Recruiters Discriminate 'In Seconds' According To New Report

Recruiters are supposed to be unbiased and impartial and hire candidates based on merit and skill rather than preconceived notions, but according to a new report, recruiters make their decision on who they will hire within seven words of hearing them speak.

Queens English

Do qualities such as an applicant’s control of the English language, accent and use of words and pronunciation affect their ability to pass the interview stage? Well, according to researchers at Yale University, it was found that recruiters subconsciously make assumptions about people's class after just a few seconds of speech which can lead to them making snap decisions on who to hire.

Coming to an instant conclusion

According to the report, snap decisions that recruiters form of an individual can go on to affect the entire recruitment process and ultimately decide the fate of a budding applicant based on their accent and how they form a sentence. While a job interview should be based on the applicant’s efficiency to perform the job, it seems that recruiters are making decisions that have no outcome or effect on the position applied for.

Dr Michael Kraus, an assistant professor at Yale, said recruiters interviewing applicants may not intentionally discriminate or go out of their way to do so, but ultimately Inherent bias can decide the application process which "limits economic mobility and perpetuates inequality".

What Jobs in Security says

While an individual’s English ability shouldn’t be a filtering process for a position that they are applying for, it seems that we can all be guilty of making snap fire judgments based on external factors such as accent and speech. But whether it is during an application process, or greeting a customer or member of the public, we are always making instant judgments based on short bouts of interaction, how we use those decisions to further develop long term relationships with people may change throughout getting to know someone.

When it comes to life decisions, instant judgments are not always a prosperous resolution.