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They're not necessarily unbiased or even anonymous (in a meaningful way). The problem which is set might somehow favour applicants from certain backgrounds. The
by jnty 9y ago
They're not necessarily unbiased or even anonymous (in a meaningful way). The problem which is set might somehow favour applicants from certain backgrounds. The language used might be unnecessarily complex or use local idioms. The comments and variable names might betray the candidate as a non-native (but perfectly proficient) English speaker. If the candidate uses company hardware, the keyboard may be set to a different layout to what the candidate is used to.
There are lots of ways any test which (ostensibly) aims to test raw ability can be very biased indeed. A lecturer of mine once told a story about a horrible experience he had during an exam trying to whisper an explanation of the rules of Checkers to a student who was from a country where the game was rarely played - the possibility hadn't even crossed his mind.
Declaring the interview style you use as "unbiased" from the start seems like a great way to get complacent and have large amounts of bias creep in unnoticed.
- sillysaurus3 9y agoWhat are some ways to counter this effect?
- tbrownaw 9y agoBe intimately familiar with, and fully accepting of and comfortable with, every culture that applicants may potentially come from. Or, explicitly require / assume that all applicants be fully familiar with your culture. Or, define an industry standard artificial culture - whether implicit or explicit - and require everyone on both sides to be familiar with it. This could include things like suits and golf for execs, hoodies and beer for techies, social justice activism for webdevs, etc...
- jnty 9y agoI'm hardly an expert, though I'd probably suggest focusing on avoiding the four pitfalls I mentioned. Like any hard process, it involves working hard to achieve gradual improvement, learning from others where appropriate. However, I can guarantee that resting on your laurels and calling your process "unbiased" from the start won't work.