INTERVIEW EDGE • JULY 1991

Bias in the Interview

A study by the Urban Institute showed a 3-to-1 preference for white over black candidates. The study involved sending evenly matched two-person teams of black and white college students on 1052 job interviews. The matching included experience, energy and speaking ability. 15 percent of the white students received job offers versus 3 percent of the black candidates.

Sometimes the black candidates were discouraged from applying or were offered less desirable jobs. One auto dealership offered the white candidate a job selling new cars and the black candidate a job selling used cars.

We reported in our last issue that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has requested the use of testers posing as job applicants to combat employment discrimination. The Urban Institute Study adds momentum to this idea. Are you confident all your interviewers are acting objectively, overcoming unconscious bias, and avoiding illegal statements in their interviews?