Best Way to Avoid Unintentional Discrimination During An Interview

We all think of ourselves as free of bias. Unfortunately, few of us are. Think about whether you may be unintentionally looking at candidates in ways that could be prejudicial.

For example, do you sometimes emerge from an inter­view with a minority candidate thinking the candidate was “articulate” or “well-educated”? Do you ever have similar reactions to white candidates? If the interviewee went to a respectable college (and perhaps graduate school), ask your­self why you should be surprised he would be articulate or well-educated.

Do you view assertiveness as a virtue in white male candi­dates, but sometimes regard minority or women candidates as “pushy”?

Do you rule out a minority candidate because of a gram­matical mistake or a mispronounced word during the inter­view? Would you do the same with a white candidate?

Do you think about how you have hired a few minorities who “haven’t worked out”? Haven’t you hired many whites who haven’t worked out, too?

Do you make eye contact with most candidates, but not with disabled candidates?  Do you fail to shake hands with disabled candidates? refer to them as “handicapped”?

A client recently spoke to me about his diversity efforts, which he described as trying to hire people who were not “between the tackles.” How would that language sound to women, who are not only not found between the tackles, but are not on the football field at all?

To avoid illegal or discriminatory questions, make your­self aware of, and reject, certain common misconceptions that produce biases, for example:

• Young people with long hair use drugs.
• People who shake are alcoholics.
• People who dress unconventionally are radicals.
• The physically disabled have a higher rate of absen­teeism.
• Women are not motivated to have careers.
• Older workers cannot accept supervision.
• Non-whites are generally less motivated to work than whites.
• Gays and lesbians are preoccupied with sexual interests that will interfere with their job performance.
• Minorities are primarily interested in issues directly affecting their groups.
• Women are not as tough as men.

Ask yourself whether you may be susceptible to these or other biases. If so, beware of falling prey to them. Biases are obstacles to making sound hiring decisions.

Be aware that comments or jokes may easily be misunder­stood by an interviewee. Do not give advice “as a friend” that may be taken as discriminatory by a minority inter­viewee. Below are a few questions or comments that minori­ties or women have found offensive:

Are you interested in playing for our company’s basketball team?

You are an articulate young lady/man.

Were you admitted/financed through a special program for minorities at your school?

Do you think you could be a team player in this environment?

Asking for standard testing scores (even if asked to give the minority candidate “a break”)

What does your dad do?

Are you married or single?

Do you plan to have children?

We have not been able to find qualified minority candidates. (Many minorities view “qualified” as a test applied to them, but not to whites—an additional hurdle for them to jump.)

Women don’t normally play on our softball team.

Comments about having a daughter, niece, or female neighbor interested in

going into this field.

A Hispanic applicant being asked about Mexican beer.

A Chinese applicant being asked about Chinese food.

An older applicant asked how it would feel to be twice as old as other new employees.

An Asian woman being asked if she thought she was aggressive enough.

If a candidate volunteers information that might be con­sidered discriminatory, you needn’t say, “Sorry, I can’t talk about that.” On the other hand, you should probably not dwell on the topic, or veer further into what may be ques­tionable areas. For example, if an interviewee volunteers that he is the first in his family to attend college, you might respond with, “That’s great. You must be very proud of that. How do you think that will affect your performance on the job?” That approach would be far preferable to saying, “Oh, really? What sort of work did your parents and grandparents do?”

Though you may be asking a question or making a com­ment for benign reasons, discrimination is in the eyes of the beholder—the interviewee. The Equal Employment Oppor­tunity Commission, EEOC, presumes that questions asked in a prejob interview were used as a basis for the hiring decision. The burden is on your company to show that they were not. And, in a real sense, whether you prevail ultimately is irrelevant. The harm has been done when a discrimination charge is made against you.