Harmony Hack: Addressing Unconscious Bias in Resume Review

5-minute read with simple actions to enhance equity practices at your work.

When reviewing resumes, it’s easy to believe you’re making objective decisions, but unconscious biases often sneak in. These biases can lead to overlooked talent and missed opportunities. Some common biases in resume reviews include:

• Beauty Bias: Judging qualifications based on physical appearance or photos.
• Affinity Bias: Favoring candidates with similar backgrounds, interests, or schools.
• Horns Effect: Focusing too much on a single negative aspect, like an employment gap.
• Similarity Bias: Preferring candidates who share your gender, race, or other characteristics.

To counter these biases and ensure a fairer selection process, try these strategies:

1. Standardize the Process: Create a rubric focused on key skills, experience, and values relevant to the role.
2. Remove Identifiers: Strip out names, photos, and other identifying information during initial reviews to minimize bias related to gender, race, or appearance.
3. Diversify Your Review Team: Involve team members from various backgrounds to ensure different perspectives.

Reflection Scenario: Imagine reviewing resumes for a marketing position. One candidate graduated from your alma mater, while the other didn’t. You feel more inclined to interview the first candidate.

Pause and ask yourself:

• Are you evaluating based on the qualifications required for the role?
• How would your decision change if you didn’t know where they studied?
• How might this bias affect the diversity of your team?

Challenge yourself to use a structured rubric and reassess your assumptions to ensure a fair evaluation process.

Want to go deeper? Check out some of the conversations going on around using AI for hiring. Is it a tool to combat bias or just another way to introduce it?

• AI tools show biases in ranking job applicants' names according to perceived race and gender - University of Washington News
• Addressing Bias and Fairness in AI-Drive Hiring Practices - Horton International