'So what' is a self-checking phrase that helps to pause and question the judgments and assumptions used to make decisions, allowing for a more conscious and unbiased evaluation of candidates.
How does the speaker's personal experience as a misunderstood NYU student relate to their perspective on unconscious bias?
-The speaker's personal experience of being wrongly perceived and judged due to their appearance and attitude gives them insight into the impact of unconscious bias and motivates them to address it in their professional life.
Outlines
😲 Unconscious Bias in Recruitment
The speaker, a recruiter and career coach, reveals that recruiters spend an average of just six seconds reviewing resumes, highlighting the impact of unconscious bias on hiring decisions. The human brain processes 11 million pieces of information but can only handle 40 at a time, leading to shortcuts that create biases. These biases are not just about race, age, or gender but can be influenced by seemingly trivial details like wearing white pumps after Labor Day. The speaker shares an anecdote where a candidate was rejected based on such a superficial judgment, emphasizing that even recruiters can be influenced by unconscious biases. The summary also touches on how various resume details, social media presence, and phone interview elements can unintentionally lead to bias, affecting a candidate's chances.
🔍 Combating Unconscious Bias Through Self-Awareness
The speaker discusses their personal journey to recognize and combat unconscious bias in the recruitment process. After realizing the extent to which these biases can affect hiring decisions, the speaker underwent a self-audit to identify their own biases. This process involved challenging assumptions and judgments, and the speaker found that they had biases against certain appearances and behaviors, such as candidates wearing bright red polka dot dresses. The speaker took Harvard's Implicit Association Test to measure their level of bias and began to question their decisions with the phrase 'so what'. This approach helped to challenge biases and focus on the facts rather than preconceived notions. The speaker encourages others to recognize and manage their unconscious biases to improve hiring practices.
🎨 Embracing Individuality to Overcome Bias
In the final paragraph, the speaker makes a bold statement by dressing in a manner that challenges their own previously held biases, including wearing a bright red polka dot dress, purple hair, white pumps, and showing tattoos. This visual representation serves to illustrate the speaker's transformation and commitment to overcoming unconscious bias. The speaker uses humor and a defiant attitude to convey the message that individual differences should be celebrated rather than judged. The summary emphasizes the importance of embracing diversity and individuality in the workplace and the need for continuous self-reflection to challenge and change our biases.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Unconscious Bias
💡Resume
💡Microwaving Popcorn
💡Information Overload
💡Social Media Investigation
💡Pedigree School
💡Phone Interview
💡In-Person Interview
💡Self-Awareness
💡Implicit Association Test
💡So What
Highlights
The average time a recruiter spends reviewing a resume is just six seconds.
People are bombarded with 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only handle 40, leading to decision-making shortcuts and unconscious biases.
Unconscious bias can affect hiring decisions beyond the obvious factors like race, age, and gender.
A hiring manager's decision was influenced by a candidate's choice of white pumps, illustrating the impact of unconscious bias.
Every detail of a resume, including mailing address and email address, can influence a recruiter's decision.
Even prestigious colleges can be perceived negatively by some recruiters, affecting candidates' chances.
Recruiters often investigate candidates on social media, where any information can be used against them.
Unconscious bias can also affect phone interviews based on a candidate's tone, pitch, and accent.
In-person interviews can be influenced by appearances, such as tattoos, hair, and stereotypes.
The speaker's personal experience with being judged based on appearance led to a realization about unconscious bias in recruiting.
The speaker conducted a self-recruiting audit to identify and address their own unconscious biases.
Unconscious bias is prevalent in various aspects of life, not just in corporate settings.
Fear plays a significant role in shaping decisions and contributing to unconscious bias.
The speaker discovered their own unconscious bias against bright red polka dot dresses through self-awareness.
The use of the phrase 'so what' can help challenge and unravel unconscious bias.
Asking 'so what' is a self-check that helps remove emotional clutter and focus on important factors in decision-making.
The speaker's transformation into a bright red polka dot dress, purple hair, white pumps, and tattoos symbolizes overcoming unconscious bias.
Transcripts
[Music]
do you know the average time
it takes a recruiter to review your
resume
six seconds that's it
we spend 30 times longer microwaving
popcorn
now i'm sure most of you have not gotten
a job
and wondered why well the real reason
may surprise you and it may also
surprise the people that are making the
decision as well
now research has suggested that we are
actually bombarded
with 11 million pieces of information
at any given time but we can only handle
40. so our brain creates shortcuts
so we can make decisions quickly without
overwhelm
but this creates bias that we're unaware
of
known as unconscious bias
now i think when most of us think about
bias we think about
the typical right race age gender but
what about
the not so obvious the kind of things we
don't discuss
the kind of thing that maybe will shock
you
the kind of thing that'll make the
difference between your resume
going in the yes or no pile
i'm a recruiter and a career coach
and a couple years ago i interviewed an
amazing candidate an
absolute star and i thought for sure she
would get the job
but it didn't happen so obviously i
asked
the hiring manager you know why didn't
you hire this candidate
and this is what she said
i can't quite put my finger on it
it's just a gut feeling i have
oh boy i knew there was trouble
then she said did you notice her white
pumps
you don't wear white pumps after labor
day
and then i said oh i never got the
corporate memo on that one sorry
um but her beliefs and judgments were so
strong about wearing white pumps after
labor day
that it actually distracted her believe
it or not from properly assessing
the candidate and her accomplishments
this wasn't a conscious decision but a
conscious one
so i've reviewed probably over a million
resumes
in my career and let me tell you every
single detail of your resume
not including your skills can be a
deciding factor
in whether you go in the yes or the no
pile
okay so a mailing address indicates a
long commute or
undesirable location could put you in
the know
an email address such as crazymom666 can
put you in the know
i'm not one of those um
even a reputable college such as
indiana university can be perceived as
not a
pedigree school by some
guess what i just put mark cuban
in the no pile and that's not all
recruiters some recruiters will do a
social media
investigation on you twitter facebook
linkedin you name it the list goes on
and on and nothing
is private any information that they see
can be used against you and put you in
the no pile
a facebook picture of you drunk at a
party puts you in the know
a stay-at-home dad who's perceived as
lazy wanting to return to the workforce
or that political tweet that doesn't
quite agree with the recruiter
can easily put you in the know
then we've got the next step oh this is
my favorite
the phone interview there can't be any
judgment with the phone interview
it's like the show the voice for hiring
there can't be any judgment because they
can't see your body language
or your appearance wrong
there can be unconscious bias based on
your tone
pitch and accent all of that can put you
in the no pile
based on the recruiter's perception and
then we're at the final step
the in-person interview
appearances count tattoos
would have put fdr and thomas edison
in the know crazy hair puts albert
einstein
in the know she's blonde bimbo
sorry marissa mayer you go in the know
and then we've got
two great candidates bill and
chang both going for the same it job
but we know asians are better with
technology
we just put a young bill gates in the no
pile
20 years 20 years
of this unconscious bias
really drained me
it really made me feel that maybe i
didn't belong in recruiting anymore
so when i was 20 years old
i was believe it or not a gawked out nyu
student
wrongly perceived and judged by my
appearance
and my so what attitude
i knew what it felt like to be
misunderstood
maybe i did need to leave recruiting and
get out
but that was not the answer so i needed
to dig deep
and do some self-awareness so i did a
recruiting audit on myself
and it did take a couple of months did i
in fact have unconscious bias
and the brutal discovery i did have
unconscious bias
we all have unconscious bias all the
time
it's not just in corporate america it's
everywhere
it's in our schools dating politics
media
judicial system why
because our fears help shape our
decisions
fear of making a mistake of not
belonging
of losing our job or of change itself
so we make decisions that make us feel
safe
but every single day we're making hiring
mistakes
because we don't see things as they are
but is who we are
i knew there was no way out of this
no way out but i needed to stay
in a profession that i loved and that's
what i did
so i needed to research the heck out of
unconscious bias and do everything
possible
to prevent it so
i dug deep in self-awareness and let me
tell you that's a little scary
um i wrote down my assumptions judgments
uh
perceptions and i had a huge discovery
i don't like bright red polka dot
dresses
i unconsciously put a candidate
in the no pile for wearing it
and that's embarrassing i also took
harvard's online
implicit association test to lev to
measure my level of bias
but i had an amazing
discovery i started to challenge myself
and the hiring managers with two simple
words
two words that had the most impact
on unraveling unconscious bias two words
that i used a lot
as a goth chick from jersey
so what
so what so what
if the candidate has an hour commute and
is more than willing to do so
just because the former employee quit
doesn't mean the next candidate will
so what if the candidate
was drunk at a party one facebook
picture doesn't mean they're going to be
drinking
on the job and so what if they've been
out of work for six months
there could be a really good reason for
it
asking yourself so what it's a pause
it's a self-check it helps you remove
your emotional clutter
it helps you return to the conscious
it also helps you focus on what is
important
by questioning the facts and judgments
that you use to make decisions
look it's inevitable it's inevitable
that we will all be wrongly judged and
perceived by someone else's unconscious
bias
and at times it's worth defending and in
other times
it's a big so what
likewise we will wrongly judge and
perceive others
by our own unconscious bias and now we
know how to keep it in check
by asking ourselves so what
after all our individual differences and
similarities
help build our collective strength okay
so now imagine when i first walked on
stage
i'm now wearing a bright red white polka
dot dress
[Laughter]
purple hair i'm wearing those white
lovely pumps
and tattoos so what
thank you
you
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