It can be hard to know what employers are looking for in a potential hire in today’s competitive job market. And that means that you might end up with prospects who don’t see your strengths or qualifications as an asset.
The best way to avoid this is to research and find out how the company approaches performance reviews.
If they give them, ask about how they work and what criteria they expect you to meet before offering feedback on your performance. This blog post takes you through the key ways to root out bias as a job seeker on the aspect of personal reviews.
Use an Interview Guide.
We’ve all heard that it’s best to be yourself in job interviews. Unfortunately, being yourself isn’t always the best strategy. Do you know what happens when you are honest about your work habits? You can accidentally reveal a bias against certain types of people or the company’s kind of work.
If this happens, you might get eliminated from the hiring process based on something unrelated to your ability to do the job. When you craft an interview guide, make sure it’s trail-tested for questions about what kind of person you are and what your habits are like.
This way, you can avoid having anecdotes about your life sound like criticisms or compliments about the group you’ll work with.
If you don’t know what to include in your guide, ask people for examples of questions or issues that come up during interviews and run through them with a friend or colleague before your interview.
Research Online.
The internet is full of articles on recruitment-related content. Therefore, you can receive some guidance on the route to take when seeking a job. It’s possible to find an article which addresses ways to be safe from interviewer bias as a job seeker.
This means that you can receive a leg up on the competition, as well as keep yourself safe from being discriminated against for factors that have nothing to do with your ability to do the job.
Besides, the internet sites will give you guidance on the different types of interviewer bias. This can help you ensure that your approach is successful.
For instance, it’s vital to be aware of interviewer bias by association — this is where you’re given a lower chance of getting the job because your name sounds like the race or gender of someone who has been judged as being less effective in previous roles.
Reduce Chit-Chat with the Interviewer.
If the interview is taking the form of a chat or casual conversation, you can reduce your chances of experiencing bias. If it is more formal, then this won’t be easy to do. However, if it is very conversational, you might have an opportunity to explain precisely how you are looking for any personal information about yourself.
This will allow you to keep the conversation focused on the job details and why your experience and skills make you a good fit for the role. However, the trick is concentrating on the core business and ensuring that the conversation is open but relevant. Avoid going off topic no matter how friendly an interviewer seems to be.
Seek Guidance from Others.
You could have friends or family members who have done more job searching than you. This exposure makes them have a clearer image of what interviewer bias is like. Thus, involving them before the interview day can be helpful.
You can ask them to be on the lookout for you and provide some insights into what they think is going down at a specific time.
This is especially when the interview process is lengthy and in different phases. You’ll be surprised by the amount of valuable information you can get from them on the sources of bias. It makes you well-prepared for the momentous day ahead.
In conclusion, it’s vital to ensure that you are aware of the different ways in which interviewer bias can affect your candidacy for a given position.
After all, certain types of suspicion about who you are or your skills and abilities can lead to the interviewer choosing someone else over you. To avoid this, you can seek guidance from the internet or have a friend or family member who has been through the same thing.
