Keep it to yourself

As a member of interview panels over the past 25 years, I have never knowingly employed someone just because they were a man (or a woman), good-looking, young, white, middle-class, heterosexual or able-bodied.

Nor have I knowingly discriminated against anybody who didn't fit into one (or more) of these categories. On the other hand, what I have unknowingly done... well, clearly, I don't know.

What I do know is this: most of the written applications I have received at Spotlight Verlag over the past 15 years have included the applicant's sex and age. Sometimes, applicants have given other personal details, such as their religion or marital status. And nearly all applications from German-speakers have included a photo.

This Germanic custom surprised me when I first arrived in Munich 21 years ago. (So did the ads asking for "good-looking" people to work as flight attendants.) In Britain, let alone in the US, you would never send a photo.

So, I am amazed that, 21 years later, the photo custom is still going strong. But at least Germany's Minister for Families, Kristina Schröder, has started a debate about the topic.

The ministry itself is experimenting with "anonymous applications" for its vacancies. Applicants for jobs at the ministry will not have to give details of their age, sex, any physical handicap, or even their name.

Anonymous applications seem to me an excellent way of reducing discrimination at the first stage of the selection process. At this stage, all that should matter is someone's qualifications and relevant work experience.

Opponents of anonymous applications argue that they are pointless because at the interview stage you know who is applying to you. True, but this is an example of the common stupid argument that if you can't do everything, you shouldn't do anything.

In fact, why not take things a stage further, by conducting interviews via avatars in Second Life? Then applicants can choose exactly how they want to appear at interviews to maximize their chances of success.

Yes, that was a joke. Of course, there's a good reason (in most cases) for meeting people before you employ them. Work is a human activity, and so we want to discover what applicants are like. This inevitably means that there is a risk of discrimination, although sensible interviewers will try to mininize this, not least for legal reasons. 

But I see no reason why applicants should reveal any personal details at the first, written stage. So, I have decided to become a fan of AA — no, not alcoholics anonymous, but applications anonymous.