Are we ready to talk about how problematic @LinkedIn is as a recruiting tool?

At its most basic level, LinkedIn Recruiter search introduces bias into sourcing decisions when the first thing you notice is a candidates photo where race, gender, potential socioeconomic status, age etc all come into play when scrolling through hundreds of profiles.

As a recruiter and someone who realized biases exist w/i me regardless of if I see them, I refused to use LinkedIn for sourcing purposes until I found this tool: a Chrome extension that hides photos and names of all LinkedIn candidates. But why are there pics in the first place?

I had one hiring manager in particular who refused to interview a candidate because of their LinkedIn picture until I informed them this was illegal and I would be happy to loop in HR. Shit like this happens every fucking day. https://medium.com/beyond/linkedin-photos-may-bias-hiring-processes-so-we-got-rid-of-them-and-you-should-too-c2ef24d13ed2

On a deeper level, LinkedIn Recruiters use of AI is particularly worrisome. Instead of providing search results based solely on skills + experience, it personalizes results, “via understanding the preferences of the recruiter during online use.” https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2019/04/ai-behind-linkedin-recruiter-search-and-recommendation-systems

This means LinkedIn is purposefully reducing diversity in candidates by prioritizing profiles that are the most similar to past candidates the recruiter has hired, interacted with etc. If that recruiter holds a bias, that means it is being further ampliphied by LinkedIns results.

Examples could be ranking profiles from a particular school, a particular zip code, connections, you name it. I would doubt LinkedIn uses any facial recognition to personalize results, but even without that, those the recruiter is biased towards will be pushed to the top.

If you’re a recruiter or in HR, take steps to make your workplace inclusive and remove potential bias from the hiring process. LinkedIn photos and search results may seem small, but it’s a tool that needs to be re-examined, especially given how widely used it is for sourcing.