The confirmation error
It is impossible to avoid prejudice. We unconsciously make certain decisions every day. People naturally tend to seek information that confirms their beliefs while ignoring anything that contradicts them. In order to overcome these prejudices, it is important to become aware of them.
When recruiting, it is particularly important to avoid prejudice and hire candidates in a fair and equal environment. Therefore, it is important to remain reflective and critical in order to avoid making biased decisions and to be aware of your own biases.
What is confirmation bias?
Confirmation bias is the search for information that confirms the beliefs or opinions you already have.
When looking for a new employee, it's easy to fall into the trap of only considering candidates who validate your beliefs about the perfect candidate for the job. For example, if you're looking for a salesperson, you might only consider candidates with a lot of sales experience. However, this can result in overlooking great candidates who may not have as much sales experience but have other qualities that would make them successful in the role.
To avoid confirmation bias when hiring, it's important to keep an open mind and consider all qualified candidates for the job, regardless of their background or experience. Try to look at each candidate objectively and see what they could bring to the role. This will help you find the best possible candidate for the job and avoid making mistakes in your hiring decision.
How to avoid confirmation bias
The first way we can avoid confirmation bias is to first admit that it exists. Only when we are aware of when it is happening can we attempt to address it.
To avoid confirmation bias, we need to look at other points of view and listen to the other side of the argument. However, this must be done impartially.
It's also important to surround ourselves with people whose opinions differ from ours, even if it makes us uncomfortable. Only then will our existing ideas be called into question. But we also have to recognize that we don't necessarily know everything. Therefore, any new information is new knowledge that can help us better understand the world around us.
While recognizing and overcoming our unconscious biases takes some work, it is well worth it and will help you build a stronger and more effective team.
"You will only grow as a person when you are outside of your comfort zone."
Percy Cerutty
