A piece on NPR's Morning Edition today discussed research on forms of bias that creep into the process of conducting hiring interviews. As we explore in EDAD 590, Administration of School Personnel, hiring good teachers is one of a principal's most important tasks. Being aware of subtle forms of bias that can skew your perceptions of job candidates can help you pick the right person.
Among the patterns revealed in the story: when interviewers see a string of poor candidates, they begin to judge some candidates as better than they actually are, and conversely, a string of strong candidates will cause interviewers to judge them all more harshly. A psychological effect of assuming that there must always be discernible differences in candidate quality seems to be at work. Researchers advise interview teams keep a carefully-crafted spreadsheet on all candidates and how they meet (or don't meet) the established job criteria to combat this form of bias.
Hear the full story or read the transcript here.
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