Self-selection bias in job searches

Creating a welcoming working environment and building teams with a range of backgrounds and perspectives strengthens the quality of our work. When people feel comfortable contributing their ideas - and when those ideas come from varied experiences - our labs, departments, and projects benefit.

A key step in shaping a community that reflects the people we aim to serve is ensuring that applicants from many different paths feel encouraged to enter a search pool. People decide whether to apply for a position for all kinds of personal reasons, but some of these decisions tend to track with factors like gender, race/ethnicity, disability, or socioeconomic background. This post highlights a well-documented pattern: some individuals hesitate to apply unless they believe they meet every stated qualification, whereas others are more willing to apply when they meet only part of the criteria.

Two observations help explain this. First, people often underestimate or overestimate their own abilities regardless of their actual skill levels (e.g., Dunning et al. 2003; Torres-Guijarro & Bengoechea 2016; Beyer 1990; Stewart & Valian, 2018). Second, research shows that women and members of minority groups tend to apply only when they feel they match nearly all of a job’s listed requirements, while applicants from groups that have historically been more represented in a field often apply even when they meet only some of them (Stewart & Valian, 2018, p. 175-176). These patterns can lead to differences in who chooses to apply in the first place.

Search committees can take meaningful steps when writing job ads—such as clarifying which qualifications are essential versus preferred and using accessible language—to broaden the applicant pool. Even so, self-selection can still discourage strong candidates from applying.

If a position interests you and you believe you could contribute, please apply. Don’t screen yourself out before others have a chance to see your strengths. The more applicants who bring different experiences and perspectives into the pool, the stronger our future teams and departments will be. You’ve worked hard—give yourself the chance to be considered.

~ Björn Herrmann ~