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Professionalism Is on Its Way Out
We should hire and promote candidates based on how “professional” they are. Right? Well… not really.
“Professionalism” and “Executive Presence” are just two of the very common, ingrained, persistent biases, prejudices, and stereotypes we all have, especially at work.
They show up, both in individuals and the systems we build, and get institutionalized during interview processes, hiring decisions, promotion choices, and layoff recommendations.
These stereotypes, prejudices, and biases show up when we choose not to hire someone because we don’t like what they are wearing, because we feel their natural black hair isn’t appropriate for work, or when we believe tattoos should be covered.
Biases also make an appearance when we assume the candidate wasn’t “interested enough” because they didn’t show the level of enthusiasm we expected when answering our questions, or because their handshake wasn’t firm enough…or when we decide that a candidate isn’t a fit for our company because they don’t look as polished as we’d want them to.
Prejudices and biases pop up at work when a Manager consciously promotes “John” over “Jenny” because John goes out for drinks after work, while Jenny needs to pick up her kids from school.
