How can you screen resumes to eliminate bias?

When reviewing resumes, my colleagues and I focus on skills, experience, and certifications (when appropriate) rather than candidates' personal information. Occasionally, we conduct group reviews of resumes to hear different opinions and suggestions. Also, we conduct joint interviews to share our opinions and sum up the results.

Remove personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, gender, age, photos, addresses, and educational institutions from resumes. This prevents unconscious biases based on ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, or education.Ensure that the resume screening process emphasizes skills, work experience, and accomplishments that are directly relevant to the job requirements.

To define standardized screening criteria: you should make sure this is also translated on the job description. You can also ensure the choice of words and qualifications is relevant to the actual job. You can define ahead of time what a proper response would look like to remove subjectivity to the evaluation of the responses.

When checking resumes, focus on skills and experience, not personal details. Hide names and addresses to prevent bias. Have a diverse team review resumes to get different opinions. Use clear criteria for fairness and consistency. Remind the team to be aware of biases. Keep updating your process to be more inclusive over time.

Having a clear set of criteria provides you with a selection of candidates that meet the basic role requirements. Once you have identified a shortlist, I believe it's then important to take into account the interests and personality of the person. I agree not to have this on a CV, but discussing the hobbies and interests of the candidate can be hugely beneficial during an interview, as it helps build up a picture of them as a human being. We are not robots.

If your ATS isn't set up to automatically detect identifying information, or you haven't got access to specific software for this, ChatGPT can be a good tool to help identify this information on a CV. Make sure you are doing your own thorough checks though, as it might still miss things.

A highly successful approach we've observed involves initiating the hiring process with a first-stage interview. Candidates are invited to respond to 2-3 role-specific questions via an online portal before their CVs are reviewed. This unique method allows the screening panel to evaluate candidates based on merit, showcasing their skills and knowledge relevant to the position. This process not only streamlines the initial screening but also ensures a more meritocratic and efficient hiring experience.

I've learned that minimizing bias is a game-changer. It's not just about skills; it's about leveling the playing field. Stripping away details that can sway judgment—like names, ages, or backgrounds—lets you hone in on what truly matters: qualifications. Whether using tech tools or doing a bit of manual tweaking, the goal is to ensure a fair shot for every candidate while still keeping an eye on job-relevant info. It's all about finding the right balance.

To screen resumes and eliminate bias, one effective approach is to remove identifying information such as name, gender, age, race, and address before reviewing them. This helps ensure that candidates are evaluated based solely on their qualifications, skills, and experience, rather than on factors that could lead to unconscious bias. Additionally, using standardized evaluation criteria and structured interviews can further mitigate bias in the screening process.

Anonymize resumes: Remove identifying information like genders, universities, and addresses. This helps you focus on qualifications and prevents subconscious associations with demographics. Tools like Blendoor or Pinpoint can automate this process. Use blind screening: Assign a random ID to each resume and have multiple reviewers evaluate them independently. This eliminates the "halo effect" and ensures each candidate gets a fair assessment.

How to exclude biases while sourcing with scores? 1. Prepare a set of important CV criteria before the start of sourcing for each new role. 2.Then, prioritise them according to the hiring team requirements and start resume screening. 3. It's always a little bit hard doing sourcing for new roles or with a new mindset, however, our brains get used to new rules very fast :) Using a scoring system is important because it really helps to identify the best talents at that particular time!

1. I prepare a set of crucial criteria for resume selection and coordinate with hiring managers on additional criteria for additional points to candidates. 2. Based on the approved criteria, I created a rating system. For each resume, I assign points according to the candidate’s experience and qualifications. P.S. If a candidate clearly describes the obtained results and indicates the tools, I give additional bonus points.

Create a standardized scoring system for each of the criteria established. Assign points for different qualifications and experiences. This quantitative approach helps in making the screening process more objective and less susceptible to personal biases.

Implementing a scoring system proves highly effective in mitigating implicit bias, as it relies solely on an objective lens dictated by the qualifications essential to the role. Tailoring a scorecard for each position enhances team efficiency in identifying the most suitable candidates, ensuring a systematic and unbiased evaluation process.

I don't agree with this, as this can cause more bias IMHO. Because you being judgemental and adding an arbitrary score to a candidate's resume, still causes Bias, For example, if the role requires C# but the candidate just needs to know an OOP language. Giving some who have C# a 5 but someone who doesn't a 3, isn't being equal based on the ability to do the job. Instead of a scoring system compare the candidate to the job descriptions and hard requirements. If you need a scoring system to weed out candidates, set a threshold of 5/10. Then give 1 point for each part of the JD that matches (assuming you reject the ones that meet the hard requirements) the resume. Add them up and if they are 5 or better move them forward otherwise reject.

If your ATS has the capability to anonymise/scrape relevant skills/data for you in order to be able to review CVs in batches while eliminating any information that would contribute to any bias then this is a great option. However, this could lead to certain skills and more detailed examples of a candidates experience potentially being missed, so would be more suitable for large CV sets where the job/requirements is heavily based on having key skills/experience rather than the nuance of how these skills have been utilised.

If you review resumes in batches one trick is to reverse the sift. Assume every CV is in and then go through each one to see if it should be "knocked out". By doing it this way, you will be less likely filter out suitable candidates

Instead of reviewing resumes one by one, review them in batches. This comparative approach can help in minimizing bias by directly contrasting candidates’ qualifications and skills against each other, rather than relying on a potentially biased impression from an individual resume.

Use diverse screening panels: Involving individuals from different backgrounds helps identify and challenge potential biases in the evaluation process.

I don't think reviewing them one by one or in batches matters. The important thing is to not compare candidates to each other but to compare them to the JD. As long as you are constantly thinking doesn't this resume fit the JD or how strong does it fit the JD, it doesn't matter how many resumes you review at the same time. Also when reviewing resumes, try not to disqualify the candidate on anything other than the requirements. Don't reject because they work for X industry or X company that company or industry tends to fail interviews or because they are from a certain school or went to a BootCamp unless a degree is a hard requirement. But then think why is this a hard requirement, does it really need to be had in order to do the job?

We have a good tradition with hiring managers from different departments - making short calls to discuss market realities, open vacancies, clarify an ideal candidate persona for each position, and exchange opinions on candidates’ resumes. Such short calls help to save a lot of time, fasten the hiring process, and make an unbiased assessment.

I've learned that the power of diverse perspectives is unmatched. Don't hesitate to tap into the wisdom of hiring managers, team members, or fellow recruiters. It's not just about avoiding blind spots; it's about creating a space for open, constructive discussions that bust through groupthink. Of course, ensuring everyone's on the same page with screening criteria is key – it's like orchestrating a symphony of insights to find the perfect candidate.

Feedback loops are vital in this process. Open communication, and a pattern of language like "thank you for your insights/here's another view/I respect how you feel" will reinforce a trust space, so everyone can learn from each other.

Establish a feedback mechanism for candidates who were not selected. Encourage recruiters to provide constructive and specific feedback based on the candidate's qualifications rather than subjective impressions.

Involve a diverse group of colleagues in the resume review process. Getting multiple perspectives can help in checking biases and ensuring a fair evaluation. Regularly discuss with the team about maintaining objectivity and awareness of unconscious biases.

Unconscious bias can be taught but to change a subconscious thought process takes time. There are a few ways which can support and eliminate these issues such as: - Anonymising all resumes and preferred pronouns - Standardize screening and involve specific scoring criteria - Feedback intake when new hires come into the organization - Select a range of individuals from a diverse background to interview (paper never tells the full story!) However, I would say the biggest aspect is analyzing hiring processes regularly. Take time to review the feedback given from candidates, look deeper into the demographics of hires made once the changes are implemented and change where needed to continually develop your processes successfully.

Studies show that even bias training is not effective in eliminating unconscious bias. Incorporating LinkedInonymous and Unbias Me chrome extensions, which anonymize profiles on LinkedIn, are great to use to avoid unconscious bias . Similarly, ATS systems with anonymity features can be really helpful. Rethinking our criteria is crucial too. Focusing solely on things like years of experience, specific degrees, or Career breaks limits our talent pool and overlooks amazing candidates. It's better to search and screen based on skills and how a candidate's experience aligns with the role, rather than just their past titles or companies. This approach opens doors to diverse talents and might be useful in keeping our biases in check.

Train your employees on bias and unconscious bias. Yes, having a fully inclusive recruitment process is key - but what's the point of having one if your employees don't really know the importance of why you have those processes anyway? Invest in training and implementing these processes internally.

Continuously educate yourself and your team about unconscious bias. Regular training sessions and workshops can be immensely helpful. Also, periodically review and update your screening process to ensure it remains fair and relevant to the evolving job market and societal norms. Remember, the goal is not just to fill a position but to enrich your team with diverse talents and perspectives.

Eliminating bias in the hiring / Resume screening is a holistic approach, few of the ways by which this can be achieved are below - Skill based hiring approach - Embedding interviews with online assessments - Educating the hiring team on different Biases - Structured interview process - Adapting blind hiring / No CV interview process - Maintaining Diverse interview panels - Educating hiring teams on Diversity , Equity and Inclusion