Overwhelmingly, employers say they want individuals with good attitudes, interpersonal skills, and basic academics. Yet they hire candidates based on superficial traits such as dress and demeanor and, for the most part, ignore information they could acquire from high school grades, teacher recommendations, former employers, or employment agencies--because they don't trust it.
Researchers have long known that employers' gut instincts are poor predictors of performance and often biased. The present study indicates that employers recognize these flaws, but don't realize they have other options they can trust.
James Rosenbaum (IPR-Education) and IPR graduate fellow Shazia Miller reached these conclusions after interviewing a sample of 51 urban and suburban Chicago firms.
They found that most employers are wary of asking teachers about students' academic skills and work habits because they regard the information as biased--either too positive, or too negative. Employers complain that employment agencies do not know enough about applicants' capabilities or companies' needs. They discount previous employers' recommendations for fear of ulterior motives to get rid of bad employees, or because of irrelevant criteria. The researchers suspect the threat of liability suits may also make former employers more circumspect.
Having turned their backs on much of this available information, employers place their faith instead in personal interviews, even though they realize the process is flawed. Many admit that while they may not trust what applicants themselves tell them, they can make judgments based on superficial physical characteristics, such as posture, dress, hair style, eye contact, or manner of speaking.
These methods run a real risk of unintended bias, since some behaviors, such as not making direct eye contact, could be dictated by cultural differences. "By dismissing outside sources of information, employers judge on less fair and more superficial criteria," the researchers say.
Then why don't employers devise their own tests? They respond that such tests are too cumbersome to develop and administer under equal opportunity guidelines, and they won't measure work habits or interpersonal skills.
The study indicated, however, that some employers will make use of outside information when it is conveyed through a social network of personal relationships. Recommendations from the firm's own employees can provide such trusted information, although it may result in reinforcing the homogeneity of the current workforce. And while most employers mistrust teacher recommendations, those who have long-term relationships with teachers find they can provide trustworthy information about the qualities these employers most value. Thus, the common-sense assumption that employers will use the best information only holds within social networks that overcome employers' mistrust.
The prevailing mistrust, however, has some serious ramifications, the study concludes. It is contributing to employers' hiring difficulties, especially since the subjective and superficial information gleaned in interviews may not apply to manufacturing and other jobs where interpersonal relations are not major concerns. It can taint hiring decisions with cultural and racial biases that disproportionately affect minorities. And it also removes the main incentive for non-college-bound students to learn academic skills and work habits in school.