Helping Clients Overcome Hiring Biases

When it comes to hiring, employers often have a pre-designated set of criteria that they expect of candidates. They may require a certain level of schooling, certifications, or experience. Anyone lacking those attributes are most often disqualified immediately. But are those requirements keeping them from finding the best candidates?That is the question raised by a recent itWorldCanada.com blog post titled “Are biases keeping you from hiring the best candidates?” The article focuses on criteria often expected of Information Technology candidates, but employers often seek many of these same qualities in candidates they consider for all types of positions:

• Extensive experience in the field being hired for
• Graduation from a “big-name” school
• Being “clean-cut”
• Having certain certifications

By thinking outside the box and considering candidates who didn’t necessary meet the normal criteria, many of the employers interviewed for the article ended up with a superstar employee. Do you have candidates who are being overlooked because they don’t have the perfect resume? How do you convince hiring managers to give them a chance? If you feel strongly about an “outside-the-box” candidate for a certain position, you may want to suggest that the employer hire the person on a contract-to-direct basis. That way they can try out the unconventional candidate without the risk of bringing them on permanently.