Put Limitation on Discrimination When Applying for Jobs
Discrimination is an ongoing issue in the world, including in recruitment. People can often be unsuccessful while applying for job opportunities and I’ve noticed a frustrating reason behind this. Assumptions! They can easily interfere with someone’s judgement of the paper version of yourself. It’s generally a factor when the idea of equal opportunities fail and here’s why…
People can pick up trends naturally or other people that promote discrimination based on someone’s background
The Equality Act highlights a good portion of these characteristics. Age, disability, gender, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation are common. But even previous job roles can influence the Managers interpretation.
I heard an example when a candidate was rejected for an interview by the Hiring Manager. They said they felt they would be too ‘aggressive’ based on their previous role. The candidate had worked as a credit controller, a position some assume you need to be aggressive. The candidate was seemingly a lovely person with a good sense of humour, so this was somewhat saddening.
People are denied equal opportunities for various reasons, but it’s commonly because of these well-established trends and a lack of initial information. Sometimes falsely assumed trends within society make an impact. Another example I often hear is when a candidate doesn’t get shortlisted because their employment initiated a long time ago. They were concerned they wouldn’t adapt to new technology, modern-day systems or processes.
The truth is when a Manager has five suitable CV’s and needs to shortlist down to three, trends may sadly reflect their final decision.
So, how do we overcome this?
We provide an interactive video interviewing platform with automated questioning so candidates can represent specific qualities a CV can’t during their application. By answering screening questions via webcam, you can prevent losing out to purely paper-based shortlisting and the assumptions that come with it! Users can also conduct interviews online, compare applications with colleagues via the IVP to hire the right person for the team, as well as the job description. It matches personalities from existing teams meaning a stronger office chemistry, a scenario everyone benefits from.
Although this won’t stop intentional discrimination, it will prevent assumptive or subconscious discrimination by giving people more information to make the right choice.
L J Doulton administrator
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