Using Judgement and Analysis when Hiring

In Malcom Gladwell’s book “Blink”, he explores the idea that our rapid cognition, or unconscious reasoning, may have more merit than we typically believe. This includes our first impressions, snap judgements, or instincts. You might think of it as a fleeting feeling, something you can’t quite put your finger on or put into words to describe it. Therefore, it is often dismissed as not credible because it is not tangible or provable. However, our brains are constantly processing so much sensory information at any given time that, while our conscious brains might be able to focus only on a few things at a time, our unconscious brains are processing countless inputs and sorting them according to our database of memories and classifications. If we have a “gut feeling” about something it is often our unconscious brain giving us a nudge that we like something, or something is not quite right, or we know something beyond explanation. The more experienced and educated we are in a given area provides more categories and vocabulary for making sense of and describing a subject. This also allows us to predict outcomes or make judgements that are likely more accurate than a non-expert. An expert, according to Gladwell, is someone who has “a way to structure their first impressions, the vocabulary to capture them, and the experience to understand them.” Experience allows our rapid cognition to have context and meaning and allows us “to have a much better understanding of what goes on behind the locked door of the unconscious.” 

In the world of staffing, after having hundreds of interviews over the years, our recruiters are able to form fairly accurate first impressions. However, we understand that that it is not sufficient to rely on our first impressions because as humans we all have some bias that is unavoidable, even if we consciously try to deny it or overcome it. That is why a thorough screening process is used to verify what we may already think to be true. We put our candidates through a multi-step process, which may seem like a lot of hoops to jump through, however, it is for the applicant and the employer’s benefit. It serves to eliminate prejudice and even the playing field. We are looking for attitude, motivation, values, and personality fit, which an “AI” screening process can’t identify. A candidate might be able to pass through an online screening process by using keywords, assessments, and qualification categories, however they might also get blocked before a human ever lays eyes on their information. Our process is reversed. We use our understanding of the position and the company to review the resume for qualifications and proceed to interview the candidates that match. Only then do we proceed with more in depth testing and screening which saves everyone’s time. While our years of experience allow us to make fairly accurate first impressions, we work to eliminate any unconscious bias with a process that either confirms what we already thought or allows for the candidate’s skill and past experience to shine through or show deficiencies.

Using the analogy of athletics is helpful when thinking about other fields of ability and potential. According to Gladwell, “understanding someone’s statistical performance in a game is only one small part of understanding how good an athlete that person is. There is also the broader issue of ability. How good is he at the myriad of skills and attributes that it takes to be a successful athlete? How hard does he work? Is he a good teammate? Does he stay out all night drinking and doing drugs, or does he take his job seriously? Is he willing to learn from his coaches? How resilient is he in the face of adversity? When the pressure is greatest and the game is on the line, how well does he perform? Is he someone likely to be better over time or has he already peaked? I think that we would all agree that these kinds of questions are much more complicated than – an every bit as important as – simple statistical measures of performance, particularly when it comes to the rarefied world of professional sports. Imagine that you were looking at a seventeen-year-old Michael Jordan. He wasn’t the tallest or the biggest basketball player, nor the best jumper. His statistics weren’t the finest in the country. What set Michael Jordan apart from his peers was his attitude and motivation. And those qualities can’t be measured with formal tests and statistics. They can be measured only by exercising judgement, by an expert with long years of experience, drawing on that big database in his or her unconscious and concluding, yes, they have it, or no, they don’t. The very best and most successful basketball teams – like the best and most successful organizations of any kind – are the ones that understand how to combine rational analysis with instinctive judgement.”

Gladwell also debunks the idea that more is better when it comes to options and information. Often employers want to see more candidates or have more testing and “proof” before they hire. “The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.” We can make confident and informed decisions based on less information and choices when we know what we are looking for and we can trust our process. If there are red flags, our process will reveal them. The mistake is often trying to justify or live with the red flags out of desperation or to go with a candidate for ulterior reasons. Using a third-party staffing company can help with your DEI efforts as it eliminates bias and discrimination. Ultimately, you want the right fit for your position that will be able to do the job and stay long term. Recruiting utilizes both assessing/analysing and judgement based on experience. It’s not without error, but we do get more hits than misses by sticking to our time tested and refined process. We are always open to feedback, however, and we learn and adjust as needed to keep being responsive to our client's needs.