Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
By Seleena Juma
It’s simply human nature to quickly form opinions of people. In fact, human beings tend to make assumptions and judgments about people within the first moments of seeing them. And just like with dating, when interviewing we often decide in the first five minutes of meeting someone whether they are “right” or not for the job – we allow our idea of stereotypes to take over. The downside however, is it’s possible that you could be missing out on top notch candidates simply because they didn’t make a good first impression.
It’s difficult to ignore what our gut tells us sometimes, but in hiring, the goal is to find the best candidate for the job – not find the person you “click” with most. While initial chemistry definitely does play a factor in some instances, in our experience interviewers often pass judgment too quickly and miss out on great people as a result. In this article we’ll discuss when and how to remove your personal bias from the interview process so that you can evaluate candidates objectively.
Set Your Criteria for the Job
A great way to rationalize disregarding first impressions is to craft a list of the key criteria that will lead to success in the role. Think of what you want the ideal candidate for the job to be or to possess. If first impressions or great chemistry aren’t one of your top criteria, then why let them influence your hiring decision? Stick to evaluating candidates based on what you’ve decided the key drivers of success in the job will be.
There are certainly instances in which a candidate may need to be able to sell themselves well in an interview if it relates to the job. For example, if interviewing for a sales position, it makes sense to be looking for good chemistry and rapport to be developed quickly since that ability would come into play in the job itself.
In most cases however, the best hires will come from employers who have a clear idea of exactly what they are looking for in a candidate for a specific role. Prior to the interview, they have a clear outline of the role, the mandate, the deliverables, and expectations. It’s important to break down which of these criteria are ‘must haves’ versus those that are ‘nice to haves’, as this will also help in your screening process.
Don’t Get Personal
Another caveat with allowing chemistry to influence your hiring is that while you may be the one doing the interviewing, you might not be the one working closely with that person once hired. In that instance, the fact that you may not mesh with the person doesn’t necessarily mean that the people working with them won’t. Allowing your personal bias to influence your hiring decisions in this instance only serves to eliminate a potentially great candidate.
In situations like this, evaluate candidates for skills, experience, and core competencies and leave the chemistry checks for those who will actually be working with the person in their job. Everyone is different and there’s really no way you’ll be able to accurately gauge how others will get along. If you find a great candidate that meets all of your core criteria, then get other members of the immediate team involved to gauge chemistry.
Keep an Open Mind
Be cognizant of the fact that some people are slow starters and it can take them time to warm up to others. Try and keep an open mind and give people the benefit of the doubt if they start off slow but otherwise look like a great candidate. Nerves often come into play or sometimes people have bad days and you might have happened to catch them on an “off” day. Keep the conversation light to start and allow the chemistry to develop naturally. You can start by asking a few personal questions to get the candidate to open up and talk about themselves.
Keep in mind that chemistry isn’t always something that happens right away either. Often simply by working closely on a daily basis, people form bonds and develop chemistry over time. Sure in some instances it happens immediately, but if it doesn’t, that’s not to say it won’t if given the opportunity. Again it’s important to weigh cultural fit against the criteria for the job and gauge how important it is as it relates to everything else. Certain jobs rely on having a tight-knit team more than others.
An 'Art' not a Science
First impressions while being a good quick indicator of chemistry, don’t always tell the full story. We often hear about married couples who didn’t hit it off at first, but in the end found that they were a perfect match. What would have happened had they based their decision based on a first impression?
Chemistry is still important, but unfortunately it’s not an exact science. The trick is to determine how much of a factor it should play and if it’s not quite there initially, if the person has enough other upsides that you’re willing to see if it will develop with time.
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As a Consultant, Seleena Juma works in partnership with some of the brightest minds in the legal, financial services, and media industries.
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