Cognitive biases that can impact a recruiter's judment :
The recency effect
This bias leads recruiters to give more weight to candidates interviewed at the end of the day or the end of the interview session, unconsciously influencing the final decision and preventing a balanced evaluation of all profiles.
The primacy effect
Conversely, this bias gives an advantage to the first candidates interviewed, as their initial impressions tend to remain more strongly anchored in the recruiter’s mind.
The projection bias
It occurs when a recruiter judges a candidate based on their similarities to themselves—their values or way of thinking—potentially excluding different profiles that are equally competent.
The stereotype bias
This bias leads to applying generalized judgments—often simplified or inaccurate—based on social, cultural, or demographic categories, rather than considering the candidate’s individual qualities.
The framing bias
This bias occurs when the way questions are framed influences the candidate’s responses. For example, a recruiter who already holds a positive or negative preconception may unconsciously phrase their questions in a way that confirms that bias, ultimately skewing the final evaluation.
The Dunning-Kruger effect
This phenomenon involves the recruiter overestimating their own skills or knowledge, which can lead them to undervalue the true potential of candidates or misjudge certain profiles.
The severity or leniency bias
Some recruiters may tend to be either too harsh or too lenient in their scoring, which distorts the objectivity of evaluations and undermines the fairness of the process.