Confirmation biasР”В¬onfirmation bias happens when we have an initial perception about a candidate, and then we look for and focus on information that supports that initial belief. Here are eight types of unconscious biases to be on the lookout for, all with in-context examples thatРІР‚в„ўll make them even easier to spot: 1. While knowledge alone will not protect any decision-maker from unconsciously applying biases to their choices, understanding exactly what unconscious bias looks like is a great first step. If thereРІР‚в„ўs a candidate you just love from day one, donРІР‚в„ўt let that stop you from conducting a fair, thorough, and objective hiring process with the rest of your candidates. Your gut is not a crystal ball, and itРІР‚в„ўs likely to be influenced by a whole host of irrelevant factors, like how charming, well-educated, attractive, or similar to you a candidate seems.

Giving ourselves permission to make decisions intuitively instead of considering all the facts during the hiring process opens the door for subjective, and ultimately suboptimal, choices. The truth, though, is that our instincts just cannot be objective. ThatРІР‚в„ўs because so many of us have been trained to believe that our instincts know best. Otherwise known as РІР‚Сљtrusting your gut,РІР‚Сњ intuition is a number-one offender when it comes to unconscious bias. When it comes to hiring, quick snap judgments arenРІР‚в„ўt all that helpful because our brains are using unconscious shortcuts that really have nothing to do with the task at hand: deciding which candidate is the best fit for a job.Р”Р„ lot of these biases come down to the feeling of intuition. In modern times, these mental shortcuts and quick judgments can have unintended consequences. Throughout human history, these biases were incredibly helpful because they served as mental shortcuts that helped us maker faster decisions РІР‚вЂњ often the difference between life and death. Every human being on the planet is prone to biased decision-making because itРІР‚в„ўs built into our brains. Unconscious bias plays an inevitable role in hiring.

Affinity bias