Unintentional Bias in Resume Writing: It’s Real and it Matters

Presented by: Cheryl Minnick, Ed.D., NCRW, NCOPE

If you believe your writing omits bias, it may not. Research indicates writers who think they write without bias write with more bias. It is critical résumé writers recognize the negative impact their unconscious bias has on their clients’ résumés and careers. Scholarly research shows recruiters’ eyes are biased and read résumés in a systematic pattern making a yes/no decision in 6.15 seconds. However, 75% of the time résumés don’t even pass through an ATS to the recruiter’s desk. When we add implicit bias to the vetting process it is surprising any résumé advances to candidate status. In this session, attendees will review quantitative, scholarly research on implicit bias in résumés and learn to identify and avoid accidental insertion of implicit bias in THEIR writing. We will review name, religious, gender, age, socioeconomic class, appearance, parenthood, unemployment, and word choice bias, and how biases manifest in résumé review to the detriment (or benefit) of the candidate.

In this session, you will :

• Learn what implicit bias is and how to spot it.
• Understand results of quantitative, scholarly research on implicit bias inserted in résumés.
• Identify implicit bias in YOUR résumé writing and learn to avoid unintentional insertion forevermore.

This 90-minute recording from the 2020 Virtual Conference is FREE for NRWA members and $19.99 for nonmembers. It qualifies for 1 CEU.

About Cheryl Minnick:

A career geek, Cheryl has more than 20 years’ university and workforce career development experience. Holding a doctorate in counseling (career focus) her expertise includes researching, identifying, and eliminating unconscious bias in résumé writing and review. With a handful of industry certifications (NCRW, MRW, NCOPE, CCMC, CHJMC, PCA) she serves on NRWA’s Certification Commission and has been invited to share insight with Monster, AOL, Voice America Career Confidant, CareerSparx, Google, and Résumé Writer’s Digest. Her work is featured in New Accountant, Journal of Academic Administration in Higher Education, and Career Development Network Journal. Cheryl has delivered many career development presentations in workforce, university, and conference environments. A true career aficionado, her résumés, cover letters, and career tips can be found in a dozen books.