4 Ways to Mitigate Bias in the Application Review Process

There are various stages in which conscious and unconscious bias can factor into who receives a job offer and who does not. The application review step is paramount and is frequently when the most qualified and diverse applicants are eliminated from further consideration because their backgrounds do not align with previously selected candidates. Here are some strategies to help limit biases and better ensure your interviewee pool is both qualified and diverse.

Gaining a Pool of Diverse Applicants

The more diverse the applicant pool is from the start of the review process, the better. This variation helps reviewers avoid rushing to judgment about an applicant's education or career choice or using pretexts to dismiss an application unfairly. For example, a CV from a woman who selected to attend a small women's college to gain that specific experience may stand out if the rest of the applications list Ivy League universities. If the pool of applications represents a breadth of institution types, credentials, work experience and more, the process of investigating those qualifications becomes less superficial and more thoughtful and comprehensive.

Establishing a Committee or Small Working Group – Make it Diverse

When individuals who review applications must share which candidates they are most interested in contacting for interviews and why, biases can be uncovered, discussed and mitigated. Hearing from one another can help reframe an applicant’s achievements and experience, either negatively or positively – but usually fairly. When the people having these discussions come from various backgrounds, alternative opinions and healthy critiques become more likely.

Having a Clear Understanding of What the Job Actually Requires

Besides ensuring that you won’t hire someone over or underqualified, it will highlight for your group the broadest set of must-have skills, experiences, credentials and working style that will excel in this position – allowing for a wider range of applicants to align with core requirements. It will also help prevent reviewers from shifting standards from application to application.

Giving the Reviewers Enough Time To Review Each CV

When people are rushed, they are more likely to select candidates with similar experiences and backgrounds to those who have been hired previously or to themselves. By giving people an appropriate amount of time to review and process the information thoroughly, they have more time to think through alternative backgrounds and appreciate the breadth of experiences that can successfully fulfill the opening.

This hard work is well worth the extra effort. Diverse teams have been proven to be more creative, more innovative and better at problem-solving. If you have additional ideas about how to limit biases in the application review process, let us know! We, and our clients, are always looking for best practices and innovative methodologies.